Here's a review of the improbable series of events that enabled St. Paul to win 1974 State Championship.
1st Round - Northwest Catholic - 2/28/74. St. Paul trails 54-51 with 1:54 remaining. John Majewski hits a 20-footer, then Mark Noon makes a steal, is fouled, and converts the one-and-one opportunity to make it 55-54. Northwest misses potential winning shot with 8 seconds to go.
2nd Round - Nonnewaug - 3/4/74. St. Paul trails 50-49 with 1:19 to go. Mark Noon scores on a short jumper with 1:05 showing to make it 51-50. Tom Kurban hit a foul shot with 30 seconds remaining to extend the lead two points. Nonnewaug misses potential tying shot with six seconds left, and Brian Corbin hits two free throws to ice the victory.
Sweet Sixteen - Notre Dame - 3/8/74. St. Paul trails 69-64 with 2:15 to go, but two foul shots by Tom Kurban and a jumper by Brian Corbin cut the gap to 69-68 with 1:55 remaining. Notre Dame scores, but Tom Kurban retaliates with two more foul shots to make it 71-70 in Notre Dame's favor with 1:07 to play. Notre Dame turns the ball over on a bad pass with 20 seconds to go. Mark Noon dribbles in from mid-court and hits short jumper with 11 seconds left to give St. Paul the lead. Notre Dame misses potential winning shot and Frank Owsianko grabs the rebound.
Final Four - Guilford - 3/12/74. St. Paul held the lead throughout the game until the fourth quarter when Guilford came back and went ahead 62-60 with 20 seconds left. Brian Corbin ran the offense and found Mark Noon in the corner for a 20 foot jumper with three seconds left to tie it. Guilford threw the ball away on its ensuing possession and after a timeout by St. Paul, Mark Noon fed Frank Owsianko who swished a 35-foot jump shot near half court at the buzzer to lift St. Paul to a thrilling 64-62 basketball victory over Guilford at Quinnipiac College in front of 2.000 fans.
Championship - Daniel Hand - 3/15/74. The Falcons completed their astonishing drive to the Championship at the New Haven Coliseum in front of 7,000 fans by defeating Daniel Hand of Madison 71-70, thus bringing the City of Bristol its first CIAC hoop title, since 1934. Mark Noon, the game's Most Valuable player, connected on 14 of 19 field goal attempts and finished with 33 points, while Brian Corbin was deadly from the perimeter as he hit on 7 of 10 shots for 14 points. In overtime, John Majewski sank two foul shots with 3 seconds left to make the score 71-68 before Hand scored a lay up at the buzzer. Of course. It had to be overtime. It had to be decided by one point. And St. Paul had to win it.
