It’s a battle of the two most highly regarded programs in the Summer Shootout: Neumann-Goretti and St. Patrick’s. Neumann is coming in off a tough loss to Windsor, and is 2-1 so far in the event. St. Patrick’s, despite not having Dexter Strickland ’09, Kyrie Irving ’10, or Michael Gilchrist ’11 at all, and not having Markus Kennedy ’10 today, is 3-0 so far. The matchup to watch in this game will be Paris Bennett ’09, the Celtics’ lone starter here, and Andre “Scooter” Gillette ’09 of N-G. The two will go at it in the paint, and whoever wins the battle between the two could be huge in helping his team win the game. Neumann has already beaten St. Pat’s this summer, doing so at the Villanova Team Camp, as the team again did not have many of its starters. Neumann doesn’t have Daniel Stewart ’10 here, but the rest of their core players are here. This should be a great game, and it will be starting soon.

1:57pm- Within the first 20 seconds, Mustafa Jones ’10 knocked down a trey for Neumann-Goretti.

1:58pm- Lamin Fulton ’11 just banged in a three. St. Pat’s has taken a timeout just 48 seconds into the game, as the team trails 6-0 already.

2:00pm- Andre Gillette made a nice spin move in the post with Bennett guarding him, but could not finish. At the other end, Derrick Gordon ’11 was fouled and hit the first of two shots to put the Celtics on the board.

2:02pm- “Scooter” Gillette is playing well so far through the first five minutes. He is moving around in the post on both offense and defense and is grabbing rebounds.

2:05pm- A bucket by Fulton has put N-G up 8-1 just under seven minutes into the game.

2:06pm- Paris Bennett went up to block Tyreek Duran, who was driving hard to the hole. The two bumped each other in the air and a foul was called on Bennett. Both players went down hard, and Bennett is staying down. He seems to have hurt his foot, as it may have hit into the wall behind the hoop. The clock is stopped with 12:10 to play in the half, as Paris is lying on the baseline just behind the hoop.

2:08pm- Bennett is being walked off the floor by two teammates after being looked at for about two minutes. It appears to be Paris’ left foot that is hurting. This does not look good for Bennett or his team.

2:09pm- Duran hit both free throws, giving Neumann a 10-1 lead through eight minutes of play.

2:10pm- Chase Plummer ’10 missed two shots at the stripe.

2:11pm- We’re over 9:45 into the contest, and St. Pat’s has yet to hit a field goal, and has just one point.

2:12pm- It took them 10:01 to do, but the Celtics have hit a shot from the floor. Berdy Cadet ’10 got an offensive rebound and put it in from about four feet, making it 10-3. After N-G hit one free throw, St. Pat’s came down and scored another bucket, making it an eight-point game, 13-5.

2:13pm- With just under 8:15 to play in the half, Paris Bennett has checked back into the game. As soon as play started, he began to limp and he still looks injured.

2:14pm- Cadet nailed a trey for the Celtics, responding to an N-G free throw. The next time down the floor—with Bennett staying around halfcourt—Rich Dobin ’10 hit a three to make it a three-point game, 14-11. The Celtics are back in it.

2:16pm- Bennett is coming out of the game with slightly less than 5:30 to play in the half. He gave it a go for almost three minutes, but it just does not look good.

2:18pm- Plummer got an offensive rebound and then scored, getting fouled in the process. He missed the free throw. It’s a one-point game, 14-13, with under 3:30 to play in the half.

2:19pm- Cadet drove past Fulton to the hoop but could not finish, leaving the score at 14-13.

2:20pm- A basket by Tyreek Duran has put N-G up by three with less than 90 seconds in the half. Fulton then scored as well, making it an 18-13 game.

2:21pm- Dean Kowalski was just called for an intentional foul with 50.4 to play in the half, which is his fourth foul of the game. Tony Chenault ’10 made one of the two free throws, putting Neumann up 19-13.

2:22pm- A bucket by Fulton has put N-G up by eight, 21-13.

2:24pm- Dobin made two late free throws for St. Pat’s to make it a 21-15 game. That will be the score at the half.

2:25pm- Lamin Fulton and Tyreek Duran both have seven points for Neumann-Goretti. Fulton has hit one three, and Duran has made five free throws. Berdy Cadet and Rich Dobin each have five points for St. Patrick’s. Both have made a three-pointer, and Dobin has also hit two free throws.

2:27pm- Tony Chenault just picked up his fourth foul about nine seconds into second half.

2:28pm- Lamin Fulton drove to the hoop and scored. St. Pat’s replied with a bucket of its own. It’s 23-17 with 18:30 to go.

2:29pm- Paris Bennett is back in the game with 18:03 to play in the second half. He seems to be moving a little bit better, but is running slowly and has somewhat of a limp. He did just score on the first Celtics possession that he was in for, so hopefully that means he is feeling a bit better.

2:30pm- Chenault spun around Kowalski down low and laid it in for two points. Rich Dobin then drained a straight-up three for the Celtics, making it a 25-22 game.

2:31pm- It’s 27-24 with 15:30 to play after the teams exchanged baskets.

2:32pm- Tyreek Duran scored down low, using a double pump in the paint. The Saints of Neumann-Goretti lead 29-24.

2:33pm- Kowalski drove past Tony Chenault, but had his shot blocked by Gillette. At the other end, Chenault drove to the hoop, and Paris Bennett tried to block him, bumping him with his body as he went up. A foul was called on Bennett, and Tony went down hard. After staying down for a minute or two, he walked off under his own power. It did not look like Paris was trying to make a dirty play, and even went over to Tony twice, once when he was on the ground, and once when he walked over to the bench.

2:36pm- A substitute took Chenault’s free throws for him, making the second of two.  The Saints then hit a two and a three, going up 35-24.

2:38pm- Chenault is back in with 10:39 to go in the game. I asked him if he was alright and he nodded his head yes.

2:39pm- The squads exchanged buckets making it 37-26 with less than 10 minutes to go. Bennett just scored down low, cutting the lead to nine. He has the last two baskets for St. Patrick’s.

2:41pm- Rich Dobin has fouled out of the game with 8:06 remaining. Considering the Celtics’ nine-point deficit, losing Dobin, their best three-point shooter here today, really hurts.

2:42pm- Both Bennett and Chenault are moving around alright and seem to be okay.

2:43pm- The Celtics have called timeout with 5:34 to play in the game, trailing 40-30 after a missed three by Bennett.

2:45pm- Bennett missed a shot, got his own rebound and scored, making it an eight-point game, 40-32, with less than five minutes to go.

2:47pm- A mid-range pull-up jumper from Bennett has cut the lead to six, 40-34. After a foul by St. Pat’s, Neumann took a timeout with 3:10 left in regulation, ahead by half a dozen points.

2:49pm- Derrick Gordon took a pass from Paris Bennett and ran the floor in transition, hitting a tough layup to make it a four-point game.

2:50pm- Chenault hit two shots at the line with less than two minutes to play, stretching the Saints’ lead to six points, 42-36. The Celtics then crossed halfcourt and took a timeout with 1:25 to play. Neumann has only three fouls, while St. Pat’s already put N-G in the bonus.

2:51pm- Tyreek Duran’s tough pressure defense forced a turnover by St. Patrick’s, as Dean Kowalski was called for a five second violation.

2:52pm- Chenault drove to the hole and was fouled by Kowalski, his fifth, with 53.9 left in the game. He then hit the second of two free throws.

2:53pm- Duran committed a foul, stopping the clock with just under 50 seconds to play. Berdy Cadet then nailed and St. Pat’s called timeout. The Saints lead 43-39 with 45.4 to go.

2:54pm- Bennett stopped that clock at 41.9 by fouling Chenault in the backcourt. He missed the front end of a one-and-one. #569 then scored for St. Pat’s after grabbing an offensive rebound.

2:56pm- Gillette missed the front end of a one-and-one, but Chenault got the board and was fouled while shooting. He hit both shots and then Neumann called a timeout with 23.7 to go, leading 45-41.

2:58pm- Bennett in-bounded the ball and got it back, but was called for traveling with about 20 seconds to go. #569 then fouled Chenault with 18.3 to play, and he hit the first of two free throws, making it 46-41. #219 scored at the other end for St. Pat’s. N-G in-bounded the ball and then the buzzer sounded, giving the Saints a 46-43 win.

Tyreek Duran was the leading scorer in the affair, dropping in 13 points for the victors. Lamin Fulton added 12 points for Neumann-Goretti, hitting two threes. Tony Chenault had 10 points as well for the Philly squad. Derrick Gordon was tops for St. Pat’s with 11 points. Paris Bennett and Rich Dobin each had 10 points, with the later of the two hitting two treys. Berdy Cadet dropped eight points for the Celtics, connecting on two triples. Northstar Basketball’s MVP awards go to Lamin Fulton for Neumann-Goretti and Rich Dobin for St. Patrick’s.

Note- photo is of Andre Gillette and is from http://scouthoops.scout.com/.