The defense was there for Paul VI in the first half of the VISAA Division I Championship Game Saturday at Virginia State University, but there was some offense missing, especially from senior star DeShawn Harris-Smith.
That wasn’t the case after halftime, as Harris-Smith delivered 23 second half points to lead the Panthers to their third straight Virginia title, 69-56 over St. Anne’s Belfield.
“I felt like I had a bad first half,” said Harris-Smith, who had five points at halftime. “I just wanted to play basketball from an attitude with my teammates, be positive, let it be my time.”
There wasn’t much offense for the Panthers at all in the first quarter, but junior Darren Harris helped keep Paul VI afloat early. The Duke commit had an and-one drive at the end of the first quarter and a three-pointer at the end of the second en route to 10 first half points. Despite trailing early, PVI went into the locker room with a 28-18 halftime lead.
“You have to give a lot of credit, STAB’s a great defensive team,” said PVI Head Coach Glenn Farello. “I think both teams came out with some great energy and defense.”
Then it was the Harris-Smith show. Paul VI spread the floor and just let the 6’6″ Maryland commit operate in the middle of it, often with center Patrick Ngongba on the pick-and-roll. He delivered, and STAB couldn’t catch up.
The Saints (27-4) found it tough to operate inside against the imposing Panthers front line of Ngongba, Isaiah Abraham, plus Christian Gurdak and Garrett Sundra off the bench. Their talented center, Vanderbilt commit Carter Lang, had a solid game (11 points, 10 boards) but had to work hard for everything. STAB compensated by shooting a lot of three-pointers, but was only 6-27 from beyond the arc.
The Panthers (31-3) enjoyed a number of key contributions from their personnel. Harris finished with 12 points, and his reputation as one of the best three-point shooters around prevented STAB’s defense from collapsing on Harris-Smith. Ngongba added a double-double with 11 points and 11 boards, Abraham had nine points on efficient shooting, and guard Ben Hammond was instrumental in controlling pace and preventing turnovers.
Paul VI, which has enjoyed one of its best seasons in recent memory, celebrated their victory after the game by cutting down the nets. The Panthers have been consistently ranked amongst the top teams in the nation this year. The victory was the program’s seventh VISAA title overall.
“I’m definitely pleased,” said Harris-Smith when asked what the championship meant to him. “I’m the only player to go three-for-three for a state championship, so it’s a great thing for me and good to see my team win. We didn’t win the WCAC [tournament] Championship, but for us to come here and bounce back and get a ring, it’s great.”
“He’s been our leader,” said Farello of Harris-Smith. Referencing his second-half outburst he said it wasn’t anything complicated.
“You have one of the best players in the country, you might as well use him.”
–Chris Jollay
all stats are unofficial
| PAUL VI | FG | FT | TP | REB | AST | |
| HAMMOND | 3-9 | 0-0 | 6 | 2 | 4 | |
| ABRAHAM | 4-6 | 1-2 | 9 | 5 | 0 | |
| NGONGBA | 3-6 | 4-6 | 11 | 11 | 1 | |
| HARRIS | 4-10 | 3-3 | 12 | 1 | 2 | |
| HARRIS-SMITH | 8-15 | 12-14 | 28 | 7 | 4 | |
| Gurdak | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| Sundra | 1-2 | 0-0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | |
| Womack | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| TOTALS | 23-48 | 20-25 | 69 | 33 | 11 | |
| Threes: Ngongba 1-1, Sundra 1-2, Harris 1-4, Abraham 0-1, Hammond 0-2, Harris-Smith 0-2 | ||||||
| STAB | FG | FT | TP | REB | AST | |
| MALLORY | 3-16 | 5-5 | 14 | 4 | 3 | |
| ROBERTS | 4-12 | 4-5 | 12 | 6 | 0 | |
| ST.GERMAIN | 4-9 | 2-2 | 10 | 2 | 5 | |
| WILLIFORD | 3-7 | 0-0 | 9 | 3 | 1 | |
| LANG | 4-9 | 3-6 | 11 | 10 | 0 | |
| Lyons | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| D’alessandro | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| TOTALS | 18-53 | 14-18 | 56 | 26 | 9 | |
| Threes: Williford 3-5, Mallory 3-14, Roberts 0-4, St. Germain 0-4 | ||||||