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basketball Edit

Scanlon is a problem; St. Ray's was a problem solver

Isaiah Washington puts up a floater
Isaiah Washington puts up a floater (M. Wingate)

BRONX, NY – The new look Monsignor Scanlon team is big, fast and hungry. They will be a handful for any opponent this season. The St. Raymond’s Ravens would catch the full fury of their recently upgraded Class AA Bronx rival on Tuesday during the pool play rounds at the Tru-Ballaz Pre-H.S. Classic.

The game was torn from the boxing analogy pages of Muhammad Ali vs. George Foreman. An undersized St. Ray’s rope-a-doped the uber-athletic Scanlon team during the first half and delivered a 90-72 knockout punch to the Knights in the second half.

It was a packed house at FDA III high school to witness the budding rivalry between these two Bronx CHSAA teams. The Ravens have a storied history in the Class AA division while the Knights are still looking to make a name for themselves after moving up from Class A. An emphatic win by Scanlon, albeit during a pre-season game, would set the tone for the upcoming regular season and Scanlon was ready to rumble.

With a bigger than average front court that listed no one under 6’4” in addition to a tall 6’5” point guard in Saquan Singleton ‘17, Scanlon pounced on St. Raymond right after the opening tip-off. Baskets by the senior guard along with buckets by 6'4" Gabe Joseph Bryon ‘18 and 6'5" Victor Potter, Jr. ‘18 ignited a 10-2 Knights run that was only briefly squelched by a perimeter shot from Dallas Watson ‘18.

St. Ray’s was clearly flailing as Scanlon dominated both the offensive and defensive boards and retained its momentum with a death defying slam dunk from Joseph Bryon . To the Ravens' credit, although that were being overwhelmed, Omar Silverio ‘18 and Watson always managed to hit clutch but contested shots that prevented Scanlon’s advantage from getting out of hand. A drive by Mare Trinidad ‘17 set the Knights up by 10 points but a late a trey by Watson left St. Ray’s only down by 7 to begin the second quarter.

Omar Silverio, Dallas Watson & Washington
Omar Silverio, Dallas Watson & Washington (M. Wingate)
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Scanlon was still energized as the second quarter began and immediately pushed it lead back to ten points with a perimeter shot from 6’7” Italian born forward Pietro Agistini ’18 along with inside play from Joseph Byron. In a reoccurring theme, just as the game was on the verge of getting out of hand, a Ravens player would reel it back in with timely shot.

To end the second quarter, Silverio was that dude, draining shots from the arc. In addition, Minnesota-bound Ravens point guard Isaiah Washington ‘17 began drawing fouls closes the gap to 4 points from the free-throw line and with a 3-ball. A follow-up trifecta from Watson trimmed Scanlon’s lead to 1 point. The Ravens were on the verge of taking its first lead by but a jaw dropping alley-oop dunk by Potter with 19.2 seconds left in the first half put that notion on pause.

Only down 37-36 to begin the third quarter, the Ravens appeared to have endured and absorbed all that Scanlon had to offer. It was now their turn to strike back and strike they did. With Washington and back-up PG T.J. Trice '19 attacking by land and Silverio by air, the Ravens would go on a 9-0 run. The Knights would not score a point in the quarter until their was only five minutes left. Down by eight-points, Scanlon countered with a mini-run of its own as Singleton went coast-to-coast, flushing the rock down with authority.

Scanlon did a good job while playing from in front but became flustered and rushed when playing from behind. Conversely, the Ravens never seemed to panic, even during the first half when it appeared an upset was brewing. They simply weathered the storm and did their damage once the Knights storm had subsided.

Monsignor Scanlon did manage to reduce its deficit to 4 points with 4:28 left in the third but aerial bombs by Silverio rebooted the Ravens' lead back to nine point at the end of three quarters. The Knights athleticism which worked so well during the first half morphed into over aggressiveness in the second half which eventually led to foul trouble.

Early in the fourth quarter, the Ravens lead grew to 12 points with Nicholas Rivera '18 benefiting inside against a weary Scanlon squad. Washington began incorporating his patented and1 moves and finger roll finishes while also setting the table for his teammates. The Knights were now in free fall and were soon down by 20 points with under four minutes left in regulation. The final moments of the game were more about saving face than about winning or losing.

Silverio led St. Ray’s with 24 points with Washington adding 20 points (14 points from the free-throw line) and Watson contributing 17 points. Singleton paced Scanlon with 18 points with Joseph-Bryon pitching in 14 points.

...to be continued.


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