Late in the Non-Public North B title game between top-seeded Gill St. Bernard’s and second-seeded Roselle Catholic, a low-scoring, defensive battle looked like it was headed for a photo finish decided in the final seconds.
That ultimately happened, but not in the way anyone expected.
The Lions outlasted the Knights 43-35 as a controversial finish marred the end of a true rock-fight championship game.
Dorsett Mulcahy, with Gill St. Bernard’s trailing 37-33, hit a floater in the lane with 14 seconds left to cut the lead to two points.
The ball rolled to the back wall, where the Knights’ freshman guard Connor Junker handed it to the official, who let it roll to Roselle Catholic’s Trevon Lewis, and started the five-second count to inbound. The Lions’ inbounder found guard Tyrease Hunter with 3.6 seconds left, and Hunter sprinted up the floor before being fouled with 1.1 seconds left.
An irate Mergin Sina was ejected after getting called for back-to-back technical fouls protesting the events.
Hunter hit all six of his free throw attempts as part of his game-high 18-point scoring effort, and Roselle Catholic salted away the game to win its first sectional title since 2023, the first for head coach Todd Decker in his second year at the helm.
The title game was a defensive battle from the start, with the teams combining for five points in the opening three minutes. The Lions then went on an 8-0 run to take an 11-5 lead, before Gill St. Bernard’s strung together multiple scoring possessions to end the first quarter down 11-9.
The second quarter was much of the same, as Roselle Catholic managed to take a seven-point lead late, but Knights forward Stanley Njekwe beat the buzzer with a layup to cut the lead to five.
The Lions missed their first seven shots of the third quarter, as Mulcahy brought Gill St. Bernard’s within a point, but a big three-pointer from Roselle Catholic’s Jalen Grant helped give the Lions a little breathing room, before they ended the third quarter leading 30-27.
Hunter’s key free throws represented six of his team’s 13 points in the fourth quarter, and he finished with a game-high 18 points. He scored 10 points in the first half, but all eight of his second-half points came at the free throw line, on eight attempts.
Lewis helped with the offensive effort as well, hitting a key three-pointer down the stretch to go a free throw to score four points in the fourth..
Roselle Catholic will move on to face St. Rose, who defeated Rutgers Prep 86-55 earlier on Monday, in the Non-Public B final at Rutgers on Friday, tipping off at 3:00 pm.
“I don’t want to blame the refs, we shouldn’t have been in this position anyway,” Mulcahy said after the game. “But the clock burned 13, 14 seconds, then emotions were high, and it stings.”
Mulcahy was the Knights’ leading scorer and only player in double figures with 10 points. Senior guard Kobe Closeil finished with 9 points in his final game.
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