Pierrot's hoop with :06 left lifts Friars

Down by one with six seconds to play, Danny Pierrot hit a 15-foot jumper to win the game for St. Anthony's, 53-52, Saturday in CHSAA.

Chaminade inbounded the ball quickly but a three-point attempt went wide as time expired. With the comeback, the Friars erased a 9-2 third-quarter run by Chaminade, which led by as many as seven in the frame.

"It was just tough kids playing tough basketball," coach Jim Fenton said. "[My players] feel good about themselves. They deserve it, but there's a long way to go."

Indeed, St. Anthony's (4-4) has been positively mercurial this year - losing its first three league games but going 3-1 since. The last game of that losing streak came against Chaminade, as St. Anthony's took a nine-point first-half lead before standing by while the Flyers dealt them a 23-10 third quarter and the eventual loss. Yesterday, it looked like more of the same - St. Anthony's took a four-point lead into the second half and watched it evaporate against a 20-point Flyers onslaught.

The Friars, though, didn't panic. Down 43-36 with time dwindling in the frame, Fenton called a timeout and settled his team.

"I told them good teams are capable of putting together runs," he said. "I said, 'You're a good team, you can do it.' "

St. Anthony's Pierrot hit a midrange baseline jumper to cut off a 9-2 Chaminade run and Nigel Carter's trey sliced the deficit to three going into the fourth. The Friars didn't retake the lead until the game-winning shot.

Pierrot and Carter each had 11 points and James McKenna and Marko Peraica each had 10. Peraica finished with 10 rebounds and McKenna had nine rebounds and three assists. Richard Zoller had 13 points for Chaminade (6-2). Chaminade remains second in the league.

In all, Fenton said, it was a good showing.

"We still need to improve, but we work hard," he said. "We can hang with a team as good as Chaminade."