Young Ravens Man-Up Over Knights
Being the recipient of an upset is not exclusive to top tiered teams and delivering an upset also is not the domain of a single team. A lesson learned on Thursday evening when NYCHoops #8 ranked team, the Holy Cross Knights were on the butt end of an upset courtesy of an unranked St. Raymond Ravens from the Bronx, NY. The Knights, a veteran team known for giving top ranked teams all they can handle, were themselves manhandled by a young Ravens squad who may be maturing at just the right time.
Led by 6-foot-6 sophomore Daniel Dingle, who put down 28 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists, the Raven hung tough and bested Holy Cross in the quarterfinals of the CHSAA Intersectionals by the score of 67-60.
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The Knights, who primarily play man-to-man, pulled in front early as Evan Conti (18 points) and 6-foot senior guard, Jahleel Felix (15 points) penetrated inside to score. Dingle would keep the Ravens close as the forward played strong in the paint. Teammate Nkeruwen Okoro, a 6-foot-4 sophomore who had 12 points, 6 rebounds and 4 blocks did a good job pushing the ball up court and finding Dingle in the post.
Midway through the first quarter 6-foot-1 junior guard Devin Brooks (11 points) would give the Ravens their first lead, 5-4, off a floater and while 6-foot-6 junior center Marcus Hopper would retake the lead for the Knights on two occasion in the final two minutes, Brooks would knot the score at 9 apiece going into the second quarter off a bullet pass from Dingle.
6-foot sophomore Myron Hickman would strike first for the Ravens but Felix would score an and-1 that would spark Holy Cross for the first half of the second quarter. The Ravens, however were relentless on defense, which flustered the Flushing, NY team and caused the first of three shot clock violations on the Knights through out the game. With 4:19 remaining in the quarter, Okoro would swish a 3-ball to give St. Ray's an 18-16 lead off a 6-2 run.
The Ravens would amass a slight lead with 3 minutes left in the half as Dingle faked a post up and dished off to Okoro for a basket and the foul. Another shot clock violation and a basket by 5-foot-10 sophomore guard Larry Graves and St. Raymond would take a 29-23 advantage into the locker room.
The Ravens came out storming in the third quarter and a basket by Brooks would increase their 10 points early. With 5:34 on the clock, Graves would make a grown man move in to the rim for the bucket in transition and suddenly the Raven were up, 37-26.
The Knight struggled on offense as a third shot clock violation would hinder their progress. Conti would get off as would 6-foot-1 sophomore guard Will Davis as the Knights could began to emote a sense of desperation. The Ravens would extend their lead to 14 points with 1:36 but a buzzer beater by Conti to end the third would cut the Ravens lead to 50-39.
Dingle would get fouled early and go 0-2 from the line and it appeared as if the Knights had found a weak spot to exploit down the stretch. Conti would cut the Raven lead to 9 points early scoring from the perimeter and Felix weighed in with a strong drive to the hole. That coupled with a Knight's full court press seemed to initially frazzle the young Raven's squad as their lead dwindled to 50-46 with 6:10 left in regulation, which could an eternity for a inexperienced team.
A Ravens turnover plus another bucket by Conti and the writing appeared to be on the wall but Dingle would come up big down the stretch scoring a tough bucket in the paint plus the foul.
Cross continued to hard press the Ravens and sent Dingle to the line on multiple occasions in the waning moments of the game. The young forward strength would ultimately be at the foul line where he went 6 for 6, extending St. Ray's lead to seven and ending Holy Cross' season.
Ironically, the win over Holy Cross placing the Ravens, the youngest varsity team in the CHSAA, deeper into the playoff then last year when they lost to Bishop Loughlin in the quarterfinals.
St. Raymonds will be playing Christ the King Royals in the semifinals on Wednesday March 10th at St. John's University.
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