By Dan Weber
NKyTribune sports reporter
Newport coach Rod Snapp admitted it. He was the one who selected the NOTHING EASY words that graced the front of the Wildcats’ shooting shirts in Saturday’s first-round Ninth Region showdown with fellow Class A opponent Holy Cross.
Words, of course, that could not have been more prophetic.
“We’re lucky to win,” Snapp said matter-of-factly after the Wildcats’ 50-47 escape on Yamil Rondon’s game-winning three just before the final buzzer as Newport held the ball from the 1:27 mark to get it.
But for sure, Snapp said he knew NOTHING EASY was the right call. “We’re going to get everybody’s best shot,” he said of his defending champs.
Then Snapp amended his take a bit: “We should have lost.”
Only Rondon, the transfer from Cooper who has been working his way back from shoulder surgery the last couple of months, would not let them. Even if it meant the fiery, flashy-at-times former Puerto Rico Under-17 National Team player would have to rein in his emotions as the Indians’ gameplan was to physical him up – everywhere on the court.
“I figured they can’t take me out of this game and I can’t take myself out,” said Rondon who spent much of the game calming his teammates down, pointing to his head and calling them to play it smart.
“It’s win or go home,” Yamil said he kept telling himself, and this was no place “for me to come off the court.”
So he played it cool. Another time, maybe. Not on this day.
As for that last double-clutch shot on an in-and-out move to get the jumper off under pressure that gave him 20 points as the only Newport player in double figures on a day when the Wildcats seemed a bit offensively challenged in their halfcourt offense, it wasn’t luck. Nope.
He comes in “at 6 a.m. every day,” Yamil says, takes 200-300 shots, gets a shower and heads to class. The jumper looks better and feels better, Yamil says, the more he’s worked on it. No more relying on slashing moves to the basket.
“It felt good, but it felt like it took forever to go through,” Yamil says.
How long will it take for that shot to leave the memories of the Holy Cross folks, who developed and executed a near-perfect gameplan for this game.
“It came down to 15 seconds,” Holy Cross coach Ricardo Johnson said. “An all-conference guy just made a shot . . . with a double pump. It’s a ball game. They just made a shot.”
As for his Indians who finished 17-12 and return four starters for next season, “They did everything they were told,” Johnson said, “we’re going to walk out of here with our heads held high.” And now “that we’ve got guys that have experienced that coming back for next year . . . ” like so many Northern Kentucky programs, Johnson likes where the Indians are.
Unlike Newport which was playing with 6-foot-7 junior James Turner playing sick after missing the last two days of school, Holy Cross had three starters – all juniors – in double figures led by 6-2 Nate Rominger, who challenged Newport’s bigger front line inside with 14 points. Then there was 6-6 Brady Gabbard, whose 13 points featured three flying two-hand dunks when he beat the Newport defenders down the floor. Luke Arlinghaus added 11 with a perfect five-for-five at the line with a pair of threes.
And to top it off, Holy Cross chose 6-5 senior William McElheney to use his strength and ballhandling skills to beat the Newport press.
“They’re tough kids,” Snapp said of the Indians, “they handled the press.”
And still they lost. And now Newport faces a Lloyd Memorial team on Tuesday (8 p.m.) that beat them, 59-52, in December. But lots of teams did that then. Now, however, the Wildcats have gone 13-4 since the end of December.
They’re eight deep now, all healthy, and Rondon “is playing his best basketball,” Snapp says.
SCORING SUMMARY
Holy Cross 10 18 11 8—47
Newport 13 8 14 15—50
Holy Cross (17-12): Henderson 0-0 0-0 0-0 0, Urlage 1-3 1-3 0-0 3, Arlinghaus 2-9 2-7 5-5 11, Rominger 6-8 1-2 1-2 14, Gabbard 6-10 1-4 0-0 13, Goetz 0-0 0-0 0-0 0, McElheney 2-4 0-1 0 0 5, Hunt 0-0 0-0 1-2 1; TOTALS: 17-34 5-17 8-11 47.
Newport (19-10): Anderson 1-2 1-2 2-4 4, AJ Lowe 2-6 0-3 2-3 6, Turner 2-6 0-1 1-2 5, Starks 3-8 0-4 2-3 8, Rondon 6-11 4-4 4-4 20, Nichols 0-0 0-0 0-0 0, Amontae Lowe 3-5 1-2 0-0 7; TOTALS: 17-40 6-18 10-13 50.