If the crowd was expecting a nail-biter, they left disappointed, as Paul VI controlled the contest from the start, leading by double-digits most of the way in a defiant, defensive 65-47 win.
“I was really proud of that performance,” Coach Glenn Farello said. “I thought we showed some toughness this weekend. And that’s exactly the type of game you want in December — iron sharpens iron.”
These teams faced off last year at the end of the regular season, a nonconference tuneup before the postseason began. Sidwell won that game, 75-68, and sustained its momentum to the very end of the postseason as it won the Mid-Atlantic Athletic Conference and D.C. State Athletic Association titles.
Paul VI went on to finish as runner-up in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference and champion of the Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association. The Panthers graduated All-Met Player of the Year DeShawn Harris-Smith (now at Maryland), but returned a boatload of talent this winter, including five seniors destined for high-major college basketball.
With preseason hype flowing freely, the Panthers were dealt an unexpected blow shortly before the start of the season when one of those seniors, Patrick Ngongba, injured his foot. The 6-foot-10 forward, coming off a breakout summer and a November commitment to Duke, was widely expected to be one of the best players in the area this winter. He is out indefinitely.
“When he went down we knew we weren’t going to replace Pat with one player; we’d have to do it as a group,” senior guard Darren Harris said. “It meant we all had to rebound better, we all had to play with aggression of defense. We all had to step up.”
Harris, also a Duke commit, was joined in Paul VI’s starting lineup by the team’s other seniors: guard Ben Hammond (a Rhode Island signee), forward Garrett Sundra (Notre Dame) and forward Isaiah Abraham (U-Conn.).
“It’s their turn,” Farello said of the group. “They have to leave their own legacy as seniors and how they attack this year. We know it’s not common to have four or five seniors that are that talented, so we’re excited to see them have their chance to lead this team.”
Playing less than 24 hours after a dramatic overtime win against North Carolina’s Fort Myers on day one of the festival, the experienced Panthers came out with plenty of energy against Sidwell. The Panthers jumped out to a quick 9-2 lead, forcing an early Quakers timeout and setting the tone for a game in which they never trailed.
The team’s lone underclassmen starter, Jordan Smith Jr., finished with a game-high 15 points. He was backed by a balanced effort, with Hammond chipping in 10 and Harris and Sundra adding nine.
“We love a challenge,” Hammond said. “We want to play against any team in any place, it doesn’t matter to us. We want the test, especially to start the season.”