Archbishop Ryan defeated Roman Catholic on Monday night in the Philadelphia Catholic League boys championship game after an electrifying final sequence that saw one apparent game-winner superseded by an even more clutch shot.
After a late basket by Roman’s Shareef Jackson sent the game to overtime, Ryan had the ball in the closing seconds of the extra period trailing by two. The Ryan players passed the ball around the perimeter until Ryan Everett was able to get behind the defense and knock down a wide-open three to give the Raiders the lead with about eight seconds on the clock.
But then Roman senior Kabe Goss had a heroic moment of his own. He took the inbounds pass and dribbled down the court. Just inside the three-point line, he pulled up and buried a jumper just as time expired to win the game.
— AD (@lost_inthesauce) February 27, 2024
Here’s what it looked like from inside the historic Palestra.
FINAL: Roman Catholic 46, Archbishop Ryan 45. … Kabe Goss answers a Ryan Everett three with a winner at the buzzer. RC goes back to back. pic.twitter.com/0HIgaGFkM2
— Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue) February 27, 2024
That’s as good a final sequence as you’ll see at any level of basketball.
The win gave Roman its second straight Philadelphia Catholic League title and its 34th overall. It also marked the third straight season with a championship for Goss, who won a league title at the Solebury School as a sophomore and division, county and regional championships as junior last year at Trenton High School in New Jersey. The 5'7" point guard isn’t committed to play in college, but plenty of coaches at the next level should be interested in that sort of winning pedigree.
