DALLAS:  The Varsity Boys Basketball team went on the road last night to face the Friars in a TAPPS contest and their penultimate game of the regular season.  JPII and Bishop Lynch met once previously this year, with the Cards taking a a decisive 73-37 victory in the semi-finals of the Lake Country Tournament back in December.  Monday night's matchup would prove to be much closer, as the Cards were tested early and often.  

The two teams seemed even through the first quarter of play, with JPII holding a slim one-point lead 16-15 after the first eight minutes.  The Friars would not quit and took control of the lead early in the second quarter, but the Cardinals fought back, heading into halftime up 36-32.  In the second half both teams traded buckets for the remainder of the game, with JPII leading by as much as eight, but again the Friars closed the gap and cut the lead to one point several times in the fourth quarter.  Eventually the Cardinals pulled away, shutting down the Bishop Lynch upset bid with a 56-50 victory.  

Both teams struggled to shoot from deep, but JPII had a handful of advantages in key areas, including points off turnovers (12 to 0), points in the paint (32 to 26), steals (7 to 2), and blocks (8 to 1).  The Cards had four players record double-digit point outputs, led by seniors Cameron Brown (12 pts, 7 reb, 3 stl, 1 blk) and Manny Obaseki (12 pts, 4 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl, 4 blk), whom much of the offense ran through last night.  Cameron Corhen held down the paint with another double-double, including 11 points, 10 rebounds, one steal, and two blocks, while Jaylon Tyson poured in ten points, four rebounds, four assists, one steal, and one block.  

With the narrow win, John Paul II now sits at 22-1 on the year, with a perfect 5-0 record in district contests.  Next up for the Cardinals is a rematch with the Friars on Monday, this time at home, as JPII looks to keep its two-year TAPPS unbeaten streak alive.