RallyNorth.net

Tue, Mar 04, 2008 07:00 PM @ Neutral Location

Team	1	2	3	4	OT	Final
Playoff Game Division 3 North - Semi-Finals
Bishop Fenwick	8	17	21	12	0	66
Wilmington	15	11	13	19	10	68

Bishop Fenwick boys basketball bows in overtime

Tuesday, March, 04 By Mike Grenier
Sports editor

NORTH ANDOVER | This one is going to eat away at the Bishop Fenwick basketball team in the offseason. When you invest that much of your athletic life into a season and it comes down to the final seconds of overtime in the state tournament, of course it's going to hurt.

Coach Sean Connolly's Crusaders were just 11 seconds away from upsetting top-seeded Wilmington in overtime of the Division 3 North semifinals here last night.

But in a excruciatingly tense, dramatic and somewhat controversial ending, Wilmington's Craig Melillo nailed a 3-pointer with 10 seconds left and the Wildcats pressure defense prevented Bishop Fenwick from getting off a clean shot in the final seconds in a 68-66 decision. Wilmington (20-2) will play Watertown in the Division 3 North final Saturday (12:30 p.m.) at Lowell's Tsongas Arena.

"When we're in a situation like that, I want Melillo (17 points, including four 3-pointers) to have the ball in his hands," said Wilmington coach Jim McCune. "He's the one who takes 200 shots a day in practice and I want him taking that 3-pointer."

The Crusaders would give Melillo all the credit in the world for making a tough shot in a big situation, but it's what transpired before the shot that upset them. The Bishop Fenwick bench went nuts when Wilmington wasn't called for traveling or a charge on the final possession with the Crusaders still ahead, 66-65.

Connolly, who is quiet by nature, made one quick comment and then practically bit his lip so that he wouldn't elaborate on the way it ended.

"That was a charge on No. 3 (Zach Fahey)," Connolly said before backing off. "But (Melillo) ended up making a great shot. Our defender slipped a little bit on the play."

The Crusaders will replay this game a thousand times in their minds and the conclusion will always be the same: they could've and should've won it.

Bishop Fenwick led by as many as 11, 46-35, late in the third quarter after a brilliant 11-0 run. It led by six, 55-49, with 2:45 left in regulation and it was up, 58-56, with 32 seconds left in regulation after its remarkable junior center, Mike Clifford (33 points, 19 rebounds, five blocked shots and four assists on a sprained ankle), made two clutch foul shots.

However, Wilmington's Matt Bibeau (20 points) sent it to overtime when he converted a nifty little shot inside with 11 seconds left, making it 58-all.

So now it came down to which team would take the initiative in overtime. Wilmington held a 62-60 advantage with under three minutes left, but Bishop Fenwick's Nolan DiPanfilo, who made some huge shots and finished with 21 points, buried a 3-pointer from the right side to give the Crusaders a 63-62 edge. When the 6-foot-7 Clifford followed that up by overcoming a triple team to score, making it 65-62 with 1:40 left, the Crusaders appeared destined to win.

"They had Clifford and DiPanfilo | both of those guys were so tough," said McCune. "I don't know, maybe we just lucked into it (with everything that happened at the end). But at this point in the season, I'd rather be lucky and win than to be good and lose."

The Crusaders simply couldn't secure it even though it looked promising. Clifford hit the front end of a two-shot foul to make it 66-63 with 1:20 left, but Melillo came right back with a 15-foot jumper to narrow it to 66-65 with 50 seconds remaining.

Bishop Fenwick got a timeout to set up Clifford, but it turned the ball over on the attempted entry pass with 35.4 seconds left. As it turned out, that was the opening that Wilmington needed.

"We should've won it," said Connolly, "but we didn't box out and (as a result) we gave them too many offensive rebounds. We also had a couple of unforced turnovers at the end. We didn't take care of the ball when we needed to. But overall, the kids did a great job. They came a long way in the tournament."

DiPanfilo, the transfer from Malden Catholic who had a terrific season, walked out of the gym in disbelief. It was such a bitter ending and, like the rest of his teammates, he was feeling it.

"We'd like to have those nine seconds back, but you can't do that," said DiPanfilo, referring to the fact that Bishop Fenwick couldn't get a shot off after Melillo came through for Wilmington. "I don't think we were an underdog in this game. We should've beaten them."

Clifford and DiPanfilo accounted for 54 of the Crusaders 66 points. Trevor Grace came off the bench to hit a pair of 3-pointers, Nick Cotoia had four points and Phil Eagan had two.

"We wanted to run their big guy (Clifford) all night and try to wear him down," said McCune. "He's the best big man I've seen all year. You have to give Bishop Fenwick a lot of credit. They played us tough all the way."

But not quite tough enough. Melillo saved Wilmington's season and the Crusaders were left with all the what ifs.