James Taylor Jr.'s go-ahead three-pointer rallies St. Anthony's past Central (Rhode Island)

St. Anthony’s James Taylor Jr. reacts as he heads to the bench late in their game against Central High School at the Hoophall Invitational at Rebecca Johnson School in Springfield, Mass., on Saturday. Credit: Cloe Poisson
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – St. Anthony’s struggled from beyond the arc throughout Saturday’s game against Central (Rhode Island), but senior James Taylor Jr. had begun to envision having his moment from deep.
“I saw the corner shot open from a couple quarters ago, and I was getting in [Kevin Moore’s] head to try and pass it to me as my point guard,” Taylor said. “And it was there, so I just took it.”
Down by two, Taylor drilled the go-ahead three-pointer with 1:37 left and the Friars never trailed again in a 66-64 boys basketball victory at the Hoophall Invitational at Rebecca M. Johnson School. Central guard Jonathan Ramos had a look at a buzzer-beating three that went off the back rim.
“It was big that James Taylor made that three when I think we were 2-for-18 from three,” St. Anthony’s coach Sal Lagano said. “And we even said in the huddle one time, ‘We got to win this game without threes,' but we still have to play courageously. You still have to be able to take an open shot.
“And he did, and he knocked it down.”
Taylor had 16 points and six rebounds, and senior Connor Mannix had 17 points and eight rebounds. Nick Vieux finished with six points, four rebounds, eight assists and six steals.
Taylor’s three gave the Friars (13-2) a 63-62 lead, and Mannix’s layup extended the lead to 65-62 with 56.4 seconds remaining.
Central guard Lester Rodriguez cut it to 65-64 with 12 seconds remaining, and Steven Aulicino Jr. made one of two free throws with 8.2 seconds left to cap the scoring.
“It was a team effort throughout,” Mannix said. “We all grinded. We got the ball around, we swung it around. We worked hard. We played some defense, and that’s it.”
Ramos hit back-to-back threes to give Central (7-3) a 59-58 lead with 3:56 left. Freshman Ouse Ninche (eight points, 11 rebounds) hit a floater to hand the Friars a 60-59 lead with 2:53 left, but Rodriguez hit a three to make it 62-60 with 2:30 left.
Central ended the first half on a 16-0 run to take a 38-31 halftime lead. St. Anthony’s came out of the locker room with an 8-0 run to grab a 39-38 lead with 6:19 left in the third quarter. Central gained a 49-47 edge heading into the fourth quarter of a game that featured high levels of athleticism and physicality.
“James Taylor and Kevin Moore, the football [player] comes out a little bit,” Lagano said. “I think it pushes you to the brink to respond. Every play is not going to go your way. There’s going to be a lot of missed calls and deflections, and you just got to get tougher with the ball.
“I thought we made some big shots down the stretch. We got the lead, we lost the lead. And I think that’s a sign of a good team.”
St. Anthony’s will face West Haven (Connecticut) on Sunday before returning to Long Island.
“It’s a great group of guys, we love being around each other,” Moore said. “At the end of the day, the job’s not finished. We’re going to keep winning, and our goal is a championship.”