TJ O’Brien’s buzzer-beater wins it for Sacred Heart Prep in CCS Open boys’ basketball tourney

The Gators (19-6 overall) trailed by 1 after SHC senior Jerry Mixon Jr. hit a layup with 10 seconds to play. But SHP inbounded to JP Kerrigan off Mixon’s go-ahead shot, and the junior swiftly pushed it up the court to start a carousel of crisp passes around the perimeter, before it found O’Brien in the corner for the game winner.

“It was probably perfect execution-wise as we could have run it with time running down,” SHP head coach Tony Martinelli said. “And it ended up in our best shooter’s hands, and TJ knocked it down.”

O’Brien finished with 15 points, but nearly didn’t get the chance to play the hero after being hampered by foul trouble all night. The junior picked up two fouls in the first four minutes and sat much of the opening half. Then with four minutes left in the game, he was slapped with a charging foul, his fourth of the game.

Kerrigan had the hot hand most of the night, scoring a team-high 16 points, including four 3s. But it was senior LJ Quattlebaum who kept the Gators afloat in the closing minute, as he grabbed an offensive board and got to the line to knock down two free throws with 21 seconds to go.

After Mixon swung the Fightin’ Irish (14-12) ahead, Martinelli opted not to call a timeout.

“We’ve executed down the stretch in different games this year, and I just went with a hunch and it worked out,” Martinelli said.

Four of SHP’s touched the ball as it moved around the perimeter, with Kerrigan sending it up top for junior Erick Osterloh, who flicked it to Quattlebaum for the assist pass to a wide-open O’Brien in the corner.

Next up, SHP travels to No. 2 Archbishop Riordan Wednesday at 7 p.m. The Gators are now the only team of the four in Pool B with an unbeaten 2-0 record in the CCS Open tournament. A win Wednesday would propel them into the finals to face the winner of Wednesday’s Pool A showdown between Serra and Mitty.