Tony Harper still at 998 career wins after Faith Christian tops Cathedral
Cathedral boys basketball coach Tony Harper’s march toward 1,000 career wins hit a snag Friday night as Cathedral lost on the road at Faith Christian Academy, 41-23.
The Irish had just defeated the Lions six days earlier at Cathedral by a final of 44-27 to earn Harper his 998th career win.
That clearly left a bad taste in the mouths of the Faith Christian players. Salvador Martinez hit a three-pointer from the corner early in the second quarter to give the Lions a 13-2 lead, and fans and players erupted.
Cathedral’s star, Mike Kirkland, got in foul trouble early, and the Irish were not able to close the gap.
It was tough-sledding most of the night for the Irish, who missed shots they usually make and seemed out-of-sync en route to 23 points for the entire game.
The Irish will next host Patterson Institute on Tuesday, Feb. 7, as Harper looks to get one step closer to 1,000 victories.
If Cathedral is able to win that game, Harper would have a chance to secure win number 1,000 on Feb. 10 at home against iTEC Prep Academy.
Harper began his coaching career in 1968 with Burges. He then went on to coach at Montwood, where the gym is named in his honor. He also had a stint at El Paso High in the 1980s.
