A tough ending: Cardinal Newman boys fall short in bid for SCISA championship

Trailing Augusta Christian by one point late in Friday’s state championship game, the Cardinal Newman boys basketball team drew up one of its favorite plays.

Get the ball to Jordan Frazier, the Cardinals’ steady senior shooting guard, and let him make something happen.

Frazier, Cardinal Newman’s leading scorer, got off a clean shot from the right wing with about 15 seconds left and his team trailing 45-44 at the Sumter Civic Center.

But his 3-pointer fell wide left, and Augusta Christian made two more free throws to secure a 47-44 win over the Cardinals in the SCISA Class 4A championship.

“We had a chance,” Cardinal Newman coach Philip Deter said. “I’ll take that shot that Jordan Frazier took 100 times out of 100. Sometimes they go in, and sometimes they don’t. But I’m proud of this group, there’s no doubt.”

Cardinal Newman fouled Augusta Christian with 9 seconds remaining, and the Lions’ Khaleel Pratt (a Kentucky baseball commit) sank both free throws in a one-and-one situation to put his team up three points.

The Cardinals had one more chance to tie the game and force overtime after that, but a chaotic possession ended with freshman forward Elton Smith Jr. (14 points) taking and missing a desperation 3-pointer after Augusta Christian blocked off a number of designed pitch-backs to guards.

“Had one timeout,” Deter said. “I probably should have called it. ... Normally, it’s drive as hard as you can, find the trail guy and knock it down. But at that point, again, you’re relying upon a last-second three.”

Cardinal Newman, the No. 1 seed in the SCISA playoffs Lower Bracket, was playing in its sixth state championship game since 2013 under Deter and seeking its 11th all-time state title, with the last two coming back to back in 2019 and 2020.

Instead, they left with a runner-up trophy while Augusta Christian, which is based in Martinez, Georgia but competes as a SCISA school, won its second consecutive state championship.

This was the third meeting this season between the Cardinals and the Lions, with Cardinal Newman winning by 12 points on Jan. 13 and Augusta Christian winning by 11 on Jan. 24. Their third matchup, played at a neutral site, delivered an even closer result.

The teams were tied 9-9 after the first quarter, but Augusta Christian outscored Cardinal Newman 19-13 in the second period to take a 28-22 halftime lead.

The Lions and Cardinals played an even third quarter, too – 11-9 in Augusta Christian’s favor – which positioned Cardinal Newman for a fourth-quarter comeback.

Trailing 37-33 entering the final period, the Cardinals kept their foot on the gas and took their first lead of the second half, 44-43, with 1:25 remaining after junior guard Russ White (5 points) made two free throws.

On the next possession, referees whistled Cardinal Newman’s Smith for a blocking foul, which drew the ire of Cardinals fans and sent Augusta Christian’s D.J. Shine to the line for two free throws. He made both to put Augusta Christian up 45-44.

Cardinal Newman ran down the clock from 1:10 to 32.7 seconds on its next possession before taking a timeout and setting up the aforementioned shot by Frazier that fell short.

Augusta Christian finished the season 26-5, with Cardinal Newman 19-16 overall. After trudging through a tough non-conference schedule, the Cardinals had gone 6-2 in region play and won seven of their last eight games entering Friday.

“It was an amazing season,” junior guard Josiah Peeples (10 points) said. “I feel like this team showed a lot of perseverance. That’s one thing I love about (us).”

Among the teams’ returners for next year: Peeples, White and Evan Carter as junior guards and Smith as a promising 6-foot-7 sophomore forward.

“We’ll make sure we remember this feeling and just build on it,” Peeples said.

Augusta Christian 47, Cardinal Newman 44

AC: D.J. Shine 13, Braylen Smith 11, Khaleel Pratt 9, Troy Booker 9, Andrew Bell 3, Luke Wilson 2

CN: Elton Smith 14, Josiah Peeples 10, Evan Carter 7, Jordan Frazier 6, Russ White 5, Desmond Harrington 2