The Bishop Ireton boys and girls basketball teams made history over the weekend. The boys defeated DeMatha while the girls beat Elizabeth Seton for the first time in school history.

The Ireton boys, coached by Pete Hamer (seventh season), defeated perennial powerhouse DeMatha 58-56 on Jan. 17. The game was played in Alexandria before a large, boisterous home crowd - including several hundred students who rushed the court following the dramatic win.

The Cardinals, who seldom if ever recruit, trailed the mighty Stags, who recruit year in and year out, 16-14 after the first quarter.

The "Cardinal and Gold," with approximately 400 boys in their entire school, trailed the legendary Stags, with approximately 900 boys in their entire school, 36-29 at intermission.

"Earlier in the season, we had some pretty good starts versus Gonzaga, St. John’s and McNamara but today our guys really believed they could play with DeMatha for 32 minutes," said Hamer.

The Stags, coached by Mike Jones (first season following Morgan Wootten's retirement), took a 38-29 lead to start the third quarter. But Ireton did the improbable. Hamer's players went on a stunning 16-0 run to take a 45-38 lead late in the third quarter.

By the end of the third quarter, Ireton led DeMatha 47-41.

Ireton’s 6'4" senior post player Matt Coleman spearheaded the effort with 11 third quarter points. Cardinal 5'9" senior shooting guard Peter DelaCruz added five points and a number of key assists. Senior point guard Ben Sprague also dished out some key assists.

"We moved the ball well. We took some good shots and they went down," said Hamer.

The Stags went ahead 49-47 to start the fourth quarter. They held on to a 51-49 lead with 2:39 remaining.

However, the inspired Cardinals scored the next seven points to take a 56-51 lead. Sophomore guard/forward Daeshawn Branch scored five points during that stretch.

But DeMatha did not go away. The Stags tied the contest 56-56. Coleman, also a standout soccer goaltender, hit one of the most memorable shots in 38 years of Ireton basketball. The senior took an excellent pass from Blincoe and converted a layup from the right side of the basket for the game winner with 10 seconds remaining.

DeMatha could not score the equalizer on their final possession of the game and the Ireton celebration was on.

"Defensively our big guys (Coleman, Blincoe, Branch, sophomore Sean Southerland, senior David Lynch, senior Dan Blaine) did a great job on their big guys. We played "man" defense for the majority of the game. Our win one week earlier versus St. Mary's Rykken certainly helped the players (get into the right mindset). The longer the game went on, the more these kids believed they could actually beat DeMatha. This is a very, very big win for the Ireton community," said a jubilant coach Hamer.

DelaCruz (19 points), Coleman (17), Branch (nine) and Blincoe (seven) paced the Cardinals offensively.

The victory was Ireton’s first conference win. They have an overall record of 5-9. Both Bishop O'Connell and Paul VI beat DeMatha earlier this year, making it a clean sweep the Virginia teams for the first time ever.

The Ireton girls’ team made it a stellar weekend for Ireton basketball. The Cardinals, coached by Marty Goodhart, traveled to Bladensburg Jan. 17 and defeated the Elizabeth Seton Lady Roadrunners for the first time in school history 61-53 in overtime).

After more than 20 consecutive defeats, dating back to the 1990-91 season the "Cardinal and Gold" played the "tortoise" - whereas the Roadrunners played the "hare."

Seton led virtually the entire game, including 43-38 after the third quarter.

Earlier in the third, the Roadrunners had led by 13, their largest lead of the game.

"They didn't want to lose to us," said Goodhart. "They fought very hard. We eventually tied the game to force overtime."

Regulation ended in a 51-51 stalemate. The Roadrunners scored only one overtime basket in four minutes. Tenacious Cardinal defense and poor shot selection did in the home team.

By contrast, Ireton knocked down eight free throws in the extra period and also converted one field goal by junior Allison Goodhart (the coach’s daughter) to claim their second conference victory of the season. Earlier they defeated the Bishop O’Connell Knights. Ireton improved to 9-6 overall (2-3 WCAC)

Pacing Ireton’s offense was Goodhart (20), freshman Becky Fernandes (13), junior Beth Dalmut (10), senior Wendy Carron (eight) and junior Claire Kugler (four).