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Fenwick pulls through with defense in overtime

In a grind-it-out game, Fenwick finally seizes control in extra period.

Fenwick's John Luke Arrington, 34, attempts to get past Badin's Joe Marot, 21, during the first quarter of a Greater Catholic League game on Friday, Feb. 10. The Falcons beat the visiting Rams 42-33 in overtime.

Moodie Fenwick's John Luke Arrington, 34, attempts to get past Badin's Joe Marot, 21, during the first quarter of a Greater Catholic League game on Friday, Feb. 10. The Falcons beat the visiting Rams 42-33 in overtime.

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By Rick Cassano, Staff Writer 12:32 AM Saturday, February 11, 2012

MIDDLETOWN — It was halfcourt, man-to-man basketball. No tricks. Nothing fancy. Who’s going to execute better?

Fenwick High School’s boys were the ones left standing after Friday night’s slugfest, with the host Falcons savoring a 42-33 overtime victory over Hamilton Badin in a Greater Catholic League crossover affair.

“That was a huge win,” said Fenwick sophomore guard Frank Catrine, who put up 19 points and grabbed nine rebounds. “Every possession counted. There was a lot of great defense. That’s what the GCL’s about.”

Catrine scored nine of Fenwick’s 13 points in OT.

His three-point play with 2:20 left erased the Rams’ 31-29 advantage, and the hosts never trailed again.

Kevin Christie (nine points) and John Luke Arrington (seven points, nine boards) were among the leaders for the Falcons, who moved to 10-8 overall and 5-8 in the GCL North Division.

“Our kids are playing real well, and you want to be playing that way at the end of the year,” Fenwick coach Pat Kreke said. “We’re not a great offensive team, but our defense has been a constant.”

Heath Stricker paced Badin with 12 points, six boards, five assists and three steals. Alex Wendel added seven points.

The Rams fell to 11-7, 5-4, and now need a win at home against Roger Bacon next Friday to gain a share of the GCL Central title.

“It would’ve been more exciting to have a winner-take-all game against Bacon, but we have to take what we can get now,” Badin coach Nick Argentati said. “We gave one away tonight. We had plenty of chances to put the game away, and we just didn’t do it.”

The Rams shot just 28.3 percent from the floor and made 2-of-4 free throws. The Falcons shot 36.4 percent and sank 16-of-21 foul shots.

Catrine was perfect on nine charity tosses in the game. He made seven in overtime.

“It’s practice,” Catrine said. “You practice and practice focusing on the rim. Just blind out everything else.”

Badin led by as many as eight points in the second half.

The Rams had a six-point lead and were trying to hold the ball for the last shot in the third quarter when Christie and Catrine came up with back-to-back steals and turned them into four points.

“That kind of turned the momentum around,” Kreke said.

Fenwick led 11-10 at halftime. Play was methodical, but you couldn’t call it stallball.

“I thought we got great shots in the first half,” Argentati said. “You’ve got to knock down open shots. You’ve got to make plays.”

Both teams are in Division III this year, the Falcons in Dayton and Badin in Cincinnati. The tournament draw is Sunday.

“If I was anybody in Badin’s sectional, I wouldn’t want to play them,” Kreke said. “I hope people are saying that about us.”

Fenwick visits West Carrollton tonight. The Rams travel to Reading on Tuesday.

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