PLANO: The Varsity Boys Basketball team faced Bishop Lynch for the second time in two weeks on Tuesday night. The Cardinals and Friars put on a show for the ages last time, with JPII eking out a 56-50 victory on the road, and last night proved to be similar.
It truly was a back and forth contest, with a number of ties and lead changes throughout the game. The Cardinals trailed by a pair at halftime after leading for much of the first quarter. Both teams went on big runs in the second half but neither was able to pull away for good.
The Friars led by as much as five in the fourth quarter, but despite some earlier struggles, the Cards' biggest playmakers stepped up when it mattered most. Inside of a minute remaining and trailing by one, senior guard Manny Obaseki chased down a breakaway Friar and delivered a vicious block and then went coast to coast to regain the lead at 77-76. The visitors punched back with a make of their own to put the pressure on, and that's when Jaylon Tyson called game. The Texas Tech commit calmly worked his way across the court with 15 seconds on the clock, picked his point of attack and drove into the lane, sinking a finesse floater with three seconds left to go up 80-79. Bishop Lynch's last second shot attempt came up short and the Cardinals walked away with back-to-back undefeated district slates.
With the win, John Paul II secures its second consecutive TAPPS District title, to go along with the #1 seed entering the postseason. The Cards were led once again by Jaylon Tyson, who went off for 26 points, including 7 of 9 from the charity stripe, to go along with five rebounds, four assists, and a pair of steals. Texas A&M signee Manny Obaseki made an impact on both ends of the court, dropping 19 points on 7 of 13, including four rebounds, two assists, a steal, and a block.
Junior big man Cameron Corhen has been a double-double machine all year, and last night was no different. The rim-protector tallied 20 points on an efficient 7 of 9 shooting, paired with 12 rebounds. Senior Cameron Brown (6 pts), sophomore Gabe Warren (5 pts), and junior Eli Obaseki (4 pts) all chipped in during the winning effort. Senior winger Nick Kendall was a team-high +13 and made countless plays that never showed up on the stat sheet.
As the #1 overall seed, the Cardinals now await the winner of Parish Episcopal and All Saints Episcopal who face off in the TAPPS Bi-District round later this week.
