No. 4 North Catholic defeats No. 3 Seton LaSalle with 16-0 second-half run

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, January 25, 2019 | 11:09 PM

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North Catholic typically shoots more threes than twos, but junior Jackson Paschall balanced that ratio a little.

Paschall scored 20 of his 23 points in the paint Friday night, and Isaac DeGregorio added 21 points as fourth-ranked North Catholic bolstered its section title hopes with a 66-49 victory at home over third-ranked Seton LaSalle.

“We average four or five more threes than twos,” North Catholic coach Dave DeGregorio said. “We love the three, but Jackson Paschall runs the floor.”

The 6-foot-3 forward had nine layups or put-back baskets including four in the fourth quarter as North Catholic turned defensive stops into transition points.

Overall, the Trojans attempted six more 2s than 3s.

Zack Rocco added 10 points, all scored in the paint.

“It was nice because we can’t hit (3s) all the time,” Paschall said. “… This time we got it into the post. Me and Rocco got to get some buckets and seal the game for us.”

The two teams split their regular-season series, so North Catholic (13-3, 7-1) and Seton LaSalle (13-2, 8-1) would share the Section 2-3A title if both teams win out.

Seton LaSalle won 81-57 on Dec. 28.

“We knew we had a second chance at these guys,” Paschall said. “We had to do everything we could to get tied for first place in the section. We got that done tonight.”

Seton LaSalle led 42-40 in Friday’s rematch before a game-tying layup by Paschall that sparked a 16-0 North Catholic run midway through the third quarter.

Seton went more than seven minutes without a point and eventually trailed 56-42 with 5:30 left.

The run included a 3-pointer by Isaac DeGregorio late in the third that energized the home crowd, and Paschall added a 3 early in the fourth, but it was North Catholic’s work around the rim that fueled the run.

“In the first half, we didn’t turn them over and the defense really didn’t generate much offense,” Dave DeGregorio said. “As things went on, it did. Jackson Paschall really ran the floor well today and guys found him.”

Dylan Preston led Seton LaSalle with 21 points and Jacob Verner added 16.

Seton led 35-32 at halftime but scored only 14 in the entire second half. The Rebels had seven points apiece in the third and fourth quarters.

“I’ve always believed that if you have a single-digit quarter you’re going to lose,” Seton LaSalle coach Mark Walsh said. “We had two of them.”

Seton made only 5 of 24 shots after halftime including 2 for 12 from the 3-point arc.

“The first time we played them we really knocked down shots,” Walsh said. “We jumped on them with a big lead and were able to control tempo. Tonight I thought we played defense more than we played offense.”

Chris Harlan is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Chris at charlan@tribweb.com or via Twitter @CHarlan_Trib.