Pat Boyle’s journey to 500 career victories has been a family endeavor.
Yes, the Notre Dame boys basketball coach has won 104 games over the last six seasons with his sons on the roster. It started, however, well before that, when Boyle integrated his family into the Crusaders community and fostered the connections that propelled him to coach for 28 seasons (and counting).
“I would have never dreamed that I’d make it that long, especially when we started having children,” Boyle said. “... I have an incredible wife (Lisa). That’s really the most important part of this whole thing – the support I’ve gotten from my wife. She’s allowed me to do this for this long. It’s been so long coaching other people’s kids and now these last six years, being able to coach my own. It’s been tough on her. I’m lucky I’m married to the best person in the world.”
Lisa Boyle wouldn’t have it any other way.
“It’s been a really special road. Notre Dame is like our family,” she said. “... I can’t imagine him not coaching. He loves it so much. The boys (Brendan and Colin) have grown up with this program and come to love it just as much as Pat. I can’t say enough about Notre Dame and this community. Tonight, with all the alumni here, all his coaches here, it’s been awesome.”
Pat Boyle hit his career milestone with an 84-49 victory over visiting Bangor in a Colonial League East Division matchup on Friday night. The Crusaders gym was packed for the longtime coach’s accomplishment.
“It’s pretty awesome to have all these former players, a lot of friends, all our former coaches here,” Pat Boyle said. “That’s overwhelming and absolutely the best part of this, along with having my sons here and my one son on the court ... It was a really special moment for me.”
Notre Dame (16-2 overall, 14-0 league), ranked No. 5 in the area by lehighvalleylive.com, took a 5-2 lead on a 3-pointer by senior Dainn Vassallo with 6:20 left in the first quarter and never trailed again.
Colin Boyle, a senior, grabbed a steal and scored a layup to push the hosts ahead 12-4 midway through the opening period. The Crusaders used a 16-3 run in the second quarter to build what proved to be an insurmountable advantage. Senior Cameron Bohn drove to the hoop and scored to give Notre Dame a 39-21 edge with about 1:20 remaining before intermission.
“Our kids were a little amped up. I was a little worried about that when they started talking about it (the milestone) yesterday. I didn’t want them to put any pressure on themselves,” Pat Boyle said. “I thought we rushed a little bit early, [but] the other coaches reminded me, we did score 41 points in the first half. These kids play with unbelievable energy. The big thing now is that we have to teach them to slow down sometimes. But, there’s no other team I’d rather coach.”
Bangor (9-8, 9-5) cut the deficit to 14 in the second half, but that’s as close as it got.
“We came out with intensity on defense, which we’ve lacked in a couple games in the past. But, our defense was excellent today,” Colin Boyle said. “Our rotations were really good. When our defense is good, that means our offense will be good, getting baskets in transition. I thought we played really well tonight.”
Junior Exavior Prado paced the Slaters with 16 points. Jeremiah Singer, another junior, added 12 points.
Eleven different players scored for Notre Dame, led by 18 points from Colin Boyle. Watching the development of his younger brother has been a delight for Brendan Boyle, the Crusaders’ all-time leading scorer (1,900).
“It’s pretty unbelievable to be able to come back here and see my Dad accomplish that tonight ... Even before I was born in 2003, he’s been doing this,” said Brendan Boyle, who now plays at Kutztown University. “It’s even better to see the way my brother is playing. The player he’s become has been unimaginable. He’s been so good passing the ball, scoring the ball; he’s really come into his own this past year.”
Colin Boyle has emerged as the Crusaders’ leading scorer in his senior season, averaging 12.9 points per game. He handed the game ball to his father after the final horn.
“This one is extra special for me,” Colin Boyle said. “... He’s just a great coach and a great person overall. He could have any job he wants in the area, in my opinion. He works a full-time job. It’s not easy for him. But, he makes time just for us.”
Sophomore Isaiah Miles tallied 15 points for the Crusaders. Vassallo added 14, and senior Danny Darno contributed 11 points.
Pat Boyle, who was a guard on Allentown Central Catholic’s PIAA Class 3A runner-up team in 1989 and played at Muhlenberg College, took over Notre Dame in 1996 at the age of 24. Throughout his nearly three decades at the helm, the coach developed an extended family of players while his two sons were essentially raised within the program.
“Luckily, my kids did want to come with me all the time ... They grew up here,” Pat Boyle said. “It was awesome having Colin out there with me tonight and to have Brendan here and all my former players. That’s what made this so great.”
It’s the familial connections, both by blood and by basketball, that turned Friday into an unforgettable evening for the Boyles.
“You can’t put it into words,” Colin Boyle said. “Kids would dream of going to play for Duke or Syracuse. I dreamed about playing for Notre Dame in games like this against Bangor, against Pen Argyl, against all these teams in the Colonial League. This is a dream come true.”
Hall of Fame
Notre Dame inducted two new members into its Athletic Hall of Fame prior to Friday night’s game. Basketball and baseball standout Tom Keppel and the late John McGuire, a wrestling coach and impactful contributor to Crusaders athletics, were honored.
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Kyle Craig may be reached at kcraig@lehighvalleylive.com.
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