Holy Ghost's Byrne hits crucial jumper in district triumph

Holy Ghost Prep emerged from the District 1 Class AAA tournament the same way the Firebirds went in – on top.

Senior guard Mike Byrne hit a step-back three-pointer from the left wing, two steps behind the arc, with 3.5 seconds remaining, and the top-seed Firebirds, ranked No. 9 in Southeastern Pennsylvania by the Inquirer, defeated third-seeded Springfield Delco, 47-42, on Saturday at the Pavilion at Villanova University.

"That was a tough shot that kid hit," Springfield guard Zack DeVito said as he emerged from a quiet Cougars' locker room. "He had pressure on him. It was just a good shot."

Holy Ghost (23-3), the Bicentennial League champions, held off Springfield as the Cougars' senior forward Wally Rutecki – the quarterback of the school's football team – threw a full court fly pattern that sailed over both team's players and out of bounds, giving the Firebirds the ball under their offensive basket.

Firebirds 6-foot-6 junior forward Ryan Lantzy, who scored 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds, then hit two free throws to seal Holy Ghost's first district title since 2003-04.

But the talk after the game centered on Byrne, who had a game-high 18 points, and his 11 fourth-quarter points and 4-of-6 shooting, including the game-winner.

"It was his game, it seemed, in the fourth quarter," said Holy Ghost coach Tony Chapman. "I've been on the other hand of those types of things many times in my career. It's heartbreaking to lose a game like that so I know how it feels, but certainly I'd rather be on this end."

Asked whether he thought Byrne's shot, taken from in front of Ghost's basket, would go in, Chapman said: "Both (assistant coach) Gary (Nolan) and myself . . . thought it looked a little bit right. But thank God neither of us can see."

Holy Ghost will meet Archbishop Carroll, District 12's No. 3 seed, in the opening round of states on March 12. Springfield will take on Dobbins, District 12's runner-up and the Public League Class AAA champions.

Springfield junior forward Adam Washington led the Cougars with 15 points and four rebounds, sinking three treys. Dave Carpenter added eight on two three-pointers.

The Cougars (18-8) held their final lead of the game, 40-39, with 2:46 remaining on a basket by junior forward Brendan McNamee.

Holy Ghost senior forward Duffy Barrett and Lantzy combined to make three foul shots and give the Firebirds a 42-40 lead with 1 minute, 20 seconds to play.

But then Rutecki sank a jumper from the top of the key to tie the game 42-42 with 59 seconds remaining.

"Usually teams don't go bucket-to-bucket with us," Byrne said.

Holy Ghost then held the ball in a four corners set and called a timeout once the Cougars' defense had the Firebirds on their heels.

That allowed Chapman to set the final play, which had shooter Tyler Juchno (seven points) on the right wing and some operating room on the left off a screen.

"I wanted to cross back over and take a pull up around the foul line area," said Byrne, who said with fewer than four seconds remaining, he sensed his team wouldn't get a better shot than his long-range jumper.

Holy Ghost won despite making just 8-of-17 free throws, including beginning the game 0-for-8 at the line before sophomore guard Timothy Lazorko sank his second with four seconds remaining in the third quarter to give the Firebirds a 31-28 lead.

"I'm very proud of our team for hanging in there," said Chapman, whose team is now 23-3. "We seemed to feel a little bit of pressure in this game. I thought they played looser . . . I thought our kids were a little bit tight. The experience factor was very important down the stretch.

"No matter what was happening, we did seem to hold it together."

Senior center Nate Lorence had six points and seven rebounds for the Firebirds.

Springfield (D)   11 8 9 14 - 42

Holy Ghost Prep   10 12 9 16 - 47

S: Adam Washington 15, Steve Baker 2, Wally Rutecki 6, Zack DeVito 6, Brendan McNamee 5, Dave Carpenter 8.

HGP: Tyler Juchno 7, Mike Byrne 18, Owen Kirby 2, Duffy Barrett 1, Nate Lorence 6, Ryan Lantzy 12, Timothy Lazorko 1.