The John Paul II Catholic High School boys basketball team used a dominant fourth quarter to pull away from visiting Parrott for a 58-42 victory on Friday evening.
JPII improved to 5-5 overall and 3-2 in the CPIC, and the Patriots dropped to 2-9 and 0-3.
The Saints were led by Caleb Knight and Nike Wiggins, who took turns carrying the load. Knight scored 19 points, with 15 coming in the first half. Wiggins totaled 17 points, with 15 in the second half including 11 in the fourth quarter. During that fourth quarter, Wiggins was 7-for-7 from the line, enabling JPII to keep Parrott at bay.
“It was a hard-fought game,” said coach Ralph Biggs, whose team’s next game is Monday at home against Father Capodanno. “The kids played hard and played strong. They played smart down at the end, and we picked it up. Everybody was ready to go, and we got a good win.”
JPII led 24-15 at halftime, but the Patriots had a strong third quarter and closed to within one point at 35-34 going into the final period. The Saints withstood the rally, however, and outscored Parrott 23-8 down the stretch.
“It was a complete team win,” assistant coach Gary Yarrell said. “Our guys kept their composure in a heated rivalry game. It was a complete team win.”
Jamal Biggs and Nick Peele both chipped in 6 points for JPII, Faron Cureton and T.T. Moore each had 3, and Connor Kendrick and Quinn McCaffrey had 2 apiece.
The junior varsity boys basketball team set the stage for the day with a commanding 62-14 win over Parrott. McCaffrey led a trio of Saints in double figures with 15 points, followed by Knight with 13 and Gabe Lewis with 11.
The Saints used a smothering man-to-man press to establish control, leading 18-5 after one quarter and 39-7 by halftime.
