Wilson, Sylla Murray Hold Off STM Comeback

CENTEREACH, NEW YORK -- Jamar Wilson hit several key free throws and top notch performances from Oumar Sylla and Walter Murray helped Our Savior New American hold off St. Thomas More's late rally, 94-84.

A fast start by Kevin Reed helped St. Thomas More spurt out to a 21-20 first quarter lead. Reed hit for 14 points in this quarter. Our Savior regained control in the second, 35-26. Sylla knocked in 16 points in the first two quarters of play.

Our Savior increased its lead heading into the fourth quarter, 57-46. Sylla had an additional seven points in this quarter and Murray started heating up from the outside.

In the final quarter, Our Savior opened up an 18-point lead. Then St. Thomas More head coach Jere Quinn changed his five on the court and got a positive response. "I figured why not let some of the kids on my bench take a shot," Quinn said. "The others had their chance and weren't getting it done."

St. Thomas More cut the Our Savior lead to 87-82 with 35.6 seconds left on Dustin Brown's driving layup. But Wilson hit four key free throws at the end to ice the STM comeback. "The kids played hard, this was a good game for us," Quinn said. "They played against a very talented team. Our Savior is one of the better teams we play this year."

Quinn can't rest too much. St. Thomas More plays The Winchendon School tonight. Winchendon is 14-0 right now. "Another great team," Quinn said. "It's going to be a rough game for us too."

Wilson led his team with 25 points. Sylla scored 23 points and Murray had 20, including four three-pointers.

Reed led STM with 23 points. John Zito added 14 while Anthony Wilson had 13, Brown had 12, and Cilk McSweeney had 11, including three three-pointers. McSweeney's three's helped STM close the gap significantly over the final two minutes.