MIDDLE VILLAGE, NY – Royals head coach Joe Arbitello may be trying to sort out the best line-up combinations to go with but with the depth of talent at his disposal, most other coaches would probably relinquish their first born to be in his position. On Friday, the Royals laid waste to St. Raymond, 82 – 64 due to the added firepower of underclassmen Ryan Myers ’20 and Quaran McPherson ‘20.
Meyers said he was motivated to excel against the Ravens. “The last two games, I played bad, so I just got in the gym and focused and it showed.”
The deck was stacked against the Ravens from the onset as St. Raymond’s sole big man Darius Lee ‘18 sat in street clothes due to an injury. Later in the contest, sharpshooter Omar Silverio ‘18 exited the court with a knee injury.
The Royals jumped out front 8 – 0 as Myers and McPherson netted back-to-back treys followed by a lay-up by Tyson Walker ‘18. A zone along with the twin towers of 6’10” Moussa Cisse ’21 and 6’11” Kofi Cockburn ‘19 in the frontcourt made interior scoring almost impossible for the Ravens. In the latter half of the quarter, St. Ray’s found some success with Gary Grant ‘20 and Jalen Reneau ‘19 scoring in transition before the Royals got its defenses set.
The Ravens trailed by 12 points as the second quarter got underway. Cockburn began to dominate in the paint offensively, but St. Raymond countered as Grant and DaMarco Watson ‘20 scored in the lane over the outstretched arms of the Christ the King frontcourt. Myers finished the half strong for the Royals and put back by Adam Elgammel ‘19 put Christ the King ahead 45 – 25 at the midway point of the game.
The Ravens never gained traction in the second half and could do no better than to exchange baskets. Trailing by 18 points to start the final quarter, Coach Arbitello subbed out his starters while sitting on a 23-point advantage with 3 minutes left in regulation.
Myers led Christ the King with 18 points with McPherson and Cockburn netting 15 points and 14 points respectively. Reneau paced St. Raymond with 14 points.
