St. Paul's traveled to Deerfield with a Class A playoff berth on the line. Deerfield jumped out to 9-2 lead in the early going, as SPS could not get shots to fall and Deerfield made threes in transition. The Big Red did not give up, and though Deerfield led for the majority of the first half,
Tighe Arache and
Patrick Ricca made back-to-back three-pointers to end the half—giving St. Paul's a 33-31 lead at the break. SPS came out firing in the second half, building the lead all the way to 48-38 before Deerfield made their own run. The game was back and forth in the late stages. A tough offensive rebound and finish by
Jake Reardon gave St. Paul's a 57-56 lead with 27 seconds on the clock. After a timeout, St. Paul's played terrific defense on Deerfield and forced a contested shot. Unfortunately, Deerfield was able to rebound the ball and put it back in with only 1.8 seconds on the clock. After another timeout, St. Paul's got a solid look from 3 to win the game, but could not convert. SPS should be applauded for their effort, mental toughness, and teamwork all season. With a win, St. Paul's would have been the 5-Seed in the NEPSAC playoffs, and the loss likely eliminates St. Paul's for the playoffs. Nonetheless, it was a terrific, historic year for the Big Red and the future is bright! In the loss,
Jake Reardon scored 16 points and had 11 rebounds,
Treyvon Miller finished with 14 points and 5 rebounds,
Mekhi Simmons finished with 12 points and 4 rebounds, and
Patrick Ricca contributed 9 points and 7 rebounds.