TOWN AND COUNTRY • With district drama around the corner next week, Vianney and host CBC decided to get everyone used to late-game heroics with a barnburner on Friday night.
And, just like they have all season, the Golden Griffins rose to the occasion.
Trailing by a point in overtime, long-range specialist Tony Cochran nailed a 3-pointer from the corner with 58 seconds left. The Cadets couldn't answer, and the Griffins added three free throws down the stretch for a 63-58 victory.
"I was struggling all night, and I kept telling myself that I was going to hit a big shot down the stretch," said Cochran, who ended up four of 11 from beyond the arc and finished with 14 points. "I got a good screen from my teammates, and I was able to knock it down. I was pretty wide open."
With the victory, Vianney (24-1), the No. 2 team in the STLhighschoolsports.com large-school rankings, completed an 8-0 sweep through the Metro Catholic Conference.
"I'm really proud of that," said Vianney coach Kevin Walsh, whose team was only the fourth MCC squad to go unbeaten in conference play during his 17 years with the program. "It puts us in pretty elite company. Our guys just kept battling, and in the end found a way to win."
Walsh said Cochran, especially in late-game situations, continues to be unflappable.
"He's been doing that his whole career," Walsh said. "When he has space, we almost just assume it's in. That was a clutch shot."
CBC had grabbed a 58-57 lead with 1:20 to play in overtime on a jumper from Aarion Maxey-Penton. The Cadets (16-10, 4-4) got 15 points each from Jared Barnes and Jordan Barnett.
Vianney, which got a team-high 17 points from Brad Woodson, had to come up with some heroics in regulation just to get to the extra period.
The game was tied at 50, and the Griffins had possession, when Barnes stole the ball and drove in for a layup for a two-point lead with 20 seconds remaining.
Vianney hustled back downcourt, and as he drove to the basket, Woodson was fouled in the lane with 4.3 seconds to play. He knocked down both of his free throws to send the game to overtime.
"This is probably one of the toughest places to shoot free throws in our league," Walsh said. "They've got their student section right underneath the basket, and those kids are loud, creative and crazy."
The Cadets opened the game on fire and grabbed a 13-7 advantage midway through the second quarter. But a 3-pointer from Woodson ignited an 11-5 Vianney run, and the Griffins led 21-20 at the half.
Vianney added another run at the start of the third quarter, this time an 11-2 one to pull ahead 32-22 midway through the third.
But CBC, which also got 10 points from Maxey-Penton, battled back to knot things at 48. The Cadets then went ahead by two and appeared to have the upperhand.
But the Griffins, especially Woodson and Cochran, stepped up at crunch time.
"Good shooters find a way to get it done, and he did," CBC coach Bob McCormack said of Cochran. "We had our chances, there is no doubt about it. That was a classic MCC battle, and this one... It was really hard to be on the losing end of it."
McCormack said Vianney's run through the conference was quite a feat.
"It's not easy to do," McCormack said. "They are having a heck of a year."
