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| Ludlowe fans cheer on their team during Saturday's FCIAC Quarterfinal (Aiden Blanc) |
FAIRFIELD - Starting strong was a must for Fairfield Ludlowe in their FCIAC Quarterfinal win over 5th seeded St.Joseph on Saturday.
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| Ludlowe senior James Bourque defends his man (Aiden Blanc) |
The Falcons would do just that, jumping out to a 17-2 lead and ending the first quarter ahead 19-4 thanks to a pair of threes from Patrick Kilbride and 8 points from Rowan Kesser. "We stressed getting off to a hot start and shooting the ball with confidence" said Ludlowe head coach John Dailey. "We executed our gameplay so well" added Senior James Bourque, "That [First Quarter] really set the tone for the game".
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| Senior Rowan Kesser waits for a rebound (Aiden Blanc) |
St.Joes responded by outscoring the Falcons in the second 21-18. Jason James led the way with 9, Tommy Shannon put up 4 and three other Cadets scored baskets to cut the lead to 12. "We knew they would make a run" said Dailey, "They got to the rim at will there at times". Despite getting outscored, the Falcons took a 37-25 lead into the locker room at the half.
The third quarter would be a big one for St.Joseph, who cut the lead to 8 going into the fourth thanks to 8 from senior Paul Fabbri. "We knew they would come back" said Bourque, "We knew that they would start hitting their shots and get more aggressive on the glass".
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| Falcons Patrick Leverty and Patrick Kilbride block their men from a rebound (Aiden Blanc) |
It looked like the momentum was in favor of the Cadets heading to the fourth, but Ludlowe would battle late to claim victory and a spot in the semifinals, taking the game 71-60. "That's what I love about this team" claimed Bourque, "Even if we're not making shots, I'm making free throws, we always find a way to win and that's what we did tonight", "We have so many weapons, if you focus on one guy, the other four are gonna go off with 10-15 points each".
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| The Ludlowe bench looks on during Saturday's FCIAC Quarterfinal (Aiden Blanc) |
Sam Sweeney lead the Ludlowe offense, with 20 points overall to propel the Falcons to victory. Jason James was at the top of the points column for the Cadets with 19 in the losing effort.
Box Score
Ludlowe 71, St.Joseph 60
FL - 19 18 11 22
71
SJ - 4 21 15 21
60
Ludlowe
Ian Bentley - 12, James Bourque - 7, Patrick Kilbride - 10, Sam Sweeney - 20, Rowan Kesser - 19, Patrick Leverty - 2, Connor Lawlor - 0, James Mockler - 0
St.Joseph
Glenn Manigault - 6, Wil, Diamantis - 4, Paul Fabbri - 14, Jason James - 19, Brian Robertson - 0, Tommy Shannon - 8, Derrick Long - 7, Hayden Gourley - 0, Carson Arkay - 0
3 Pointers
FL - Kilbride (2), Sweeney SJ - James, Long
