Newman gains first CYO title with overtime win

    Brother Martin fell a point shy of winning its first CYO Basketball Tournament championship in eight years when Newman’s Kyle Lewis tipped in his brother Kendall’s missed jumper to give the Greenies their first title, 58-57.
    And, although the Crusaders, favorites to win the District 9-5A again this season, will have to wait another year for a chance to claim a third CYO trophy, they now look to gain a measure of revenge against the Greenies in Newman’s tournament taking place this week.
    Newman placed Brother Martin on its side of the bracket and if the two managed to win their first two tournament games, they would meet in the semifinal round at 6:30 p.m. on Dec. 7.
    The Crusaders hope the date won’t be another which will life in basketball infamy for them.
    Newman’s Sean Tuohy was named the 1976 tournament’s most Valuable Player in 1976 when the Greenies lost to De La Salle.
    Kendall Lewis, who finished with 22 points, 12 rebounds and three steals, gave the Greenies their second.
    The Crusaders led by nine points on Jordan Cornish’s 3-point basket with 40 seconds remaining in the third period. But Newman out-jumped and out-muscled them under the boards and was able to send the game into overtime by scoring a game-tying basket to force a three-minute overtime period.
    Early power ratings rank Newman as the No.  2 team in Class 2A. Brother Martin ranks  No. 4 in Class 5A.
    One CYO Tournament streak came to an end. St. Augustine’s junior center Craig Victor, named MVP in 2010 and 2011, lost his opportunity to three-peat when Jesuit defeated the Purple Knights, 45-40, in the tournament’s second round.
    EARLY RANKINGS: Brother Martin is the District 9-5A favorite, followed by Archbishop Rummel, Jesuit, West Jefferson, Chalmette and Grace King.
    St. Augustine and East Jefferson appear to be the top two in District 10-5A, followed by Holy Cross, Riverdale, Warren Easton and Ben Franklin.
    De La Salle and Lake Area are the favorites in District 10-3A, trailed by Lusher, McMain, John McDonogh, L.B. Landry, Miller-McCoy and Sarah Reed.