The NVL boys’ basketball tournament final matchup is set.
When the final buzzer sounds inside Wilby High’s Reggie O’Brien Gymnasium, someone will be NVL tournament champions for the first time.
Top-seeded WCA reached its first NVL final with a 68-57 win over fourth-seeded Seymour in Wednesday night’s second semifinal. Second-seeded Kennedy returns to the NVL final after needing all 32 minutes to outlast third-seeded Holy Cross, 63-60, in an exciting first semifinal. The Eagles fell to Naugatuck in last year’s championship game.
WCA put four players in double figures, led by Jason Canady’s 20 points. Zaire Lott scored 19 points, Drew Williams added 15 and Sonny Pierce tallied 14 for the Spartans.
Kennedy got another huge effort from Lennox Serrano, who had a game-high 22 points. Johnarius Davis scored a big 11 points, Isaiah Tucker added 10 and Terrance Morrison Jr. recorded nine on a trio of 3-pointers.
Peyton Mullins led three Holy Cross scorers in double figures with 19 points. Elijah Parker had 16 points and Derone Fordham added 13 for the Crusaders.
Holy Cross saw an early 15-2 lead evaporate as Kennedy rallied for a 29-27 halftime lead. The Eagles built their advantage to 34-27 in the third quarter before the Crusaders pushed back for a 36-36 tie. Kennedy led by four points at 42-38 and 46-42, but Mullins stole the momentum with a buzzer-beating 3 in front of the Holy Cross bench. The score was 46-45 entering the fourth quarter.
The Crusaders wound up leading by five points, 60-55, with 1:20 to play. Even better for Holy Cross, Kennedy’s Hikim Trueheart fouled out.
Eagle senior captain Isaiah Tucker picked the opportune time to step up. Back-to-back drives for layups by Tucker had the deficit down to 60-59 with 58.9 ticks on the George Tirado Court clock.
Holy Cross struggled with free throw shooting and turnovers and couldn’t halt the Kennedy momentum. Serrano gave the Eagles the lead, 61-60, in the final 20 seconds off an assist from Morrison. The Crusaders had a chance to take the lead, but Parker had the ball stolen by Tucker as he fell to the floor. It’s debatable whether there was a foul on Parker’s drive, but Tucker did get fouled with 1.2 seconds left and sank both free throws. Parker’s buzzer-beating heave missed.
In the second game, WCA used an 11-0 run to turn a 29-26 deficit into a 37-29 halftime lead. Seymour pushed back in the third quarter and pulled within 45-41. Pierce sank a 3-pointer just before the third quarter buzzer, however, and gave the Spartans a 56-47 lead. When Pierce canned another trey to make it 61-47 with 6:09 left in the game, the Wildcats called for time. WCA did what it had to from there to secure its first NVL final appearance.
GALLERY: Here are my photos from Wednesday night’s NVL semifinal games.
