Winchendon Holds Off Notre Dame, 95-88

January 25, 2009 Ross Convertino

Hoophallreport.com

The Winchendon School (Winchendon, MA) and Notre Dame Prep (Fitchburg, MA) collided Saturday night at St. Bernard High School in Fitchburg, Mass for the first of two meetings this season. Separated by only 22 miles these two prep school giants competed for bragging rights as the winner of this rivalry more often than not determines who is best in the state.

The Winchendon School who is coming off of an impressive 11-point victory against #1 Patterson on Sunday at the Spaulding Hoophall Classic was once again thinking upset.

Both teams opened the game with intense man-to-man pressure making it difficult to score in the early minutes. Eric Ferguson (undecided) put Winchendon up by a point early after throwing down two thunderous dunks. Notre Dame responded by connecting from three-point range on numerous possessions including beyond NBA-range three by James Southerland who is headed to Syracuse in the fall.

Early foul trouble hurt Winchendon as Notre Dame took advantage going 12 for 12 from the free-throw line in the fist half. With just over two minutes to play in the first, confusion surrounding a substitution allowed Notre Dame an uncontested lay-up to put them ahead 43-39. Winchendon would respond, as Ferguson was able to complete a lay-up out of an inbounds play cutting Notre Dame's lead by 1 going into halftime, 46-45.

Notre Dame struck first in the second half as they opened up a 56-49 lead. They were paced with strong performances by Providence bound guard Jonnie Lacy (26 pts) and Cincinnati bound wing Sean Kilpatrick (28 pts). However, momentum switched as outstanding defense by Winchendon forced Notre Dame to several costly turnovers. Exceptional guard play from seniors Yves Jules (Hofstra) and Ozan Dilik (undecided) set the tone in the second half for Winchendon.

Yet, the night belonged to Winchendon's junior guard Akeem Williams, as he played with strong determination and poise. Williams-having the difficult assignment of matching up with Lacy-was able to break pressure and help the team counteract the Notre Dame attack. Using his quickness and craftiness, Williams was able to get himself into the paint at will where he was brilliant at finishing lay-ups and creating for teammates.

Notre Dame attempted to make one last run lead by Lacy; however, Winchendon had an answer offensively as they traded baskets forcing Notre Dame's final push into a stalemate. The exclamation mark came when Lacy committed a costly off the ball foul that sent Jules to the line where he connected on two free-throws allowing Winchendon to hold on to a 95-88 victory.

Leading Scorers:
Notre Dame - Sean Kilpatrick 28. Jonnie Lacy 26. James Southerland 13

Winchendon - Eric Ferguson 20. Akeem Williams 18. Yves Jules 12. Preye Preboye 10.

Here is a link to the recent Boston Globe interview with Akeem: Boston Globe Akeem William's interview