By JOHN LIKANJE
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Ben DiGiovanni and John Luther combined for 13 points during a decisive 21-8 run as Pittsford Sutherland erased a double-digit deficit and went on to beat NE Douglass, 57-55, in the quarterfinals of the Section V Class A2 playoffs.
Trailing 37-26 at the beginning of the third quarter, DiGiovanni sparked the run with a three-pointer. Senior forward Kevin Ryan made a putback layup and DiGiovanni knocked down his second long-range shot in four possessions to force a NE Douglass Panthers’ timeout.
“Ben DiGiovanni is coming back today off an injury,” Pittsford Sutherland head coach John Nally said about his junior guard. “He’s been out for a few weeks. He played really well at a not 100 percent level.”
After DiGiovanni netted a free throw, Luther hit back-to-back shots from beyond the arc to trim the deficit to 45-41.
“Our shooter, whose been absolutely on fire, just struggled to find his rhythm early,” Nally said about Luther. “We told him to keep shooting. He kind of got us going with a couple of big threes.”
John Luther cuts the deficit to 3. NE Douglass 41 Sutherland 38 4 to go in 3rd. pic.twitter.com/SVyndNXvls
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) February 23, 2019
Ryan scored the Pittsford Sutherland Knights’ next six points on three layups for their first lead since the opening period.
“In the second half, he (Ryan) started really going after the boards too,” Nally explained.
Kevin Ryan starring in the role as Kevin Ryan. Knotted at 45. Late 3rd. pic.twitter.com/CSmwPqVVtj
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) February 23, 2019
During the run, the Knights held the Panthers to nine missed field goals and four turnovers in 18 possessions.
“We just had to fix it on the boards,” Nally explained on his squad’s second half adjustments. “We had to do a better job defensively of keeping them (NE Douglass) out of the paint.”
Ryan scored nine of the Knights’ 12 points in the fourth quarter. For the afternoon, the senior forward netted 15 of his game-high 28 points in the second half as the Knights outscored the Panthers, 31-20.
“Kevin Ryan is a beast,” Nally said about his senior forward. “We obviously got to try to get it in to him, whether it’s zone or man (defense) and he stepped up today too.”
DiGiovanni had all 13 of his points in the second and third quarters combined.
“Benny’s a really good passer,” Nally said about DiGiovanni. “He plays lacrosse, so he really understands space. At 6’4 (6-foot-4 inches tall), he can really throw over the top. We had a 6’4 guard that plays a lot of the point. We always move the ball better when Benny’s on the floor.”
Luther (9), Connor Fitzsimmons (4) and John Messina (3) rounded out the scoring for the Knights.
For NE Douglass, junior forward Lamar Lovelace scored 10 of his team-high 18 points in the second quarter.
Adonis Flagler netted 12 of his 17 points in the first half as the Panthers had a 35-26 lead going into the locker room. Senior guard Jiahmere Mitchell contributed 11 points.
Adonis Flagler slices through the lane. 43.4 to go in the half: NE Douglass 32 Sutherland 24 pic.twitter.com/XImxx6HRVB
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) February 23, 2019
Trevion Miller (6), Maurice Glenn (2) and Nicolas Jeanty (1) rounded out the scoring for the Panthers.
Pittsford Sutherland will play Wilson Magnet in the semifinals on Wednesday. The Wilson Magnet Wildcats defeated Northstar Christian, 76-68, in the quarterfinals, Saturday night.
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