Roman Catholic vs. Neumann Goretti sets up familiar championship matchup for Catholic League title

As victory neared in Game 1 of Wednesday’s Catholic League boys’ semifinals at the Palestra, the Roman Catholic student section, clad in purple, pointed their fingers at the Neumann Goretti student section and shouted a familiar refrain.

“We want Neumann!” the Cahillites’ crew chanted when it was clear their squad would vanquish Archbishop Wood. A few hours later, as triumph crystalized in overtime against West Catholic, Saints fans chanted, “We want Roman!”

If it’s late February and it’s high school basketball at the Palestra, there’s a good chance Neumann Goretti and Roman Catholic are on the menu.

Since 2000, few substitutes have been allowed. Monday night’s Catholic League championship game will be no different.

Roman’s size and savvy proved too much for the Vikings. Senior guard Xzayvier Brown, who has signed with St. Joseph’s University, led the Cahillites with 22 points, while fellow senior Jermai Stewart-Herring added 13. Sophomore forward Shareef Jackson, the son of Roman alum Marc Jackson, added eight points and helped dominate down low. Junior guard Jalil Bethea, who was named league MVP this season, led Wood with 22 points.

When the Cahillites (21-3, 11-2) needed a play, Brown was a catalyst on both ends.

Roman coach Chris McNesby, who has coached numerous talents since he took over in 2009, stepped down after the 2016 season and returned last year.

» READ MORE: Roman Catholic’s Xzayvier Brown leads the Cahillites back to a Catholic League championship game

“He’s up there with all of them,” McNesby said of Brown. “As a coach, when you have a point guard who can run the team, run the offense, doesn’t turn it over, and shares it, he makes it a lot easier as a coach. I’m a better coach because of him.”

The Saints (21-2, 12-1) needed overtime to hold off the Burrs, who used a putback by senior guard Amyr Walker as time expired in regulation to force the extra stanza. Senior forward Sultan Adewale led the Saints with 18 points, 12 rebounds, and 5 blocked shots. Junior guard Robert Wright, the league’s leading scorer in the regular season, finished with 15 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists.

“We just outlasted them,” Saints coach Carl Arrigale said. “We didn’t play well [at times]. We have a lot of things we need to fix before Monday.”

The championship game will be the fifth matchup between Arrigale and McNesby in the PCL finale.

Arrigale won the first two. McNesby won the last two, including back-to-back titles in 2015 and 2016. The success of both schools, however, runs much deeper. In total, Roman owns a league-best 32 championships while Neumann Goretti has 22.

In the last 23 years, 22 times either the Saints or the Cahillites have played in the PCL semifinals.

The lone exception: 2008.

That year, Roman lost, 61-55, to coach Speedy Morris and St. Joseph’s Prep in a quarterfinal doubleheader at Cardinal O’Hara.

That loss marked just the third time since 1968 that an undefeated regular-season champ had lost before the semis. Roman, led by junior guard Maalik Wayns, had gone 14-0 in league play that season.

The Saints lost to Monsignor Bonner, 63-53, that day, halting then-St. John Neumann’s streak of consecutive semifinal appearances at eight.

Now-closed North Catholic beat Archbishop Ryan for the 2008 title, the school’s first in 21 years.

The Saints, however, started a new streak the following season, winning the first of what became six consecutive titles from 2009-14. That run equaled Roman’s record reign from 1989-94 under Dennis Seddon.

Arrigale, who has already won a record 12 PCL titles, passed Seddon (10) for most coaching championships in league history in 2020.

He also owns a Catholic League record with a 73-game winning streak that included the playoffs and regular season. He has taken teams to the PCL semifinals 20 times. Wednesday night, several former Saints were in attendance, including Ja’Quan Newton, Troy Harper, Quade Green, and Jamal Custis. Monday’s finale will mark the 18th time Arrigale has taken a team to the title game.

“I know our fans think it’s on the schedule,” he joked, “but it’s not. I can tell you it’s not. It’s hard to get here and the fact that we’ve been here that many times, I’m proud of it, but it’s always more fun when you win. So we’ll see what happens on Monday.”