Cardinal Newman tops rival Hammond for SCISA 3A boys title

In-town basketball rivals Cardinal Newman and Hammond are no strangers on the court. That was a known in their third meeting this year, at the Sumter County Civic Center Saturday night.

What wasn’t known until tip-off was how the Cardinals game was red hot. Chico Carter Jr. scored 22 points and led his team to a second-quarter surge over the Skyhawks. From there on, it was a game of defense and rebounds en route to a 57-41 victory over Hammond that secured the SCISA 3A state championship.

It was Cardinal Newman’s first title since 2013. The Cardinals were runner-up in 2014 and 2017.

“I think our guys understand what we try to do,” Cardinals head coach Philip Deter said. “We try to get the ball to the rim, and if our 3 ball’s falling, we’re good. But if not, you’ve got to get to the rim and take care of possessions, you need to defend and rebound, and that’s what we did.”

Cardinal Newman (25-5) held a 15-10 lead on Hammond going into the second quarter. When Silas Christie cut the lead to 15-12, Carter and others sank three 3-pointers on a 12-0 scoring run down to the 2:34 mark of the second.

With the Cardinals leading 27-17 at the half, the only thing left was keeping that lead solid.

“I love going out on top, I give thanks to my team,” Carter said. “All through the season, I love those boys. It’s all to my team.”

Josh Beadle scored 15 for the Cardinals, who closed out the third quarter with a 15-point lead and never let up on the Skyhawks.

Jordan Burch led Hammond (17-7) with 14 points.

The Cardinals victory was representative of what the team is, Deter said.

“These guys work hard,” the coach said about his team. ‘They show up to events, they show up in the weight room, they’re in practice, they’re working out, they’re part of the community and they love it.”

C: Chico Carter Jr. 22, Josh Beadle 15, Earle 9, Tyler 5,Tucker 4, Christie 2. H: Jordan Burch 14, Green 9, Wilson 7, Lipsitz 6, Toman 3, Canty 2

This story was originally published February 23, 2019 at 10:43 PM.