Paul VI won their 4th straight VISAA D1 basketball title with a 72-62 win over St Anne's-Belfield in a rematch of the 2023 State Championship.
With their 19th consecutive victory, the Panthers improved to 33-2 overall.
The Panthers, coming off a WCAC title the previous weekend, led 10-0 to start the game and never trailed. They led by 19 at halftime then had to overcome a great 4th quarter performance from St Anne's-Belfield point guard Chance Mallory.
Duke commit Darren Harris had 14 points in the 4th quarter to keep the Saints on the run. Harris was a perfect 9 of 9 from the free thrown line with none of them touching the rim. Point guard Ben Hammond (Rhode Island bound) had 11 of his 15 points in the 1st half to help the Panthers to a 41-19 lead at halftime.
STAB cut the lead to 10 with a 14-4 run during the 3rd quarter. Austin Williford drained a 3-pointer and St Anne's-Belfield was down only seven (47-40).
Chance Mallory put on a show in the 4th quarter scoring 15 points including one play where he shook his defender for a reverse layup. The junior with multiple Power 5 offers, including Maryland and Virginia, made a trey, followed by a layup to pull the Saints to within three (61-58) with under three minutes to go.
However, Harris burried a three to-pointer extend the lead back to six ,then he made all his free throws to give Paul VI Head Coach Glenn Farello another state title.
"They were amazing in the second half and really challenged us," said Farello. "We really respect what they do and knew they were going to come back and put up a barrage of 3's. The atmosphere was amazing here. It was a fun matchup. I was really proud of our guys how we responded to persevere [and] get stops when we needed them."
Super sophomore Jordan Smith finished with seven points, five rebounds, four steals and several explosive plays. UConn commit Isaiah Abraham had a couple of crowd-pleasing dunks and added seven points.
Mallory led St Anne's-Belfield with 29 points on 5 of 9 shooting from three-point land to go along with five rebounds and four assists.
"Coming off the WCAC, it's really tough come in here and compete with six games in eight days for us. I told the kids this group will go down as the best team in PVI history - because of what they've been able to accomplish and to overcome with injuries - and we've had some good ones," Farello stated.
"Iron sharpens iron. This group I think is 94-11 the last three years. They stay together, the connectivity and love that they have for each other and culture carried us through."
Video Interview with PVI Head Coach Glenn Farello:
Paul VI Head Basketball Coach Glenn Farello chats with VirginiaPreps.com's Matthew Hatfield following his team's 72-62 win over St. Anne's-Belfield from Charlottesville in the VISAA Division I State Basketball Championship held at Benedictine in Richmond on Saturday, March 2, 2024.
It's the fourth straight state title for the Panthers, a nationally-recognized Top 25 program on a consistent basis under Coach Farello.
His team is now 33-2 overall with 19 straight wins after this latest triumph.
Video Interview with PVI SF Darren Harris:
Paul VI senior sharp shooter Darren Harris chats with VirginiaPreps.com's Matthew Hatfield after his team's 72-62 win over St. Anne's-Belfield in the VISAA Division I State Basketball Championship on Saturday, March 2, 2024.
Harris scored 24 points - 14 in the fourth quarter - while going a perfect 9-of-9 from the foul line as the Panthers improved to 33-2 overall on the season with their 19th straight win.
It was the sixth game - and win - in eight days for PVI, which will be competing in the Chipotle Nationals from April 4-6 in Brownsburg, Indiana. The national tournament was formerly known as the Geico Nationals and held annually down in Fort Myers, Florida from 2021-23.
