money Boys basketball: Antwon Lewis comes up clutch for O'Neill in win over Burke Catholic
GOSHEN — James I. O'Neill coach Deb Crowe called Antwon Lewis "the man."
And that he was.
James I. O'Neill boys basketball defeated Burke Catholic, 59-44, in a league game at John S. Burke Catholic High School on Tuesday night.
Lewis scored a team-high 18 points and put the team on his back when they needed it the most in clutch moments.
It is believed to be the first victory at John S. Burke Catholic High School since Crowe's 20 years at the helm and snapped Burke's four-game winning streak.
Crowe said "it was a tremendous effort from all five kids" who knew coming in it was a big league matchup.
"They all contribute," Crowe said. "The nice thing with these kids is that they’re unselfish, they like each other, they work real hard and hopefully we continue to come together.”
Even after not being in the spotlight on the scoresheet, Ben Aprilante would contribute a couple of short jumpers to help secure the lead for his team late in the fourth quarter.
High school boys basketball: O'Neill's Ben Aprilante voted Varsity845 Player of the Week
And defense was key, Crowe said.
"I told them “we know we can score, but we have to hold other teams to under 40 points” and that’s been our goal all season and we did an OK job today," she said. "We knew Jack O’Boyle and Jake DeMaro were their bread and butter. I thought we did a great job on O’Boyle today and I thought Jordan Thompson did an awesome job defensively. That’s the key is playing good defense and consistent defense night after night after night. And that’s what I want from these kids.”
High school boys basketball: The latest team rankings
Turning point
Antwon Lewis went to the free-throw line and made two free throws to break a knotted score at 34. With a two-point lead, Ben Aprilante would block a scoring opportunity, which led to a layup from Lewis on the other end, as he was fouled on the play. His ensuing free throw was good, giving O'Neill a 39-34 lead with 53.5 seconds remaining in the third quarter — and the momentum. They would remain on top the rest of the contest.
“I told them at halftime that the third quarter was going to be crucial, and we didn’t score in the first four minutes of the third quarter and that hurt," Crowe said. "Then I called a timeout and I brought them over and I told them to look at the score, they haven’t put any points up on the board and that they need to dig down hard. They really came alive in that last four minutes of the third quarter.”
Player of the game
Antwon Lewis came up big in the clutch with a team-high 18 points and critical points in key moments, grabbing the momentum for O'Neill.
By the numbers
James I. O'Neill (9-1) — Antwon Lewis led the team with 18 points. Isaiah Bates added 13 points and contributed in big ways during the first half. Ben Aprilante had nine points, including some crucial jumpers late. Chris Sanders added eight points off the bench and helped in key moments on the defensive end and on the boards. Jordan Thompson also scored eight points and played strong defense guarding Jack O'Boyle, who had averaged over 20 points in his previous three games.
Burke Catholic (5-4) — Jake DeMaro scored a game-high 27 points and showed skill with his ball handling and accuracy from beyond the arc.
Quotable
“Antwon is a very composed player. He plays the same way, whether he’s hitting 3-pointers. When we were up at New Paltz he couldn’t buy a 3-pointer and ended up with 29 points, and it was all from going to the basket and going up for short jumpers. He’s just the man, that’s the best way I can put it for Antwon." - James I. O'Neill coach Deb Crowe on Antwon Lewis.
“We all value our role a lot on the team. We don’t just put up shots, we pass the ball around and have good ball movement so I think that’s the good part of our team, too.” - O'Neill's Isaiah Bates on what makes his team successful.
What's next
O'Neill is scheduled to host Fallsburg for a league game on Jan. 15 at 1:30 p.m. Burke Catholic is scheduled to travel to Monroe-Woodbury High School to face the Crusaders in a non-league matchup on Jan. 14 at 6:30 p.m.
MKramer1@th-record.com
Twitter: @MKramerTHR
This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Section 9 boys basketball: O'Neill's success based on little things
