St. Ray’s is SMARTBall Classic Sole Survivor
HARLEM, NY - Undersized and undermanned, St. Raymond’s appeared to be the definition of an underdog. On Thursday, they’d take on a fully loaded Iona Prep squad in the championship round of the SMARTBall Classic, a 22 team, single elimination tournament held at Abraham Lincoln Park.
Although two of the Ravens starters, Omar Silverio and Nicholas Rivera were M.I.A., St. Ray’s received a superhuman performance from 6'5" Darius Lee ’18 who powerlifted his team to a 61 – 57 win over Iona Prep. “We needed to win this game,” said Lee. “We’ve been in this tournament for three years so we needed to win it.”
Up against a front court that consisted of 6’8 Josh Alexander ‘18 and 6’9” Souleymane Kouressi ‘19, Lee said their strategy was simple. “Rebound and run. That’s pretty much it.” While the Ravens were the smaller team, Lee said they practiced boxing out.
The game plan paid off from the get-go for St. Ray’s with Gary Grant ‘19 and Dallas Watson ‘18 attacking the rim in transition. The Gaels defended with a zone but with the Ravens getting up and down the floor quickly that oftentimes negated that defensive tactic.
St. Ray’s had accumulated a six-point lead that extended to eight with 20 seconds before a coast to coast dash by Bryce Wills ‘19* reduced Iona Preps deficit back to six as the warm up quarter ended. Wills basket seemed to wake the Gaels up. A three-ball by Spencer Curto ‘19 along with additional baskets from Wills was part of a 10 -5 Gaels run that pulled to within one point of the lead.
In what would be a reoccurring theme throughout the contest, St. Ray’s would receive clutch baskets from Lee along with help from various teammate just as Iona Prep seemed to be closing in. This time Watson along with younger brother DeMarco Watson ‘19 helped Lee stave off a Gaels attack. The Raven closed out the half ahead, 30 -26.
In the third quarter, Iona Prep began to display its defensive prowess as Kouressi and Wills transformed into human fly swatters. While St. Ray’s still held onto its lead, the momentum was shifting. The Gaels ramped up defense began to yield offensive opportunities and with 19.4 second left in the quarter, Romar Reid ‘18 gave Iona Prep its first lead.
Starting a quarter down, albeit only by a point was new territory for St. Ray’s. With 6:10 left to play, Iona Preps advantage grew to seven points. Being undermanned, at this point, could’ve been a great reason to mail it in and exit gracefully. After all, they fought the good fight. No one would have faulted them for coming this far but going no farther. Lee clearly missed that memo as the forward put the Ravens on his back and powered his way to the rim over and over.
An and-1 drive by Lee with 3:23 had finally closed the gap to a bucket. Wills drew a foul on the next possession and had a chance to extend Iona Preps leas but the senior missed both. Soo after, DeMarco Watson tied the game at 53 and Lee took back the lead for the Ravens with 2:26 left to play.
Down the stretch, the Raven extended its lead shooting a better percentage from the free-throw line than the Gaels. Iona Prep had a chance to tie with 30 seconds left to play but Wills 3-ball fell short. A rebound by Lee secured the chip for St. Ray’s.
Ravens assistant coach Roosevelt Byers, who was at the helm for the championship game, was not surprised by Lee’s performance. “I’ve been coaching Darius since he was nine years old. He’s a big man that can do things a guard can do. This is definitely his time.”
Both Lee and Coach Byers agree that the Ravens win over another top CHSAA team without two of their top performers serves notice as to the team's depth and will to win. "We've got guys who've been playing together since they were freshmen with me, " said Coach Byers. "St. Ray's is not to be messed with," Lee added.
Lee’s 31 point, 7 rebound and 3 block performance earned him Most Outstanding Player honors. Wills led Iona Prep with 18 points, 5 rebounds & 3 blocks.
