Last second free throw lifts Detroit Catholic Central over Divine Child in the Catholic league Quarterfinals

The most anticipated game of the day in the Detroit Catholic League Quarterfinals lived up to the billing. Detroit Catholic Central (10-5) took on a red hot Divine Child (12-3) that had not lost since December.

Catholic Central is a fundamental team with a ton of good size and is very physical, with a balanced offensive attack, led by Davis Lukomski, Justin Rukat and AJ Abdelnour.

Divine Child possesses one of the top players in Michigan in William & Mary commit Quinn Blair. Blair has been the driving force behind Divine Child's success this season. Supporting Blair is Parker LePage, Kyle Gurney and Cameron Urbanick.

The first quarter in this game was slow like the other quarterfinal games that occurred before this game. The Shamrocks of Catholic Central and the Falcons of Divine Child were all tied at 11 after one. Christian Girjis had 6 to lead CC, while Quinn Blair had 5 for D.C.

The 2nd quarter was when the tempo began to improve, as both teams began getting transition opportunities. Divine Child's players seemed a little better equipped for a up and down game, and went into the break with a 31-24 halftime lead. Parker LePage had a huge quarter for D.C. He had 11 at the break and was getting a lot of his buckets in transition, and hit a three at the buzzer to give them the 7 point lead.

The 3rd quarter was again pretty entertaining, as Detroit Catholic Central managed to chip away at the lead a bit and took some momentum into the 4th quarter. Divine Child managed to keep their lead, but it was now down 41-38.

The fourth quarter was much lower scoring, but the atmosphere was great and it was a very intense 8 minutes. As the game wound down, the refs began blowing their whistles a lot more than what was likely necessary. It slowed down the tempo but the crowd maintained their energy.

With the game tied, Keegan Koehler of Detroit Catholic Central got fouled with just 7 seconds left, and managed to make his second free throw. Divine Child raced down the floor and called timeout with 1.8 seconds left. On the ensuing inbounds play, they threw a lob to Quinn Blair, who had a good look, but the shot did not fall. You could argue that there may have been a foul but once the horn sounded it was moot. Catholic Central managed to hang on for a 49-48 victory, that was more entertaining than the final score would indicate.

Davis Lukomski and Justin Rukat led the Shamrocks with 12 points apiece. Rukat also was a force inside, blocking 5 shots and altering a few more thanks to his long 6'7 frame. 6'5 center Christian Girjis added 10 as well.

Quinn Blair led Divine Child and scored a game high 17 points, grabbed 6 rebounds and had 5 steals. Blair struggled a bit more than normal with his jump shot, but was able to get to the line at will. Kyle Gurney filled the stat sheet as well for Divine Child, scoring 14 points, getting 4 steals and dishing 3 assists. Parker LePage added 13 points. All 13 for LePage came in the first three quarters and 11 came in the first half.