BENSALEM TWP. — Perhaps Ayden Agapito said it best.
Agapito and his Crestwood teammates defeated Holy Ghost Prep, 60-58, in Friday’s opening round of the PIAA Class 5A boys basketball tournament at Bensalem.
“They’re ranked 32nd in Pennsylvania,” Agapito said of the Firebirds. “We’re number 308, so that tells you a lot, doesn’t it?”
Things didn’t start off well for the Comets.
The Firebirds scored the first seven points of the game and led after the first period, 11-5.
Crestwood woke up in the second quarter, netting 18 points with Gio Barna’s three-pointer at the buzzer coming as an exclamation point to send the Comets into halftime with a 23-16 lead.
“We let our guard down,” said Barna, who led all scorers with 19 points. “We had to bring back the energy to everyone. We built up a lead but then we definitely got a little complacent. Fortunately it didn’t hurt us.
“They were coming back. They had more energy than us but we had to be gritter and just hang in there.”
The Firebirds tried to come back, closing an 11-point deficit in the final minutes but the Comets kept their cool.
“Our guys were making our shots today,” Agapito said. “Miles (Metz), Connor (Wagaman), Gio, they were making their shots. Sometimes you don’t have that.
“They could shoot but all their guys weren’t hitting their shots and it changed their game, it changed our game, it changed the game. I think we just beat them in our heart, in our mind, in our soul. We just wanted it more.
“They were coming back on us, and that was a little nerve-wracking, but you have to do what you need to do, whether you’re a leader or a role player. It’s up to you if you want to win the game. It’s not up to whether they get a steal or they miss their shots.
“This gives us a lot of confidence for the next round.”
Crestwood last made it to the state tourney in 2021.
“This is our first year back and as a senior it’s definitely great,” Barna said. “I couldn’t expect anything more than to be here at states.”
Crestwood (18-9) advances to Tuesday’s quarterfinals, taking on the winner of District 12 champ Neumann-Goretti vs. District 1 six seed Pottstown game at a site and time to be determined.
“We’re looking at tough competition and it’s going to be tough but we’ve just got to play hard,” Barna said.
Holy Ghost Prep, the third-place finisher out of District 1, ends the year 19-4.
PIAA Class 5A First Round
Crestwood 60, Holy Ghost Prep 58
CRESTWOOD (60) — Gio Barna 5 6-7 19; Miles Metz 3 2-2 10; Connor Wagaman 3 1-2 8; Jack Rodgers 2 3-6 7; Avery Brace 0 1-2 1; Ayden Agapito 5 5-6 15. Totals 18 18-25 60.
HOLY GHOST PREP (58) — Adam McDonald 4 4-10 13; William Condon 3 5-10 11; Liam Duffy 2 2-8 6; Jack Polek 6 1-1 17; Christopher Albright 2 0-0 5; Kevin Rhodes 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 14-32 58.
Crestwood`5`18`19`18 — 60
Holy Ghost Prep`11`5`14`28 — 58
Three-point goals – CRE 6 (Barna 3, Metz 2 Wagaman), HGP 6 (Milici 4, McDonald, Albright).
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