St. Raymond Dominates Stepinac

BRONX, NY - About 30 minutes before the tip of the game between St. Raymond and Stepinac in the Bronx, the coaches and players of the Ravens found out that Crusaders star Jordan Tucker '17 wouldn't be in attendance, having to miss the game because of a minor school issue according to Stepinac head man Steve Herman.

That didn't change the way that St. Ray's was going to attack the Stepinac defense their head coach Jorge Lopez said, but it did make things easier on them as they were able to dominate on both ends of the floor for the 83-48 victory.

Tucker texted a couple of the St. Raymond players before the game, informing them he wouldn't be playing on Tuesday, and while that definitely seemed to make things a lot easier for the Ravens, it didn't change how they were going to go about their game plan according to Lopez.

"It didn't change our mindset. We weren't disappointed, but it didn't change our mindset," Lopez said. "It may be changed our matchups a bit, but our keys in attacking them were the same."

It seemed right from the beginning that St. Raymond were able to control the game offensively with Cahiem Brown '16 hitting on a corner three ball to make it a 13-2 Ravens lead just 3 minutes in.

Kylan Guerra '15, who is leading the CHSAA in scoring early in this season, connected on a deep three from the wing for the Crusaders, but he was taken out after picking up his 2nd foul late in the first, and with Malik Mooving '16 scoring 5 straight to close the quarter, it was 26-14 after one.

Stepinac seemed to find a rhythm to start the second as Tom Cola '15 knocked home a three from the right side, and Guerra then banged home a step back three to cut the deficit to 26-20, and with 6:35 left in the half, Lopez said he had a message for his team off a timeout at that point in the game.

"I just reminded them that they weren't going to give up and that we needed to get back to the same intensity that we came out, especially defensively," Lopez said.

It was all about defense, it always is for the Ravens their sophomore sensation Sid Wilson '17 said. Defense is what propels the offense, and he believed that is what they needed to get back to playing St. Raymond basketball.

"Our defense leads to our offense," Wilson stated. "That's how we get our buckets."

With Lopez imploring his team to turn up the defense, that's exactly what they went ahead and did. Wilson blocked the ball as Stepinac guards tried to attack the rim, only to find the long 6'7" forward there to meet them, and with the blocks, easy transition baskets became easier and easier as Isaiah Washington '17 went coast to coast, and back to back putbacks off misses by Brown led the Ravens on 16-2 run to close the half as they took a 42-22 lead at the intermission.

Wilson started the 3rd quarter once again as a rim protector, blocking three shots in a two minute span, and the defense kept leading to strong offensive chances, as the lead grew to 30 for St. Ray's after three.

Guerra didn't quit, as without Tucker there for assistance, he still managed to get off good looks, and he was able to get to the rim and use a nice burst to beat the Ravens defense in the 4th for a couple of nice buckets, but the St. Raymond lead grew to as big as 39 in the 4th, and the starters gave way to the subs for the Ravens, they still couldn't miss as players like Claudio Nmezi '16 and Omar Silverio '18 each were able to hit from long range in the closing minutes, giving St. Ray's the easy 83-48 win.

It was a true team balanced effort with Brown leading the way for St. Raymond with 17 points and 9 rebounds, while Nmezi had 12 points, all coming in the 4th quarter. Washington added 10 points, and Wilson, in limited 2nd half minutes, was still able to put in a stat stuffing effort with 7 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 blocks.

Guerra was the lone Stepinac player in double figures with 25 points, while Jorden Means '17 added 7 in the defeat.

This ended up being another proving grown win for St. Raymond as they took care of business in a major way. Brown said they still have stuff to prove after feeling as if they were being underrated coming into the season, while Lopez said if anything was shown, he feel it's his team's willing to play together.

"We want to be able to run this year, but I told them to do that we have to play together," Lopez explained. "We have to be unselfish and make the extra pass and look for each other, and I think that's the one thing we have been able to establish."

That and the fact that they seem to be a championship contender, taking care of business each night out. They have a big game in Saturday at home against Thomas Jefferson, which you think would be a huge thought on the minds of the players and team, they truly are taking it just one game at a time Brown says, which is just how his coach wants it.

"Jefferson will be a big game, but we have All Hallows first on Friday and that's where our focus is, on All Hallows," Brown said.

And for Lopez, all is looking good, but he hopes that with each passing day, they keep improving.

"We seem to be getting better each game, and I hope that we just continue to keep getting better."