Knights return to D4A final
ANSFIELD — When Sullivan County nearly upset St. John Neumann last month, Andrew Fish lay at home sick.
Fish was healthy for Friday night’s rematch at Mansfield University’s Decker Gymnasium. And this time, he had Sullivan feeling ill.
Fish played one of his best scholastic games, scoring 12 points, hitting four 3-pointers and setting the early tone as Neumann defeated Sullivan, 50-27, in the District 4 Class A semifinals and reached its sixth straight championship. The Knights will try and win their fifth straight title next week against the winner of today’s Lourdes-Millville semifinal. Sullivan (16-8) can earn a spot in the state tournament for a sixth time in seven years if it beats the loser of that semifinal in next week’s third-place game.
“We know they like to pack it in and stop the drive but I’m always looking for the opportunity to shoot,” Fish said. “It’s just a credit to my teammates for knowing my strengths and putting me in the position to succeed.”
Kevin Anderson scored a game-high 23 points, grabbed eight rebounds and dealt six assists as Neumann (24-0) controlled the game from start to finish. Fish was a huge reason why. The junior guard scored nine points in the game’s first 10 minutes, hitting three 3-pointers. He hit two quick 3-pointers to start the second quarter, then fed Anderson for a layup. Fish’s hand in eight straight points ignited a 13-0 run and Neumann built a 24-8 halftime lead that was never threatened.
When these rivals met in Laporte a month ago, Sullivan dared Neumann to beat it from outside. But with Fish in the lineup this time, the strategy backfired. Fish has played that role well all season, hitting six 3-pointers against Montoursville, and he delivered a fantastic performance in his biggest game yet last night.
It was pretty impressive stuff for a player who nearly was not in the starting lineup.
“We start different people and we were contemplating starting someone else and the more I thought about it the more I thought we need him out there to do his thing,” Neumann coach Mike Kirby said. “I was confident if they did what they did before he was going to hurt them and he did. He played really well.”
Fish added another 3-pointer in the third quarter, stretching the lead to 34-10. He also dealt three assists and made a steal.
“I sort of felt like I was locked in. You always look for that opportunity,” Fish said. “We were kind of fired up because of the last game. We wanted this one bad. We stuck with the game plan and what we’ve been practicing all week and it worked out.”
As good as the offense looked at times, Neumann’s defense collectively was its MVP. The Knights swarmed Sullivan and held it scoreless for the final 7 minutes, 28 seconds of the second quarter. During a stretch that bridged the second and third quarters, Neumann allowed just two points in 13:45 as it built its 24-point lead.
John Saxe played an excellent game for Sullivan and scored 16 points. He and Taylor Baldwin hit consecutive 3-pointers early in the fourth quarter and pulled Sullivan within 38-21. But Neumann skillfully ran clock from there and Anderson dominated the fourth quarter, scoring eight points and making all four of his shots from the field.
Jaiden Lynch scored nine points and played his usual strong defense as did Jaiden Cioffi who grabbed four first-half rebounds. Reid Parrish also came up big in that second quarter, grabbing four rebounds and playing a role in often holding Sullivan to one and done shot opportunities.
“Reid helped us with some big boards,” Kirby said. “He can hurt people. He’s a really good rebounder, especially on the offensive end. He’s coming along. We’ve been playing him more the last five or so games and he’s been doing well.”
SULLIVAN (27)
John Saxe 5 5-8 16, Jon Pedro 0 0-0 0, Alex Baumunk 0 0-0 0, Jordan Pedro 1 1-2 3, Taylor Baldwin 2 0-0 5, Noah Brown 0 0-2 0, Spencer Gordner 0 0-0 0, Will Kiner 1 0-0 2, Dylan Hottenstein 0 1-2 1. Totals 9 7-14 27.
NEUMANN (50)
Kevin Anderson 11 1-1 23, Jaiden Lynch 3 2-2 9, Jaiden Cioffi 1 0-0 2, Noah Persun 0 0-0 0, Andrew Fish 4 0-0 12, Dalton Gough 0 0-0 0, Anthony Marrazzo 0 0-0 0, Reid Parrish 0 2-4 2, Rivers Parrish 0 1-2 1, Josiah Reed 0 1-2 1. Totals 18 7-11 50.
Sullivan 4 4 5 14–27
Neumann 13 11 12 14–50
3-pointers: Sullivan 2 (Saxe, Baldwin); Neumann 5 (Fish 4, Lynch).
Records: Neumann 24-0. Sullivan 16-8.
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