Grieg, Williams lead Carroll past Scranton Prep

The shirts Archbishop Carroll printed up read, “Built for March,” with the Carroll C in white and red. With a roster full of freshmen and sophomores, it might’ve helped to specify which March.

This first one for coach Francis Bowe’s group, though, is going pretty well.

Carroll pulled away in the second half and held off a veteran Scranton Prep squad that had already upended one powerful Catholic League foe in a 6656 decision Monday night at Liberty High School in Bethlehem.

Carroll will face Lincoln Park, which won an all-District 7 match over Hampton Monday night, 74-53. It’s the fourth state final in program history for the Patriots and first since 2015.

“Coming into Carroll last year, that was the goal, to change it back to how it was,” sophomore guard Ian Williams said, “back when Ryan Daly, Josh Sharkey, Derrick Jones were here.

That was the goal, to bring the Carroll community back together.”

Carroll (21-8) did it in a classic clash of generations. When all is said and done, this group of Patriots will end up with more players fielding Division I offers than its opponent. But District 2 champ Scranton Prep (19-10) was a cohesive, veteran team with a clear identity. The Cavaliers’ dream run included an upset of Neumann-Goretti in the quarterfinals for its first state semi since 2008, vying for a first ever titlegame berth.

Hence a tie game at 34 at halftime, with something needed to tip the balance after the break.

That would be defense. Scranton Prep had a plan in the third, to pump the ball through Ambrose Rossi in the post. Rossi scored eight of his 17 points in the third, a check against a propensity to rely on 3-point shots. He got the better of two younger if more highly touted bigs in Luca Foster and Drew Corrao.

But Carroll adjusted.

Rossi scored the first two points of the fourth to get the Cavaliers within 5449, then spent most of the fourth on the bench. The Cavaliers got within 58-54 on a 3-pointer from Packy Doherty, then didn’t score for more than five minutes.

Carroll forced them to shoot 2-for-14 from 3-point range in the second half after a 5-for-9 first half.

Daniel Santaniello, a Wilkes commit, scored 11 points in the first half then attempted just one shot after the break. Brycen Martin had 10 points, but he was 3-for-14 from the field, including 1-for-7 in the fourth quarter. Packy Doherty hit three big 3-pointers for nine points, but he was 3-for-6 from beyond.

“Going into the game, we know that Doherty, Martin and Santaniello were their shooters,” Williams said. “So we knew we had to stay connected. In the second half, we were staying more connected because sometimes as kids — we’re young — so (it’s) just being on our assignments more and being more consistent with what our assignments are.”

Despite the experience gap — Carroll’s nine-man roster is composed of six sophomores and three freshmen — the Patriots came up with big plays. Munir Greig, who led all with 20 points, had nine in the first quarter.

“I felt good,” Greig said. “I felt confidence in my shot. I knew from the way I warmed up, I was going to make those shots. First play, we ran five-out, when I came off, Ian passed it to me, I shot, I felt confident, I made another one and I kept going.”

“The kid is special,” Williams said of Greig. “Him being in the game, we know if Mu is ready to go, we’re going to be ready to go. He’s a special talent.”

Williams followed with 17 points, plus five rebounds and five assists. Foster struggled shooting for four points but grabbed 10 boards. Nasir Rawls had 11 points.

Perhaps biggest was Darrell Davis, who scored 12 points. He picked up his fourth foul with 2:38 left in the third. Carroll stabilized to make sure the eightpoint edge when he sat was still seven, 54-47, heading to the fourth. Davis made big plays down the stretch, including a leaping steal of a cross-court pass with under two minutes to play.

“Rell, he’s still 14. He didn’t turn 15 yet,” Williams said. “That’s the best freshmen or young person I’ve ever seen, how he holds his head like that. Sometimes he might get into his head or whatever, but for him to keep his head and his composure for us to get the win, even if he might not have had the best game in his head, we know that he’s still in the game with us trying to help us get the win.”

With the Cavaliers going cold, Davis hit a runner to restore a six-point lead. The teams traded empty possessions, including two of Scranton Prep’s 12 turnovers. Williams twice hit one of two at the line, and three of Carroll’s eight turnovers came in crunch time. But Carroll executed on defense, including Williams standing tall on a Doherty drive in the final minute, and Greig and Rawls hit two free throws each to send them to Hershey.

For a team that struggled in end-game situations early this season, they left little doubt Monday.

“In the fourth quarter, we didn’t do that,” Williams said. “We stuck together and played together to get to Hershey. It was all one goal.”