By Joe Palladino
UNCASVILLE — It’s spring, almost, and that means the perennial bloomed at the Mohegan Sun Arena.
Against all odds, and maybe against all reason, they did it again.
Sacred Heart High boys basketball defeated Notre Dame Catholic of Fairfield, 75-53, on Sunday afternoon at the Arena. It was the fourth straight state championship for the Hearts, and the first of the four in Class L.
It’s a nice set: Two S, one M, one L, and one incredible run.
We have had great teams in this city, for more than a century, great champions, great players, great programs. But no team, no school, no one, no how, has ever done this.
“We came in here with the same winning attitude we had over the years,” said senior Courie Stevenson. “They told us we weren’t going to finish undefeated, we did that. They told us we weren’t going to win the NVL championship, we did that. We came here, we just won another ring. We did what they said we couldn’t.”
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The numbers were impressive Sunday. Isaiah Gaiter led with 24, and 11 rebounds. Omar Rowe had 18, with nine boards, and the seniors, Stevenson and Legend Johnson, both scored 10.
Good numbers yes, but only one number counts: 4.
Johnson, like Stevenson, now has his hand in all four state titles. This one was special, because he is now a senior, yes, but: “Not just because I am a senior,” Johnson said. “There’s no Mustapha (Heron), no Tyrn Flowers, no Charles Fisher, and then Raheem (Solomon) goes down. It speaks for itself.”
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It shouts for itself, loudly.
Solomon, the team’s leading scorer, was injured and lost for the season during the NVL tournament. That, surely, was the end for the Hearts.
Who said that? No chance. This team was, is, too darn good.
“I came down here to watch this team win another championship,” said Solomon, a junior, who hobbled around the arena on crutches after his left knee surgery two weeks ago. “It was amazing to see them come here and get the four-peat done, win another championship, see the seniors get another ring. It was really good to see them win.”
Class L state final | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N.D.-Fairfield | |||||
| FG | FT | Pts. | Reb. | Ast. | |
| Tyler Bourne | 8 | 5 | 24 | 1 | 2 |
| Josh Reaves | 5 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 1 |
| Noreaga Davis | 3 | 3 | 10 | 7 | 0 |
| Colin Burke | 2 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 0 |
| Anthony Mongillo | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Damion Medwinter | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| Woodley Monnexant | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| Stone Appleberg | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gerard Lauture | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rodney Medor | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Philip Conner | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Xavier Giddiens | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Alejandro Sanchez | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 19 | 10 | 29 | 4 | 53 |
| Sacred Heart | |||||
| FG | FT | Pts. | Reb. | Ast. | |
| Isaiah Gaiter | 9 | 6 | 24 | 11 | 2 |
| Omar Rowe | 6 | 6 | 18 | 9 | 0 |
| Legend Johnson | 4 | 0 | 10 | 9 | 2 |
| Courie Stevenson | 5 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 2 |
| Michael West | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| Peyton Stephens | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Gaeley Etienne | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Tariq Price | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Andre Anderson | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Francis Barton | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nahzir Ivester | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 29 | 14 | 75 | 35 | 9 |
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Tot. |
| ND-Fairfield | 11 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 53 |
| Sacred Heart | 16 | 20 | 15 | 24 | 75 |
| 3-pt. FG | |||||
| ND: | Bourne, 3; Davis, 1; Reaves, 1 | ||||
| SH: | Johnson, 1; Ivester, 2 | ||||
Amazing is one word for it, but we need more words, better words, and at this point, we have not come up with them. Even head coach Jon Carroll can’t find them.
“I can’t,” when asked to put all of this into words. “It’s a group of guys that never quit. I have 14, and 11 of them are on the honor roll. Cerebrally, they are all there. They understand how to execute and what to execute.”
OK, they got skill. They got brains. They got game.
They got 4, even after the loss of their best player. Teams just don’t do keep winning, and get better, after that.
The Hearts did.
Sacred Heart in state boys basketball finals | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Class | Champion | Runner-Up | Score |
| 2017 | L | Sacred Heart | N.D.-Fairfield | 75-53 |
| 2016 | M | Sacred Heart | N.D.-Fairfield | 101-49 |
| 2015 | S | Sacred Heart | Valley Regional | 71-46 |
| 2014 | S | Sacred Heart | Valley Regional | 65-56 |
| 2009 | M | Sacred Heart | Bloomfield | 65-59 |
| 1997 | M | Sacred Heart | NW Catholic | 48-46 |
| 1984 | M | Sacred Heart | Weston | 72-48 |
| 1983 | M | St. Thomas Aquinas | Sacred Heart | 73-57 |
| 1967 | L | Sacred Heart | Fairfield Prep | 70-57 |
| 1951 | M | Derby | Sacred Heart | 44-39 |
| 1949 | M | Sacred Heart | Darien | 41-31 |
“Every bit of adversity that life threw at them they said, ‘OK,’” Carroll said. “They just moved on. They’ve been fantastic.”
And maybe the most remarkable trait shown by this team, with Solomon gone, was that they got better, and better, and better, every time they stepped on the floor.
What is the ceiling for these guys?
“I don’t know,” added the coach. “Each kid had to prepare a little better, be a little more focused, even as coaches we went in practice a little more focused, and we scouted a little extra, just to try and make up for what we lost.”
And when it was over, there was no “lost.”
The Hearts are 28-0 again. The Hearts are state champions again.