Jarrel Lane hadn’t taken a shot all game.
But the first shot the St. Patrick senior guard attempted in the City of Palms championship turned out to be the game winner.
The 6-foot senior hit a 3-pointer from the right wing on a broken play in the final seconds to give the Celtics a 69-67 victory over Milton (Ga.) as St. Patrick won its first City of Palms crown in six finals appearances at the Fort Myers, Fla tournament.
St. Patrick, winner of five New Jersey Tournament of Champions titles since 1998, had previously lost in the City of Palms final in 1994, 1996, 1997, 2002 and 2008.
“It’s exciting, very exciting,” the 6-foot, 160-pound Lane, a UMBC commit, said by phone. “Not even for the shot, for the team, the program. St. Patrick has been coming here for 10 years. I’m definitely excited about that. My teammates work so hard.”
St. Pat’s is ranked No. 11 by USA Today and Milton is No. 15.
Kentucky-bound wing Michael Gilchrist was named MVP after finishing with 25 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks.
This marks the second straight year that a New Jersey team has won the prestigious City of Palms.
A year ago, Paterson Catholic beat Winter Park (Fla.), 62-54, in the final at Bishop Verot High School behind 17 points and seven rebounds from current Seton Hall freshman Fuquan Edwin and 15 points from Rutgers commit Myles Mack, now a senior at St. Anthony.
After blowing a 13-point second-half lead, St. Patrick trailed 67-66 after a pair of free throws from Ohio State commit Shannon Scott (17 points, 4 assists).
Gilchrist was fouled at midcourt with 5.3 seconds remaining.
On the ensuing out-of-bounds play, the plan was to get Gilchrist the ball on a back screen. But Milton double-teamed Gilchrist and Lane was left to take the shot.
“It was a play where Mike was supposed to get the ball,” Lane said. “I inbounded to Chris [Martin] and he gave it back and there was about 3 seconds left and I just let the shot go.
“I was in foul trouble. That was my first shot I took throughout the game.”
Asked if it was the biggest shot of his life, Lane said, “Yeah, I definitely gotta put that as No. 1.”
(Photo courtesy Jim Redman, MaxPreps.com)
