Girard College uses depth to capture crown

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – The Kennedy Catholic boys' basketball team is invincible with standout guard Kyle Randall. Girard College, as good as it is, will never win a PIAA state title.

Oh, really?

The Cavaliers destroyed a few myths yesterday afternoon.

Girard College defeated Kennedy Catholic, 80-70, in the Class A boys' basketball state championship game at Penn State's Bryce Jordan Center.

"Throughout the whole tournament, we were the underdog," Cavaliers senior swingman Lance Devero said. "People were predicting us to lose. But first of all, I would like to say no team in this [classification] will beat us with a one-man show."

Randall was supposed to make Girard College's first state championship appearance a miserable one. The 6-foot standout, who has offers from Stanford and Cleveland State, was supposed to cap his career with a spectacular performance.

He did the latter, finishing with a game-high 33 points. But it was the Cavaliers - not the Golden Eagles - who made the big plays.

Utilizing a 2-2-1 pressure defense, Girard College forced 22 turnovers. When the Cavaliers weren't stealing the ball, they were scoring transition layups.

Girard College's John Johnson shot 11 of 18 from the field to score 30 points. The 6-foot-1 sophomore point guard also finished with seven steals and four assists.

"This will end up being the biggest game of my career if I don't make it back" to the championship, said a teary-eyed Johnson, who was coming off a 37-point semifinal performance. "But I'm trying to get back two more times."

Devero and Torrell Candelaria were Girard College's other double-figure scorers.

Devero made 8 of 11 field goals to finish with 20 points, six rebounds, three steals and two assists. Candelaria, a junior guard, finished with 15 points and four steals. The trio enabled Girard College to cap the season with a 14-game winning streak.

The Cavaliers also denied Kennedy Catholic's bid to tie Farrell's record of seven state titles. Instead, the Golden Eagles (27-3) dropped to 0-3 in their last three state title games.

Senior center Aundra Jones (14 points, 13 rebounds) joined Randall as Kennedy Catholic's double-figure scorers. The rest of their teammates combined to make just seven field goals.

"Randall is tough," Johnson said. "He just didn't get any help. . . . Everything went through him. He was the only one looking to score."

Even that wasn't easy. Half of Randall's 16 second-half points came from the foul line. He made eight of 11 free throws after intermission and was 13 for 17 for the game.

Unable to get many open looks against Girard College's pressure, shooting foul shots was one of Randall's few options. Four of his game-high five turnovers came after intermission.

"We heard that they had never been pressured before," said Johnson, whose squad began pressing the Golden Eagles late in the second quarter. "Once we put the pressure on them, they weren't really scoring like that."

The Cavaliers took the lead for good when Candelaria's layup made it a 43-42 game with 4 minutes, 15 seconds left in the third quarter. That was Girard College's first lead since a 6-4 advantage in the first quarter.

"This is the greatest feeling in the world," Devero said while clutching his state championship gold medal.

Girard College 13 21 17 29 - 80

Kennedy Catholic 24 16 8 22 - 70

GC: John Johnson 30, Tony Candelaria 15, Andre Rivers 8, Ahmir Whiting 3, Lance Devero 20, Nate Wright 2, Clifford White 2.

KC: Kyle Randall 33, Aundra Jones 14, Philip Kaikis 9, Jesse Hardin 6, Mike Klaric 3, Rocky Farmartino 2, Jake Penn 3.