Fenwick 56
Bishop Mac 43
The Fenwick boys basketball team may have hit upon a new winning formula. It doesn’t have anything to do with half-court presses or zone defenses. The plan should be to make sure Jose Gamboa scores seven or more points in the game, and the win can be considered a given for the Friars.
The senior scored 10 points to help lead his team to a 56-43 victory during Senior Night at Fenwick on Friday night. The Friars are now 9-0 when Gamboa has scored seven or more points in a game.
“We should really just go with that strategy,” joked Fenwick head coach John Quinn. “Give Gamboa the ball and let the statistics play out.”
With the seniors paving the way, including Sam Figliulo, Mike Loni, Will Kemp and James Gancer, the Friars (15-9) led 48-32 after three quarters. But what has become nearly common this season for the team happened in the fourth as Fenwick failed to score for a full six minutes, missing nine straight shots. David Suwada broke the dry spell with a jumper with 2:20 left in the game. The basket put the Friars up 52-42 and quelled any chances of a late rally by Bishop McNamara.
“With the playoffs on the horizon, it’s just not something you want to see happen late in a game,” said Quinn. “We need to be playing four quarters straight of basketball.”
Bishop McNamara junior guard Derek O’Connor led all scorers with 20 points. Michael Black led the Friars with 19 points, while Vince Humphrey added 12 to go along with his six rebounds.
The Friars finished the Catholic League schedule with an 8-4 record across the board. They were set to close out the regular season last night (Tuesday, Feb. 24) with a game at Northside Prep (after deadline).
Both Black and Humphrey were selected First Team All-Catholic League last week.
Fenwick opens the playoffs March 4 at Farragut (8 p.m.).
