Nyontay Wisseh and Zack Bruno had 18 points each, as Xaverian erased an 11 point third quarter deficit and defeated Bishop Loughlin 59-56 in the CHSAA AA boys basketball final at Fordham University on Sunday. Xaverian opened the game on a 6-0 run and, after a fast-break hoop and 3-pointer by Bruno, the Clippers held a 15-8 lead at the end of the first. Back-to-back baskets by Brandon Leftwich, the latter coming off a steal and one-handed dunk, gave Xaverian its largest lead of the game at 22-10 with 5:15 left in the opening quarter. After Loughlin called a timeout to regroup, the Lions countered with a 16-2 run that was sparked by point guard Markquis Nowell, whose layup after a dazzling behind-the-back dribble gave Loughlin a 26-22 lead. Khalil Rhodes' runner just before the halftime buzzer ended a five minute scoring drought for Xaverian and cut Loughlin's lead to 26-24 at the intermission.
Loughlin started to pull away in the third, as Keith Williams' basket with 2:52 left to play in the quarter gave Loughlin a 41-30 lead. A dunk by Wisseh and two free throws by Jordan Guzman cut Loughlin's lead to 44-37 heading into the fourth. Bruno's 3-pointer that bounced around the rim before falling in and Leftwich's 3-point play in transition gave Xaverian a 49-45 lead with 5:05 left. Williams' floater with 3:12 left made it 50-48, but Wisseh answered with a strong drive to the basket to make it 52-48. Two free throws by Williams with 53.7 remaining made it 56-54 Xaverian and Loughlin had a chance to tie the game when Idan Tretout was awarded two free throws after being fouled rebounding a Leftwich miss. Tretout missed both free throws, but Williams rebounded the second miss and found Gaffney, who failed to convert a contested layup that would have tied the game. After Guzman made one of two free throws with 11.7 seconds left, Loughlin had yet another chance to tie the game, trailing 59-56 with possession. Instead of taking a 3-pointer, Gaffney drove the lane and scored but his basket was waived off when he was whistled for a charging foul. Had the call gone the other way, Loughlin would have been in a position to tie the game on a free throw with a traditional 3-point play.
After knocking off top seeds Cardinal Hayes and Archbishop Molloy to reach the final, Xaverian's win over Loughlin put the icing on an impressive CHSAA AA Intersectional Tournament. Xaverian finished the regular season 9-7, fourth place in the Brooklyn-Queens Division of the CHSAA, but they are playing their best basketball at the right time. The Clippers will face Aquinas in the New York State Federation Tournament on Friday in Albany.
Nowell finished with 17 points and Williams had 14 points for Loughlin, who shot just 17.6% from 3-point range (3-17) and 47.8% from the free throw line (11-23).