Warminster, Pa. — Malachi Richardson had played a good first half.
Richardson, a 6-foot-6 senior guard at Trenton Catholic Academy, had scored 10 points on 4-for-8 shooting from the field, including a pair of 3-pointers. But Trenton Catholic trailed Imhotep (Pa.) Charter 39-32 at halftime of their game in the Mary Kline Winter Classic on Sunday.
"I knew I had to come out way more aggressive than I was in the first half,'' Richardson said. "Our guys, we didn't really have it going so I took it on myself to get us going.''
It took Richardson a while, but he finally got going. Imhotep increased its lead to 16 points midway through the third quarter. Then Richardson led Trenton Catholic back.
He scored 17 second-half points as Trenton Catholic rallied. Richardson tied the game with a 3-point shot with 18 seconds left in the game. But Imhotep's DeAnte Robinson made one free throw with 12 seconds remaining to get the lead back.
Everyone in the packed stands at Archbishop Wood High School knew Richardson, the Syracuse University signee, would get the ball. After a timeout with 6.7 seconds left, Richardson got the ball at the top of the key, drove to his right and got fouled.
"That's what we're trying to get him to do is drive,'' Trenton Catholic coach Fred Falchi said. "They're going to come out on him and he's so explosive.''
Richardson went to the foul line with 2.0 seconds on the clock. It seemed like a preordained finish, but as he released the first free throw, Richardson let out an anguished cry.
"It slipped out of my hand a little bit,'' Richardson said. "It felt short the whole time. It felt kinda good, but I knew it was short.''
Richardson regained his poise and hit the next shot, sending the game into overtime.
Richardson scored two more points in overtime but fouled out with 2:55 remaining in the extra period. Trenton Catholic, which lost three other starters in addition to Richardson to fouls, eventually fell 73-68 to Imhotep.
However, Richardson had put on a show. He finished the game with 29 points on 9-of-17 shooting. He made five of his 10 attempts from 3-point range.
"He's an amazing basketball player,'' Imhotep coach Andre Noble said. "You know what's really good? He doesn't need the basketball. He can run through things, then catch and score really quickly. He's just really smart, very poised and very mature for a high school basketball player about his offense.''
Even in defeat, Richardson dazzled. On some occasions, he used his height on a step-back jumper from outside the 3-point line. He utilized his size when driving against smaller opponents. On one play, he executed a crossover dribble that had his opponent falling to the court as Richardson rose up for another 3-pointer.
Still, Richardson was no one-man show. Trenton Catholic fell way behind as Richard Ariguzoh, a 6-9 senior center, got into early foul trouble. Ariguzoh played just two minutes in the first half and then picked up his fourth foul just nine seconds into the third quarter.
"It hurt us a lot because he's our inside presence,'' Richardson said.
But when Imhotep moved out to a 45-32 lead, Falchi took a chance and sent Ariguzoh back into the game. The inside-outside combination of Richardson and Ariguzoh got TCA going.
The Iron Mikes' comeback, like Richardson's free throw with two seconds left in regulation, came up short.
"I think this atmosphere and this game can definitely help us going forward for when we play the better teams in New Jersey,'' Richardson said. "Getting ready for the state tournament, even though that's a long way away, going forward this game will be big for us.''