St. Raymond Conquers the Mount

BRONX, NY – The Ravens may not be the biggest team in the CHSAA but they're fast becoming known as the most relentless. Three teams had already fallen prey to St. Ray’s quick, fast and in a hurry style of basketball and on Friday, Mt. Saint Michael became the fourth with an 82-74 home invasion by the Ravens.

“It starts with our defense,” said St. Raymond head coach Jorge Lopez. “I tell the guys every day that we’re going to have to be aggressive on the defensive end.”

According to Lopez, the Ravens offensive opportunities blossom from defensive stops but it was a battle of wills from the onset. The Mountaineers took an early lead as Ibrahim Wattera ‘20 was a load for St. Ray’s to handle in the paint along with instant offense from their speedy point guard Tyler Hawkins '22. Mount also found offense from freshman Javoy Thompson '23 but the dynamic duo of Malachi Smith ‘21 and Luis Kortright ‘20 matched the Mount’s intensity, providing the Ravens with ample transition point opportunities.

Basically, knotted at the end of the first quarter, both teams were attempting to leave it imprint on the game. The Ravens gained the upper hand midway through the second quarter by implementing superior ball movement with crisp passes that kept the Mountaineers shifting and hedging. By the half, the Ravens turned a one-point advantage into a solid 46 – 32 lead.

St. Ray’s pressed down hard on the Mountaineers looking to end that battle early. A balanced scoring attack increased Mt. Saint Michaels deficit to 21 as the final quarter got underway. The Ravens had a stranglehold on Mount but the energy expended by them to maintain that hold began to manifest on the scoreboard as St. Ray’s lead dwindled.

A 26 – 12 run by the Mountaineers shaved their deficit to seven points with 1:58 left in regulation. Fortunately for the Ravens, they were able to hold on and cross the finish line with the dub. “I think we were just tired,” said Coach Lopez. Our guys were flying up the court and I think fatigue got the best of us.”

St. Raymond was led by Smith with 23 points with Kortright adding 13 points. Wattera paced Mount St. Michael with 18 points.