By Thomas Grant Jr.
Cardinal Newman earned their first SCISA Class 4A title Friday in the sweetest way possible.
The Cardinals not only defeated Augusta Christian 71-61 at the Sumter Civic Center. They also avenged last year’s title game loss to the Lions and won the in-season “rubber match” between the two teams.
It was especially gratifying for W.J. Keenan transfer Amarii King. He capped his first season with the Cardinals (20-15) with a game-high 25 points.
“I came here and to get a championship in my first year is great,” King said. “My teammates kept me uplifted the whole game. I kept shooting to build my confidence, so I kept shooting.”
Augusta Christian led 20-15 at the end of the first quarter. The second quarter saw Cardinal Newman begin to assert itself offensively as it took a 33-28 halftime lead.
A 17-5 run in which senior Evan Carter scored seven of his 23 points in succession gave the Cardinals a 50-35 lead in the third quarter. The Lions made it close led by Kentucky baseball commit Khaleel Pratt who also scored 23 points and got within 61-58 with 3:21 left.
Cardinal Newman outscored Augusta Christian 10-3 the rest of the game to claim the school’s 10th state championship.
Both King and Carter were named to the SCISA Class 4A All-Tournament team.
“It was a rollercoaster,” said Cardinal Newman head coach Phillip Deter said. “You are dealing with a lot of young kids on our team. You got to teach them to grow. The good thing for us is Cardinal Newman helps you grow. We needed that support. Our coaches, I got a bunch of them that do a great job. We went through a lot of stuff, injuries and stuff off the court. … Lo and behold, we are playing our best basketball at the end of the year and I am proud of them.”
But Luis Echevarria hit two free throws and Josiah Peeples scored on a driving layup to push the lead back up to 65-58 with less than two minutes left.
“Both teams are good but luckily we closed it out down the stretch, hit our free throws at the end,” Cardinal Newman coach Phillip Deter said.
The championship caps off what Deter called a “roller coaster” of a season that included players missing time with injuries and other situations. That coupled with only two seniors on the roster led to growing pains.
Cardinal Newman finished by winning 12 of its last 14 games.
Photo courtesy of Cardinal Newman
