Heathwood Hall’s controversial win vs. Cardinal Newman clinches playoff bye, share of region crown
No one had a good sense for what exactly was going on.
The Cardinal Newman boys basketball team had the ball with 1:13 left on the clock leading by a point Thursday night, moments after forcing a turnover against host Heathwood Hall in a battle for a share of the region and a playoff bye. Just after it was inbounded, a errant horn blew from the scorer’s table, and a Cardinals player casually lobbed the ball back to an official.
Only play hadn’t stopped. The ball went out of bounds and back to the Highlanders. On the ensuing possession, Justice Hill slithered along the baseline for the go-ahead lay-up, and Heathwood Hall held on for the 53-47 victory.
“Honestly, that’s a call that the officials have to make,” Highlanders coach Jeff Whalen said. “Been on the other side of those kind of calls before. I hate it for any team, but we’ve got to keep playing.”
Cardinal Newman (15-12, 5-3 Region 1-3A) was coming off a big upset of Hammond and was looking for revenge after a Heathwood Hall (16-7, 6-2) had won the first meeting of the season. The win, one Whalen called the program’s biggest in a few years, locks the Highlanders into a share of the title, and a Hammond loss Friday would give Heathwood the outright crown (Hammond holds the tiebreaker).
Newman had staged a rally, trailing most of the game but coming back to take a small lead late.
“It’s a hard way to finish it,” Cardinal Newman coach Branden Conrad said. “But at the end of the day, that’s the call that’s made, and we’ve got to step up and get a stop there. You’ve got to give Heathwood credit.”
The host Highlanders ran a patient offense, trying to limit the impact of the Cardinals’ athleticism. Josh Caldwell poured in 30 points and had six rebounds in the win, and Hill added 14 and 5. Brandon Martin led Cardinal Newman with nine points, and four Cardinals had at least six.
CN: Martin 9, Carter Jr. 7, Jones 5, Andrews 8, Gatling 3, Williams 3, O’Connor 1, Dunlap 3, Reedy 2. HH: Caldwell 30, Joseph 2, Vaughn 3, Spurrier 4, Hill 14
Girls
Heathwood Hall 44, Cardinal Newman 43: Heathwood Hall (6-14) rallied, erasing a six-point halftime deficit in the third quarter and pulling ahead in the late going. Sophomore Mya Parter scored 21 points for the Highlanders, while Mary Emma Dayhuff had 16 in the loss.
CN: Dayhuff 16, Meyers 7, Aufuldish 6, Murphy 4, Hill 2, Coates 2, McGovern 2, Dobbs 2, Maddock 1, Bacon 1. HH: Parter 21, Whittaker 9, Goodwin 8, McInnis 4, Hanna 2.
This story was originally published February 11, 2016 at 11:27 PM with the headline "Heathwood Hall’s controversial win vs. Cardinal Newman clinches playoff bye, share of region crown."