Westchester Nips All Hallows in Prime Time Tilt
TRENTON, N.J. -- In this day and age of high school teams criss-crossing the country to play in tournaments, it's not uncommon for teams on opposite sides of the country to battle each other at a given event.
However, the Prime Time Shootout got an unexpected treat on Saturday afternoon when All Hallows H.S. of New York and Westchester H.S. of Los Angeles met in a rematch.
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All Hallows appeared to be on the verge of an amazing fourth quarter comeback. Trailing 63-55 after an 8-0 Comets' burst with 1:45 to play, the Gaels responded with an 8-0 run over their own, capped by a Marvin McCullough three pointer, to deadlock the game at 63.
With the game up for grabs, Westchester looked for its star senior, Arizona bound Hassan Adams. Adams (pictured right) was jostling in the low post with All Hallows' Ricky Soliver when the two players crashed to the floor after some contact.
Soliver was whistled for a foul with 15.4 seconds to play and fouled out. Adams calmly sank a pair of free throws to give the Comets a precarious 65-63 lead.
Sophomore sharpshooter Robert Ramon appeared to give All Hallows the lead back, but his three point attempt rimmed out with less than 10 seconds to play.
Kiril Wachsmann, the Gaels' beefy 6-7 senior forward, corralled the loose ball and was fouled going up for a putback with 2.2 seconds to play. Wachsmann canned the first free throw but missed the second, giving Westchester its second albeit much closer victory over All Hallows this season.
Back in December, the teams squared off in the final of the City of Palms Classic in Florida, with the Comets claiming a double digit victory.
"I am very proud of the kids, they never quit and came back," All Hallows Head Coach Jack Carey said. "Marvin McCullough made a tremendous three pointer and Ricky Soliver made a great steal, so you have to be happy with the way the kids responded after being in a tough ball game all the way."
Westchester appeared to have the game in the bank after turning a 55-55 game into a 63-55 lead late in the fourth quarter.
Brandon Heath kicked off the 8-0 spurt by beating his man off the dribble to the hoop, giving the Comets a 57-55 lead with 4:15 to play.
With 2:50 to play, Heath forced a turnover and converted it into a dunk on the other end for a four point lead.
Ashanti Cook picked up where Heath left off, intercepting a pass and going the distance for a dunk with 2:13 to play to boost the Westchester lead to six.
Cook then capped the burst with a short runner that gave the Comets what appeared to be an insurmountable eight point bulge with 1:45 to play.
The Gaels responded quickly with a Ramon three pointer and a steal and score by Soliver to pull to within 63-60 with 1:02 to play.
Heath then missed the front end of a one and one for Westchester. McCullough's three pointer swished through the net with :28 left to knot the game at 63 and set up the thrilling ending.
"We gave them some opportunities and to their credit, they took advantage of those opportunities and put the ball in the basket," said Westchester Head Coach Ed Azzam. "We have to be able to close out a game better than this."
Adams led all scorers with 24 points, and Heath, who signed in the fall with San Diego State, added 18.
Another Division I bound Comet guard, New Mexico signee Ashanti Cook, chipped in 11 points in the victory.
Ramon and McCullough led All Hallows with 18 and 16 points, respectively. Soliver and Waschmann added 12 points apiece.