Recap: Roman 72, Neumann-Goretti 65

Analysis of Monday's Catholic League boys' basketball championship at the Palestra:

What happened: Roman jumped out to an early lead and Neumann-Goretti, so deadly from the outside, couldn't make a three-pointer.

Key run: Neumann-Goretti never could overcome the 11-0 spurt that Roman used to start the game. N-G kept chipping away, eventually tying it at 44, but never got the lead.

What it means: The Cahillites get to keep the crown they wrestled away from Neumann-Goretti last year. The Saints had won the previous six from 2009-14.

Heroes for Roman: Lamar Stevens was at times unstoppable with a game-high 22 points and 13 rebounds. Tony Carr added 21 and Nazeer Bostick chipped in 12. All three are seniors headed for Penn State next season.

Stars for the Saints: Vaughn Covington had 16 points, Quade Green and Zane Martin had 15 and Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree had 14.

Key stat: Neumann-Goretti shot 2-for-22 from three-point land. Their first "three" came late in the third quarter to tie it at 44.

Put out that light: Roman's student section held up flashlights from their smartphones in an attempt to distract Neumann-Goretti foul shooters. That strategy quickly ended with the PA announcement that a technical foul would be called the next time it happened.

Most violent collision: Actually came in the girls game when Archbishop Wood's Claire Bassetti slammed into Neumann-Goretti's Alisha Kebbe diving for a loose ball.

One other thing: The victory by Roman prevented Neumann-Goretti coach Carl Arrigale from surpassing Roman legend Dennis Seddon's record for Catholic League titles. Both Arrigale and Seddon have 10.

Next for Roman Catholic: Play Martin Luther King on Friday at Saint Joseph's for the District 12 AAAA championship. Tip time is tentatively scheduled for 5:30 p.m.

Next for Neumann-Goretti: Play Del Val Charter at Saint Joseph's on Friday for the District 12 AAA championship. Start time is tentatively 8:45 p.m.

@EdBarkowitz