North Catholic boys score 32 in 4th quarter to rally past Deer Lakes

By: Josh Rizzo
Friday, February 6, 2026 | 10:06 PM

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Jude Rottmann knew the situation was dire. But the North Catholic senior wasn’t worried about the water the Trojans’ boat took on during the first three quarters Friday night.

He believed their experience would allow them to overcome the 13-point deficit they faced going into the fourth quarter. North Catholic ended up scoring 32 points to prevent the ship from shrinking and escaped with an 81-77 Section 1-4A win over Deer Lakes.

“We’ve been in this situation before,” Rottmann said. “Because it was Senior Night, we had more confidence in ourselves as upperclassmen. We were able to convince the other ones to not give up and keep going.”

Rottmann shot 19-of-21 from the free-throw line and finished with a game-high 34 points. He made all six of his attempts in the fourth quarter.

“We were great from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter,” Trojans coach Jim Rocco said. “Although we were stung a great deal by Deer Lakes. We are a resilient bunch.”

Rottmann made a pair of free throws with 1 minute, 47 seconds remaining to give North Catholic its first lead 75-74. Rottmann said he was happy his practice shooting free throws paid off. He didn’t shoot them well last year.

“My coach got on me a little bit,” Rottmann said. “A lot of it is mental. I changed my routine. I don’t know if it helped. I take a second to breathe.”

North Catholic (17-4, 11-1) earned a share of the section crown with Knoch and put forward its case for the top seed. The Trojans needed all of their resolve to get by Deer Lakes.

The Lancers (10-11, 5-7), who already clinched a playoff berth, opened the game on a 9-3 run. Deer Lakes scored 32 points in the first quarter.

Throughout the night, the Lancers were led by a balanced effort. Collin Rodgers and Evan Moore scored 23 points apiece, and Luca Mangieri added 21.

Deer Lakes coach Albie Fletcher said he was pleased to see how the team answered his call.

“I challenged these guys,” Fletcher said. “Boy, did they respond. I was proud of their effort. They had no fear and played as a unit. Putting four quarters together has been challenging.”

Deer Lakes led 62-49 entering the fourth quarter. The Trojans initially responded by forcing a few turnovers and scoring six straight, capped by a layup from Jason Fredericks, who finished with 22 points, that cut the score to 62-55.

“You see how much it wears teams down,” Rottmann said. “Especially in the third and fourth quarter, teams can get tired of having to make the extra pass, play smart and not take the shot they want. Eventually, they’ll turn it over and get tired of it.”

Deer Lakes still found ways to break North Catholic’s full-court defense. The Lancers stretched the lead back to 12 on a layup by Moore with 5:38 remaining.

The Trojans, however, kept attacking and earning trips to the charity stripe. North Catholic made all 12 of its free throws in the fourth quarter. Brandon Pickette (12 points) and Tom Rottmann (11) also finished in double figures for the Trojans.

Deer Lakes never regained the lead after Jude Rottmann’s free throws put them ahead. The Lancers had a few layup opportunities they missed during the fourth quarter that came back to haunt them.

“It doesn’t come down to one shot or one bad pass,” Fletcher said. “They shot 34 free throws, and we shot 14. We missed some tough ones there.”

Tags: Deer Lakes, North Catholic