Kennedy Catholic bested 80-70 by Girard College in Class A final

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STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — John Johnson walked off the court calmly, barely cracking a smile after his team won the PIAA Class A boys basketball championship.

Johnson, who scored 30 points in Girard College’s 80-70 victory Friday over Kennedy Catholic, said all he could think about were the next two years.

“I’m only a sophomore. I’ve got two more [state titles] to win,” Johnson said.

Paced by Johnson and Lance Devero’s 20 points, the Cavaliers (26-3) had to rebound from an early rut and a six-point deficit at halftime.

But the District I champs from Philadelphia surged ahead for good with 4:15 left in the third quarter on a Torrell Candelarias fast-break layup and put up 29 points in a run-and-gun fourth period.

“We like to score at a high pace,” Girard coach Tyrone Morris said. “We like to get the game up and we had the opportunity to do that today.”

Kyle Randall, who led Kennedy Catholic (26-3) with 33 points, was the biggest focus of the Cavaliers defense. His fast-break layup at the end of the first period put his team up nine and had his opponents walking slowly to the bench with their heads hung low and hands on their hips.

Johnson said the guard didn’t have much help from the rest of his team, who combined for just 37 points, so Randall was the center of Girard’s attention. Randall had to deal with a double-team most of the game.

“He’s an exceptional player,” Morris said. “We just wanted to not give him any easy baskets, make him earn every basket and it looks like we did a good job of that.”

Girard used its height and speed advantage over Kennedy, producing 19 steals on the afternoon.

A dunk by Andre Rivers with 1:08 left gave Girard a 72-63 lead to finally put the Cavaliers’ fans at ease and allowed them to start celebrating at the Bryce Jordan Center.

Johnson said his teammates knew Kennedy would not be able to handle the pressure, so the Cavaliers went after their opponents vigorously.

“Real physical guards, athletic offense,” Kennedy Catholic coach Marlon McGaughy said about Girard. “It was kind of hard to keep up with them. They got most of their points on fast-break layups after they pressed us.”

Girard’s tough defense also sent Kennedy to the foul line often, especially Randall, who went 13-of-17 on foul shots. The Golden Eagles were 22-of-31 on free throws on the day.

But it wasn’t enough for Kennedy, the District 10 champs.

As the fans clad Girard’s maroon and grey-clad fans jumped up and down as the final buzzer rang, the Golden Eagles silently formed a straight line at the other end of the court to await their second-place medals.

“I told them in the beginning of the season, when you come out to play every game, that’s all I can ask of you,” McGaughy said. “Sometimes, you win some, you lose some.”