By PAUL GOTHAM
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Jack Bleier’s basket in the closing seconds proved to be the difference as the host Aquinas Li’l Irish downed Webster Schroeder, 57-55 in the opening round of the Mike Dianetti Memorial Christmas Tournament, Friday.
Starting just on the other side of midcourt, Bleier took on a trio of Schroder defenders going to his left.
“I was going to slow up,” the sophomore guard said. “I thought coach was going to want to run a play. My whole team was telling me to go, so I just went. Two defenders came at me, so I double-clutched it and it just went in.”
Jack Bleier hits the runner. FINAL: @AQBoys_Hoops 57 @WebWarriorBball 55 pic.twitter.com/s881NkkNjk
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) December 28, 2019
Bleier’s bucket capped a second half in which neither team led by more than four points. The fourth quarter contained four ties and two lead changes.
“When Jack got the ball, I trusted him,” Aquinas head coach John McCauley said. “He’s made so many big shots for us. The fact that he’s only a sophomore is scary. He’s got a knack for that shot. When he made the move I’m not going to lie, I didn’t think it was going in. But he’s just got a knack for making that shot.”
That the basket occurred the way it did was the result of of McCauley’s decision to not call a timeout after his team secured a defensive rebound at the other end of the floor.
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“I didn’t want to let the defense get set,” he explained “Figured we were better in that scramble, secondary break look.
“I got a young team, so sometimes we can overthink things. Maybe if you call timeout there, the pressure sets in a little bit. You start to feel it. You start to thinking about it. Right there it was in the moment. Nobody thinking, just go.”
Aquinas got the chance when Schroeder’s leading scorer, Luke Insley, missed the front end of a one-and-one with the scored tied at 55 and 14.0 seconds remaining in the game.
“We got lucky,” McCauley conceded. “Their best player misses the front end of a one-and-one. I think he made all his free throws all night.
“We got the ball to bounce our way tonight. That was an ugly win, but I’ll take an ugly win over a good loss any day.”
Insley matched Aquinas forward Myles Blackwood for game-high honors with 19 points. Blackwood added 10 rebounds.
Wesley Henderson III contributed 17 points for the Li’l Irish. Gabe Miller had nine and Bleier eight points. Steve Mahar and Mikel White chipped in two apiece for AQ.
Schroeder’s Ky’Mere Meeks had 15 points. Josh Hauman added seven. JoJo Plummer scored six points while Ben Carey had five and Nick Hauman two.
Insley paced Schroeder to an early 8-1 lead. Meeks converted a traditional 3-point play. Insley followed with a triple. The junior then went the length of the floor and finished high off the glass.
Luke Insley gets baseline to give @WebWarriorBball a 29-26 lead over @AQBoys_Hoops with 1:38 remaining in the half pic.twitter.com/xsvuA4Z7T5
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) December 28, 2019
Aquinas rallied, and Blackwood knotted the game at 10 with a pair of free throws. The Li’l Irish took their first lead of the game when Bleier found Henderson underneath for a 20-18 edge going into the second quarter.
Aquinas (3-4) has won two of three. The Li’l Irish will play Leadership Academy in Saturday’s championship game. An 8:00 PM tip off is scheduled.
Schroeder (3-4) will take on UPrep in the 6:00 PM consolation game.
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