It was truly a game of runs for McAuley Catholic in a 65-57 win over Exeter on Tuesday.
McAuley took a five-point lead into the final eight minutes of play and kept the pace until pulling out to a double-digit lead with a 13-2 run down the stretch to seal the win.
“It’s big,” McAuley first-year coach Tony Witt said of the Senior Night win. “We started out losing in the last three seconds at home. We go 0-3 at Diamond … and we got down on ourselves a little bit at the end of that tournament. For us to go out and play well against Pierce City and to hold onto this one, it is really big for our momentum heading into the Christmas break.”
SENIOR NIGHT
McAuley honored five seniors before tipoff—Joe Lupicki, Matthew Dohmen, Thomas Black, Daniel Wagner and Cade Englert.
“With me being the fourth (head coach) in four years, for them to stick it out really says a lot about them and their character,” Witt said. “We’re thrilled to have them. They welcomed me with open arms from the get-go in June. They’ve done unbelievable things for us on and off the floor.”
GAME NOTES
The Warriors used a 5-0 run to close the first quarter to build an 11-7 lead. Exeter answered with a six-point run to open the second period to take its first lead of the game, 13-12, off a 3-pointer from Kris Allen at the 5:08 mark.
From there, the lead changed hands three more times before a 7-0 run from McAuley, with baskets from Black, Dohmen and Wagner, to give the Warriors a 21-15 advantage with less than four minutes to play in the half.
McAuley turned a five-point halftime lead into a 10-point, 37-27 advantage on a pair of free throws from Dohmen with 4:37 on the clock.
The Tigers battled back to cut the deficit to five to start the fourth quarter and used a 5-2 run to trim the lead down to one possession, 47-45, with 6:10 left to play.
The Warriors answered with the final momentum swing, outscoring Exeter 13-2 over the next four-plus minutes of game action to build a 60-47 cushion with 1:27 left in regulation. Wagner started the run with a three-point play. Dohmen drove to the hoop for two baskets, with Black and Jeffrey Horinek adding scores to fill out the run.
“They were playing together,” Witt said of his team’s play down the stretch. “We finally settled down and started to do what we wanted to do instead of playing their game. I thought we were excellent in the half court the last four minutes of the game. I think that is the difference maker right there.”
The Tigers cut the lead to six several times in the closing minutes, but never drew any closer before the final horn.
“I think they did a really good job of speeding us up,” Witt said. “We don’t necessarily want to play that way, and I think they did a good job of making us play their game. … You have to give credit to (Exeter) because they were making plays down the stretch.”
SCORING LEADERS
Wagner led McAuley with a game-high 27 points, with 16 coming in the second half. Black added 17 points. Wagner and Black combined to score 25 of the Warriors 34 points in the second and third quarters.
“They are huge for us,” Witt said. “They are our work horses. Without them, we are probably going to struggle a little bit in that situation if they don’t step up. They did a tremendous job.”
Dohmen finished with 13 to give McAuley three players in double figures.
Allen led Exeter with a game-high 29 points in the loss.
