W.H.E.E.L.S. fall off as St. Raymond’s rises
BRONX, NY - On Tuesday at FDA III, the Washington Heights Expeditionary Learning School (W.H.E.E.L.S.) briefly had St. Raymond’s on the ropes during a pool play game in the Tru-Ballaz Pre-H.S. Classic. Although it was an ugly win, the Ravens finally coagulated in the second half after porous first half. This, along with an unhinging by W.H.E.E.L.S. late in the game allowed St. Ray’s to come away with a 69-57 win.
A full court touchdown pass from point guard Isaiah Washington ‘17 to Dallas Watson ‘18 right after the tip-off appeared to set the tone and place the momentum squarely in the hands of the St. Raymond’s. That hypothesis was rebuked immediately as the W.H.E.E.L.S. Wolves went on an 8-1 run spearheaded by Ryan Pye ‘19 and impressive point guard Kevin Greene ’18.
Big man Darius Lee ‘18, who pounded the boards from buzzer to buzzer, ended W.H.E.E.L.S.’s run and soon a bucket by Washington tied the game at 15-points apiece with 1:22 left in the opening quarter. The Bronx, NY catholic school weathered the storm and fought off Wolves of Manhattan, NY but W.H.E.E.L.S. still managed to score as the quarter ended and held a two-point lead as the second quarter began.
Washington sparked the Ravens to start the quarter and perimeter baskets by Omar Silverio ‘18 countered baskets by W.H.E.E.L.S. sharpshooter Marlon Moreta ‘17. The result was a 38-31 advantage for St. Ray’s to start the second half.
Lee was a beast in the second half, inhaling rebounds and scoring putback and free-throws for the Raven’s but W.H.E.E.L.S. was not done yet. Baskets from Pye, Moreta and Raheem Ragsdale ‘18 sparked a 9-2 Wolves’ run. Suddenly a 11 point St. Ray’s lead to start the fourth quarter was reduced to a 2-point lead with 5:45 left in regulation.
The momentum was swiftly shifting in the direction of W.H.E.E.L.S. One highlight reel defensive play featured Ragsdale who came from behind to spread a Washington lay-up on the back board, like peanut butter on bread.
The senior Minnesota bound guard, whose nickname ironically is “Jelly Fam Dime” for his exceptional shake n' bake abilities, took the unexpected but emphatic block to heart and immediately responded with a slick jelly move of his own followed by a step-back, all net three-pointer that drew crowd cheers while quieting the Wolves' surge for good. The Ravens re-extended its lead to double-digits en route to a 12-point victory.
Washington and Lee led St. Ray's with 17-points apiece with Silverio adding 11 points. Pye and Moreta were the high scorers for W.H.E.E.L.S. with 12 points each.
In other pool play action:
* Stepinac Mauls Fannie Lou, 69-40
* Dwight Bites Gompers, 52-42
* LaSalle Plucks Eagle Academy, 75-70
