Imani Christian finishes the regular season undefeated at home and locks up second place in the section with a 76-74 overtime victory over Central Catholic.
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This was a game of runs. Central Catholic was in control early. They were spreading the floor offensively, moving without the ball, and creating open shots.
Imani looked a little out of sorts early on, in part due to the refs calling a very tight game tonight. Imani likes to be aggressive, but the refs were calling fouls on any bit of contact tonight, so it took Imani some time to adjust their style of play. Central Catholic led 20-15 after 1.
Central stormed out of the gates in the 2nd quarter, scoring the first 5 points of the quarter and pushing their lead to 25-15. This is where the game began to change. Destin Hubbard hit a couple threes for Imani and they began closing the gap as the energy in the building at CCAC began to rise.
Late in the 2nd quarter with a three-point lead, Imani had a very rare, 7-point possession. Central was called for a foul and picked up a technical foul after. Imani would drain all 4 free throws and get the ball after the tech, where they splashed a three, and just like that the Saints were up 10 on Central Catholic. They closed the half on a 22-7 run, taking a 42-32 lead into halftime.
The second half was a two-man battle between RJ Sledge of Imani and Enzo Khalil of Central Catholic. Sledge was feeling it early in the half, knocking down jumper after jumper. He’s always been one of the best ball handlers and facilitators in the WPIAL, but when his jump shot is on, he’s nearly impossible to stop.
Imani’s offense was rolling behind Sledge and the 3-point shooting of sophomore, Cam Rice. Central kept pace in the 3rd quarter on the shoulders of Enzo Khalil. He knocked down multiple threes and kept Central in the game. By the end of the 3rd, Central had cut the lead to just 6, as Imani led 59-53 heading into the final quarter.
Khalil and Sledge continued to shine in the 4th quarter, but Central was gaining ground. They found the same groove they were in early on and the game and began to take control again.
Eventually, Central Catholic junior, Wills Kontul, drained a three to give Central Catholic their first lead since early in the 2nd quarter. Imani would answer right back with a bucket of their own and a floater by Sledge to go back up by 3. After a fairly quiet game to that point, Calvin Vento got in on the three point scoring barrage and tied the game for Central late in the quarter.
RJ Sledge grabbed a steal late in the game and drew another foul. He knocked down 2 free throws and gave Imani a 3 point lead. Khalil answered with an offensive rebound on the other end where he scored on the putback and drew a foul of his own. He knocked down the foul shot to tie the game at 70. Imani had a chance to win it, but they turned the ball over with 3 seconds left in regulation, giving the ball back to Central Catholic for one last shot. Khalil threw one up from half court at the buzzer, but he put a bit too much on it and we headed to overtime tied 70-70.
Central Catholic took a minute off the clock in the first possession in overtime, which resulted in an easy bucket and a lead. Sledge countered with another 3 ball to retake the- lead for Imani.
Central scored on a floater to move back in front by a score of 74-73. Imani came up empty on their next possession and gave the ball back to Central with 35 seconds left on the clock. Imani was forced to foul, but Central missed both, giving the ball back to Imani down 1 with 20 seconds to go.
As he’d done all night, RJ Sledge put the team on his back and decided to go isolation ball for the final possession.
He pulled up for a jumper from the left elbow with 11 seconds left, but it was blocked by 6’5” junior, Owen Campfield. The ball landed out of bounds with 7.5 seconds left, giving Imani one last chance.
The plan was the same as before, get the ball to Sledge and let him go to work. He caught the inbound, took one dribble, stepped back, and laced it. Imani was up 76-74. Central had no timeouts so they hurried to inbound the ball and Khalil launched one from three quarter court. The shot looked good the whole way, but came up inches short and clanged off the front of the rim. Imani wins it, 76-74.
Sledge finished with 29 points for Imani and Khalil dropped a career-high 37 for Central Catholic. Both players were phenomenal in this one, but it was Sledge and the Saints who came out on top.
This wraps up the regular season for Imani. They’ll be back in action next week for the playoffs. Central Catholic is headed to the playoffs as well, but they’ve got two more games to finish out the regular season. They are set to play Erie on Saturday and North Catholic on Monday.