Sports
Notre Dame Of Fairfield Falls To Trinity Catholic In Class M Semifinals
The 62-59 overtime defeats ends the Lancers' season at 23-4
The dream of the Notre Dame of Fairfield boys basketball team to return to the state championship game for the first time in more than three decades came up less than eight seconds short Tuesday night.
Trinity Catholic forced overtime on Schadrac Casimir's 3-pointer with 7.7 seconds remaining, then defeated the Lancers 62-59 in the semifinals of the Class M state tournament before an overflow crowd at Masuk.
Casimir, who scored 25 points, also made 13 of his 15 free-throw attempts in the second half and overtime. And he did it while feeling under the weather.
Find out what's happening in Fairfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
"It was a gutsy performance by Casimir,” said Trinity Catholic coach Mike Walsh, who is headed to his 11th state final. “He was throwing up at the half cause he wasn’t feeling well, but he did what he had to do.”
Jonathan Boykin added 12 points for the Crusaders, who will face top seed Career Magnet in the finals on Friday or Saturday.
Find out what's happening in Fairfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
While Notre Dame (23-4) was seeking its first final appearance since 1980, the Crusaders (17-9) are headed back for the eighth time since 2000.
“I had confidence in my boys, but I didn’t know how far they would develop,” Walsh said. “It’s been the development of our guards that have been the big plus.”
The Lancers appeared to be in good shape, building a 35-26 halftime lead behind sophomore Daniel Upchurch, who scored 18 of his 24 points in the first half.
But Trinity Catholic held Upchurch, who made five 3-pointers, scoreless in the third quarter and used a 14-2 to take a 43-42 lead into the final period.
“I thought we played with more energy and our defensive efforts were a little bit better in the second half,” Walsh said. “
The Crusaders put that defense on display in the third quarter, holding the Lancers to only seven points.
With the Lancers leading 52-50, Notre Dame's Arkel Miles only hit one of two from the line with 21 seconds remaining to keep it a one-possession game. Casimir's 3-pointer forced overtime at 53-53.
“My teammates really supported me,” Casimir said. “They told me to fight and that’s what I did.”
Casimir then hit seven of eight free throws in overtime, giving the Crusaders a 62-59 lead with nine seconds left. Upchurch had a chance to tie, but missed a jumper from the top of the key with time running down.
Earl Coleman added 12 points for Notre Dame and Tre McPherson chipped in with 10.
