In the words of the late, great Yogi Berra, it was like deja vu all over again. One year ago, George Pena of Monsignor Scanlan hit a 3-point buzzer-beater that tied the score against Fordham Prep in the CHSAA A Division semifinals, sending the game into overtime and eventually propelling Scanlan into the final against Kennedy Catholic. On Tuesday night at St. Raymond, it looked like history might repeat itself. With Farrell leading 53-50, Pena nailed a 3-pointer with 3.5 seconds left in the fourth, once again sending the game into overtime with a trip to the CHSAA A Division final (against Kennedy Catholic) at stake. Notwithstanding all of the similarities, just like they had done the entire game, Monsignor Farrell was able to hold off Scanlan's fierce rallies in the fourth quarter and overtime, emerging with a 64-63 win and earning a shot at the CHSAA A Division title against Kennedy Catholic on Friday at Fordham University.
Farrell opened the game on a 9-2 run and held an 18-7 lead at the end of the first. Nick Corbett's 3-pointer and Nick Igneri's fast-break layup after a Corbett steal and assist pushed the Farrell lead to 25-9 with 5:04 left in the second quarter. Jalen Lecque's jaw-dropping one-handed dunk in the lane sparked a 7-2 run for Scanlan, cutting Farrell's lead to 27-18 at the half. Scanlan went on a 7-0 run in the third to narrow the deficit to 40-37 before James Delahanty's basket made it 42-37 heading into the fourth. Lecque and Pena combined for 12 of Scanlan's 19 points in the third quarter. Farrell pulled ahead again 45-39 early in the fourth, but Pena's 3-pointer with 5:35 left made it 45-42. Lecque made two clutch 3-pointers down the stretch in the fourth, the first knotting the score at 47 with 3:15 left and the second giving Scanlan its first lead of the game, 50-49, with just 1:00 remaining. After Corbett connected on 4 of 4 free throws on back-to-back possessions, Farrell led 53-50 with just 14.4 ticks left. Scanlan called a timeout with 9.7 seconds left after advancing the ball to half-court and needed to burn another when they had trouble inbounding the ball. Coming out of the second timeout, Jordan McAllister found Pena, whose 3-pointer right in front of Scanlan's bench tied the game at 53, sending it into overtime.
Pena's runner with 1:53 left in the extra session put Scanlan ahead 59-58, but Joe Zieris hit a 3-pointer off of a skip pass from Igneri on the ensuing possession, giving Farell a 61-59 lead with 1:28 remaining. Free throws by McAllister and Pena tied the game at 61 and Lecque's basket on a crossover and spin-move put Scanlan ahead 63-61 with 40 seconds to go. Farrell countered when Joe Acri found Igneri in the corner for a 3-pointer that put Farrell up 64-63 with 17 seconds left, proving to be the game-winner. Corbett finished with 17 points, Igneri with 16 points and Zieris with 14 points for Farrell. Pena had a game-high 21 points and Lecque finished with 17 points for Scanlan.