Boys HS Hoops: St. Edward Pulls Away in the Fourth to Top Kennedy Catholic 68-59

By Don DiFrancesco

Kennedy Catholic (PA) 11 19 16 13 = 59
St. Edward 12 14 14 28 = 68

Play-by-Play Classic at Elyria Catholic

ELYRIA, OHIO – It was Eagles vs. Eagles as St. Edward took on the Kennedy Catholic Golden Eagles from Hermitage, PA on Sunday afternoon. Through the first three quarters, St. Ed’s did a nice job of penetrating Kennedy Catholic’s 2-3 zone defense and keeping things close despite a height disadvantage.

Trailing by six entering the fourth period, the local Eagles went on a scoring blitz. With 5:55 remaining in the game, Demetrius Terry converted a 3-point play to give St. Edward their first lead (48-46) since early in the second quarter.

They proceeded to overwhelm Kennedy Catholic 28-13 in the final 8:00 to come up with a well-deserved victory.

For the game, the Golden Eagles from Pennsylvania had a 34-28 rebounding edge. But their shooting accuracy fell off dramatically in the fourth quarter—just when St. Ed’s was heating up. Kennedy Catholic shot 39% (22 for 57) overall, but only 27% (4 for 15) in the fourth. St. Edward, paced by Devontae Blanton (23 points), Demetrius Terry (19), and Grant Huffman (10) shot 47% on the afternoon (25 for 53).

It was pretty close to a perfect finish for the Eagles from Lakewood as they accumulated these fourth quarter numbers: 67% shooting (8 for 12), 83% free throw shooting (10 for 12), a 9-7 rebounding advantage, and zero turnovers.

Kennedy Catholic was paced by guard Maceo Austin with 23 points and forward Oscar Tshiebwe with 22.

Kennedy Catholic

Austin 7-5-23
Tshiebwe 10-2-22
Herster 3-1-8
Norman 1-0-3
Thomas 1-0-3

St. Edward

Blanton 8-2-23
Terry 7-3-19
Huffman 4-2-10
Foster 3-1-7
Ogle 1-2-5
Crane 2-0-4