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When a game is on the line, Neumann-Goretti senior Derrick "D.J." Rivera wants the ball in his hands.
That’s exactly what the senior guard told his teammates during Saturday night’s Catholic League boys’ basketball championship game against Roman Catholic. When the game was deadlocked, 41-41, with the final seconds slowly ticking off the clock, Rivera got the ball.
If he makes it, the Saints win a second straight championship.
If he misses, the game goes to overtime.
Standing in front of his team’s bench at La Salle University’s Tom Gola Arena, Rivera launches an off-balance three-pointer – and it’s good! Neumann-Goretti, 44, Roman Catholic, 41.
"It was very exciting," Rivera said in the locker room afterwards. "There is no feeling like it in the world, except maybe college basketball.
"It was fun winning it last year, but to win it like this year was great."
Neumann-Goretti coach Carl Arrigale said, "it was just like I drew it up.
"I give him credit," Arrigale said. "He ran the clock all the way down and it was either going to be overtime or us winning. When it left his hands, it wasn’t one of those shots you definitely thought was going in. I knew it was going to be close."
Junior guard Antonio "Scoop" Jardine described the shot as "amazing."
"I still can’t believe it," Jardine said. "He is a senior, I am supposed to give the ball to him."
Unfortunately, the victors did not get a chance to perform the traditional cutting down of the nets, as a brawl broke out on the court following the game. (For details, see "Champs in limbo" on this page.)
FOR RIVERA, IT was more than a game-winning shot. March 4, 1990, his uncle, Erick "Hank" Gathers, died on the court of a heart condition at age 23 while playing for Loyola Marymount University. Gathers was the nation’s top scorer, averaging 35.6 points per game.
Earlier this year, Rivera, who was just 2 when his uncle died, changed his uniform number from 10 to 44 as a tribute to Gathers. As a junior, he wrote "R.I.P. Hank #44" on his sneakers in his honor.
Over the last four seasons, Arrigale said he has noticed the impact Gathers has had on Rivera’s life.
"D.J. was like 1-year-old when [Gathers] died and never got to know the guy," he said. "He gets so much strength from his memory."
In his final performance as a Saint, Rivera, who ended the game Saturday with nine points and five rebounds, was able to help his team avenge their only two regular season defeats, both to Roman Catholic. Neumann-Goretti lost the Jan. 6 meeting, 59-46, and the Jan. 29 contest, 60-55. Combine those losses with the fact Roman Catholic, not Neumann-Goretti, was invited to the prestigious Alhambra Catholic Invitational Tournament March 16 to 18 and the Saints didn’t need any extra motivation for the championship match.
"I told everybody when the season first started that we were the best team in Philadelphia and we knew we were from the beginning," Jardine said. "I told my players that if we win this third game we can forget about the first two."
Roman Catholic led by seven points, 19-12, in the final minutes of the first half, but Neumann-Goretti trimmed the margin, 20-19, by halftime. Both teams had their share of downfalls. For the Cahillites, it was foul shooting, as they shot 41 percent (10-for-24) from the line.
The Saints, on the other hand, had a few players in serious foul trouble. Junior Rick Jackson committed his fourth foul with 7:12 remaining, forcing Arrigale to make a substitution. With 3:24 remaining, sophomore Jamal Wilson committed his fifth foul.
But the team pulled through, winning a second straight Catholic League crown and its fourth over the last six seasons.
