Pam Schmid
December 29, 2006
www.startribune.com

Catch of pass at horn preserves Falcons' 2-point victory over Royals

After an early-season slump, Scott Kaitz finally found his shot Thursday night. Yet despite scoring 22 points in Armstrong's 76-74 victory over Woodbury in the semifinals of the Catholic Spirt tournament. His catch of an inbound pass might have been the game's most important play.

With 1.5 second left to play No. 5-ranked Woodbury which had trailed by seven only 52 seconds earlier - was looking for a steal under its basket following Max Hintz's 14-foot jumper. During the timout Falcons coach Greg Miller had called for a long-range throw to a sprinting Kaitz to ice the victory, but the pass sailed over Kaitz's head.

The 5-11 senior, however, found a burst of speed, then leaped high on the other end to keep the ball from careening out of bounds.

Game over.

"I needed to catch it," said Kaitz who had been averaging 7.9 points before Thursday. "I didn't want them to get it under their own basket and have a chance to win or tie it up."

Before the nail-biting finish, the Falcons (6-1) had opened a 10-point second-half lead thanks to their scorching long-range shooting. They combined for 13 of 25 three-pointers, with Kaitz and senior guard Alex Rubin (22 points) each hitting four of nime from the arc. Wes Hoefer, a junior guard, also sank four three-pointers for Armstrong.

The Royals (6-1) used the fast break to take an early seven-point lead over Armstrong, but the Falcons answered with a 17-0 burst to take control. Kaitz hit three of his three-pointers during the spurt, and Rubin contributed two more, including one that put his team up 37-27 late in the first half.

"We're a three-point shooting team, but I think we take good threes," Miller said. "We're patient enough to take wide-open ones, because we've got quickness and we can penetrate."

Center Rob Pien led the Royals with 25 points, and Hintz finished with 19, five below his season average.

Armstrong will face St. Paul Johnson in today's championship. The Governors upset Class 4A, No 8 Cretin-Derham Hall 52-50 on Sal Simmons' jumper with seven seconds remaining.

The Governors overcame a 17-point deficit early in the second half. Junior center Darnell Cox led the comeback with 16 points and Simmons had 14.