Playoff basketball: Cardinal Newman boys hoops spread the love in postseason victory
WEST PALM BEACH — After claiming their first district title a week ago, Cardinal Newman's boys basketball team continued its run through the playoffs Thursday night.
The Crusaders (23-5) defeated Bell Creek Academy 69-61 in the Region 2-3A quarterfinals and advance to the regional semifinals for the first time since 2016.
“It feels great,” Cardinal Newman head coach Reilly Campbell said. “I’m proud of these guys for getting through it, fighting in a tough environment and getting the win.”
The Crusaders found success spreading the ball around and were led by a collective offensive effort in which four players scored in double digits.
Junior Max Redmon led the Crusaders with 17 points, including a 9-point outburst in the fourth quarter that helped secure the victory. Senior Jermaine Council finished with 14 points, while senior guard Joe Duran and junior L.T. Noegel both contributed 10 points.
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“I think we’re hard to prepare for and hard to guard because it’s not just one guy contributing,” Campbell said. “We had a really good rebounding and shooting effort. We had really good passing and on-ball defense. We did well in four different phases of the game, and I think multiple different guys took the charge in those areas for us.”
Cardinal Newman jumped out to an early lead, but several first-quarter turnovers by both sides allowed Bell Creek to keep the Crusaders’ lead at 16-15 heading into the second.
Thanks to a 7-point contribution by Noegel in the second quarter, Cardinal Newman extended their lead to 32-24 heading into halftime after spending all but 30 seconds of the first half in the lead.
Bell Creek, however, made adjustments and came out of the intermission firing. The Panthers went on a 14-5 scoring run to start the second half, snatching away the lead after trailing for much of regulation. The Crusaders clawed their way back, but a buzzer-beating layup by the Panthers slimmed their lead to 45-44 heading into the fourth quarter.
Leading by a single point, Cardinal Newman continued to spread the ball around. Council started off by sinking a 3-pointer, and with a 9-point fourth quarter by Redmon, by the two-minute mark, the Crusaders had extended their lead back to 58-50.
Despite a last-minute push by the Panthers, Cardinal Newman held on in the final minutes to earn their second regional semifinal appearance in the past three years.
“We were in a dogfight. They punched, we punched back” Campbell said. “I think it says a lot about our guys’ ability to stick to it even in tough times and play one possession at a time.”
Cardinal Newman will travel to Orlando to take on Windermere Prep (21-7) in a regional semifinal on Tuesday night.
“Excited to be here,” Campbell said. “We have to defend a little better and continue to rebound and shoot well. Keep doing the things we do well.”
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Cardinal Newman boys basketball spreads the love in playoff win
