By Max Mercy, SDPSN Staff Writer

Lancers come up smelling like roses, in overtime!
St. Rose of Lima captures first county championship since 2004

Last year St. Rose of Lima came so close to winning the county championship, that it haunted coach Mike Arney for a whole year. In 2013, his top player, Jaylen Hands (Mater Dei Catholic’s freshman phenom), was as cold as an ice cream cone. His second best player was out of town. And yet they almost pulled it out against Instituto Mexico.

That was 2013. This year, the Lancers played like a team possessed by past failures. They won’t have to look back again.

St. Rose of Lima captured the 60th Annual Saints Alumni Parochial Basketball Championships of SD County. They defeated the #1 seed of the tournament, the Mustangs from School of the Madeleine, 42-36, in overtime.

It was an exciting game from start to finish. The Mustangs held the Lancers best player, Jordan McDaniel, to just one point in the first half. But the Mustangs had their own worries. Their big man, Michael Yourg, had three personal fouls midway through the first half. And he was their leading scorer with four points in the first half. Their point guard, Jeffrey Jackson, who had been spectacular during the tournament, was held scoreless the whole game.

Sebastian Acevedo, the big man for the Lancers, came up big in the first half with big time rebounds, blocks and scoring six points. Their other guard Anthony Hindi, who had been cold in the semifinals, added six points, too.

Meanwhile, Madeleine just couldn’t get moving. With Yourg out most of the first half, Andrew Alves was called on to carry the load. He was double teamed, and couldn’t do it on his own. Luckily for the Mustangs, Josh Sprague, Jacob Allred, Michael Pendergast, and Jacob Jackson each added a basket. At halftime, St. Rose led 18-14.

In the second half, the Mustangs woke up. Jacob Allred, easily the best sixth man in the tournament, knocked in a three pointer. Yourg started grabbing rebounds and the Mustangs were off and running. Andrew Alves was like a runaway train, as he started driving towards the hoop and playing stellar defense. Then Allred dropped another three pointer. Madeleine was up by two.

Someone must’ve told Jordan McDaniel, that this was the championship game, because all of a sudden he woke up. It was like watching Stephen Curry. He drained a long three, then came back and stole the ball and laid it in for two.

But the Mustangs countered with a long three by 7th grader Jayce Dougherty. Then Pendergast and Jacob Jackson added a bucket a piece. But then Yourg was called on his fifth foul, and was out of the game.

The Lancers had the hardest working player in the tournament, Sebastian Acevedo. And he showed every fan in the gym that hard work pays off. Coach Arney, knows how to get in his head. Every time Arney would get on him, Acevedo responded with key rebounds, a couple of more blocks, two free throws, and he would give an intense facial expression to Arney, as if saying, “Is this good enough for you?”
At the end of regulation, 36-36. We were going to overtime.

With Yourg out of the game, St. Rose dominated the tip, and the rest of the three minute overtime. McDaniel added four more points, and yes, Acevedo scored two more.

School of the Madeleine, was undefeated going into the championship game, and they left every bit of sweat on the court. They are a talented and respectful team, which is a reflection of their coach, Jaime Brunelle.

The Lancers finished the season undefeated.

Coach Arney’s seven year quest for that elusive championship, had finally arrived on Friday evening, March 14, 2014, at 9:25pm.

St. Rose of Lima’s Jordan McDaniel and Sebastian Acevedo, along with Madeleine’s Jeffrey Jackson and Andrew Alves, were named to the ”The Elite 8″, the top 8 players of the tournament.

Madeleine’s Josh Sprague, and the Lancers Nathan Hindi were named to the Varsity All-County team.