The REPORTER
Josh Henderson’s layin with less than one second remaining lifted University to a thrilling 70-68 win over Bishop Chatard Monday evening, capping a furious rally from 12 points down with less than six minutes remaining.
University inbounded from deep in the corner to Henderson outside the three-point line on the right wing. The junior beat his man off the dribble with his left hand, took three dribbles and scored the bucket to send The U Center crowd in to a frenzy.
The Trailblazers had rallied from a pair of 16-point first half deficits to get as close as five points in the third quarter, but Chatard pulled back out to a 61-49 lead with 5:52 remaining. Henderson made two free throws to start the comeback. Sophomore Jaxen Bennett drilled a three pointer to cut the lead to 61-54 with 4:33 left. After Chatard missed two free throws Henderson’s three pointer from the left corner pulled the Blazers within 61-57.
Chatard scored to push the lead back to six before Faisal Mohamud split two foul shots. Henderson had a steal that led to a Blake Gray three pointer to cut the lead to 63-61 with 2:50 left. After a defensive stand by University, Gray found Henderson for the bucket that tied the game at 63 with 2:20 left, capping a 14-2 burst by the Trailblazers.
Chatard retook the lead at 64-63 with 1:53 left on a free throw. Henderson put University on top for the first time since 5-2 by making two foul shots with 1:26 left. Gray had a steal and layin with 1:11 left for a 67-64 University lead. The Trojans scored on a deep two pointer with a minute left. Henderson was fouled with 41 seconds left and split a pair of free throws for a 68-66 University lead. Ari Sahm scored for Chatard with 28 seconds left to tie the game at 68. University missed a shot with under ten seconds left with ball going out of bounds after a wild scramble to set the stage for Henderson’s game winner after two timeouts.
Chatard entered the game shooting 29 percent on three pointers and averaging four three point makes a game. The Trojans made four three pointers in the first quarter alone as they raced to a 21-10 lead after the opening quarter, closing on a 7-0 run. 6-10 junior Zack McCormack and 5-9 junior Mikey Lane each made two triples in the quarter.
The Chatard lead reached 35-19 with 1:45 left in the half before a late University flurry cut the lead to 37-27 at halftime. McGee made a basket before Gray had a pair of steals and baskets. Mohamud found Henderson for a dunk with eight seconds left to send University to the locker room with some momentum. While University did get within 48-43 late in the third quarter, Chatard still led by 10 after three quarters as University struggled with Chatard’s size.
Henderson scored 14 of his game-high 23 points in the fourth quarter. Gray had seven of his 14 points in the final quarter and a team high five steals. Joshua McGee had 13 points. Faisal Mohamud had nine points and dished out a team high nine assists.
McCormick tied Henderson for game high scoring honors with 23 points. Sahm added 21 points, 15 in the second half.
Each team made seven three pointers. Each team made 13 of 18 foul shots. University had an 18-17 edge in two-point baskets thanks to Henderson’s game winner.
University improved to 11-3 on the season. Chatard is now 4-12.
The Trailblazers lost to Liberty Christian 69-65 Tuesday in a road Pioneer Academic Athletic Conference game. The Lions captured the PAAC North Division championship and clinches a berth in the PAAC championship game to be held Feb. 13 at the South Division winner. Park Tudor currently leads the South Division and can clinch a spot in the title game with a win over Bethesda Christian tonight.
