On Monday night the Paul VI Panthers defeated St. John’s (DC) in a double overtime classic in the WCAC Championship. Five days later, with two games in-between, Paul VI was up against rival O’Connell in the VISAA Championship at Benedictine in Richmond.
To add to the challenge, Paul VI star senior guard Jordan Smith was fighting illness. After a half on Saturday, O’Connell led 31-26 with Smith limited to two points.
None of that mattered when the chips were down for the Panthers, who have proven time and time again they’re not only the class of Northern Virginia, but perhaps the country. Glenn Farello’s team began the second half on a 12-0 run, eventually out-scoring the Knights 26-9 in the third quarter. O’Connell never recovered, and the Panthers went on to prevail, 64-52.
Even with all their success, the Panthers (33-2) clearly were highly invested in winning the game. The players spent at least half an hour celebrating afterwards, and at various points during the game and afterwards, the emotion on Farello’s face was noticeable. Last year O’Connell had upset the Panthers in the Tournament Semis, ending a string of four straight state titles for PVI.
“Hey, when there’s a tournament, when there’s a trophy, you want to cut nets, right? And it was so hard…six games in eight days,” Farello said. “Even last year, we were on fumes and we didn’t get a chance to get it done. And so this year for us to come back…I’m just really proud that the fight was there, the championship fight.”
After halftime Paul VI came out a different team. With Smith not 100%, Farello challenged his team.
“Knowing he wasn’t going to be as offensive today because he was sicker than a dog,” said Farello of Smith, who recently committed to play college basketball at Arkansas. “And we said in the second half, you guys have to pick him up. Today they picked him up.”
They did indeed. Immediately after halftime, guard Brian Mitchell, Jr. attacked the rim and finished an old-fashioned three-point play to start the 12-0 run. Then, fellow junior Dylan Harsanyi came off the bench to hit a couple of threes. Near the end of the third quarter senior guard Lawrence “Turk” Brown started to take over. Brown closed the third by scoring, stealing the ball, then drawing a foul and hitting two free throws.
After trailing for much of the first half, Brown’s outburst had Paul VI suddenly up double digits.
“Turk Brown was amazing,” said Farello. “But everyone got involved. JR [Mitchell] early on established the toughness of going to the rim and getting some things going for us. We always do things as a team.”
Smith still managed to play virtually the whole game and make his impact felt. He scored six points after halftime and added 10 rebounds and six assists on the night. Mitchell, Jr. led the team in scoring with 17 points, while Brown finished with 15. 13 of those points after intermission. Sophomore small forward Ryan Bahr added 10 points and five rebounds.
Guards Corey Dixon and senior Darius Bivins sparked O’Connell (23-10), which fell in the state title game for the second year in a row. Dixon, a junior guard, scored 20 points, and was instrumental in the Knights taking the lead in the second quarter. Bivins added 16 points before fouling out in the fourth quarter. Senior Justin Edwards, who missed much of the year due to injury, had a nice game with 11 points on efficient shooting.
It was O’Connell’s third loss to the Panthers this season. After the game, during Paul VI’s celebration, the players and coaches were more than happy to celebrate their team’s season, which continues with regional and national competition.
They were also just happy to have some fun after a grueling week.
“This team has played with joy all year,” said Farello. “It’s the chicken and the egg, right? Does the winning create a great culture and the kids love each other and are connected? Or, are you connected, and you love each other, and does the winning come from that?”
“I’ll let everyone else decide that, but we have it.”
–Chris Jollay