Archbishop Ryan Defeats Archbishop Carroll 62-44: Kehler on Hoops

Written by: Dell Jackson on January 10, 2023

Archbishop Ryan Defeats Archbishop Carroll 62-44

Archbishop Ryan defeated visiting Archbishop Carroll 62 to 44 on Monday night in a showdown between two of the top teams in the Philadelphia Catholic League. Ryan surged early in the contest, as 6’ 9” junior Thomas Sorber scored 12 points in the first quarter, with all shots coming close to the basket. Ryan had little difficulty getting the ball inside to Sorber in the early going against Carroll’s matchup zone. Sorber, who was a 1st team Class 5A All-State selection last season, repeatedly powered to the hoop in the first frame.

Ryan mainly played a 1-3-1 zone defense in this game, with Sorber in the middle, flanked by 6’ 6” junior Jaden Murray and 6’ 4” junior Darren Williams. Carroll had enormous difficulty coping with Ryan’s zone, and Ryan had 15 steals in the contest, eight of them by Williams and two of them by Murray. Ryan’s 1-3-1 wasn’t particularly mobile, but Carroll had trouble passing over it, and the quick handed Darren Williams—a 3rd team Class 5A All-State selection in 2021-22—repeatedly snatched the ball away from the visitors. A 1-3-1 zone is typically vulnerable against shots on the baseline from the corners, but Carroll was rarely able to get the ball to shooters in those spots on the floor against Ryan’s tall defenders.

Ryan started fast in this game, scoring the first four points on hoops inside by Sorber. Carroll committed three turnovers in the first 150 seconds of the contest. Carroll’s only lead of the game, at 5 to 4, came early in the first quarter on a hoop inside by 6’ 4” junior Su’Meer Alleyne. Ryan countered with another basket inside by Sorber, and they never trailed again. Ryan led 18 to 12 at the end of the first quarter.

However, Carroll kept the game close in the first half, with a strong performance on the defensive backboard somewhat offsetting the visitors’ turnovers. Four different Carroll players made a 3-pointer each in the first half, and a switch to a man-to-man defense helped to contain Ryan’s attack. Ryan led 25-21 at halftime.

Ryan broke the game open early in the third quarter. An 11-0 Ryan run early in the third frame extended the home side’s lead to 39-24. The run consisted of a 3-pointer by Darren Williams, a floater by 5’ 11” senior Michael Zaire Paris, a 3-pointer by 6’ 2” senior Rocco Marabito, and another 3-pointer by Darren Williams. Carroll never really threatened from that point, with almost all of their second half offensive production coming from behind the arc on shots taken between the free throw line extended and the 10-second line.

Sorber and Darren Williams had big games for Ryan. Sorber finished with 24 points, 13 rebounds, and two assists. Darren Williams scored 19 points, and he had eight steals, six rebounds, and six assists in the game.

Ryan out-rebounded Carroll 38 to 27, although Carroll had a 19 to 17 edge on the boards in the first half. Usually, a team playing against a 1-3-1 zone defense does well on the offensive board, but Carroll only had three offensive rebounds in this contest. Ryan had 12 turnovers, and Carroll had 15 miscues. Ryan was eight of 13 from the stripe, and Carroll was four of eight. There were no ties and two lead changes.

There was a lot of outside shooting in this game. Ryan made four 3-pointers, three by Darren Williams and one by Marabito. Carroll made only four 2-point field goals, but they scored 10 times from behind the arc. For Carroll, 6’ sophomore Jake West made four of their 3-pointers. Six different Carroll players scored 3-pointers in this contest.

Archbishop Ryan scoring: Thomas Sorber 24, Darren Williams 19. Michael Zaire Paris 9, Rocco Marabito 7, Ryan Everett 2, and Jaden Murray 1.

Archbishop Carroll scoring: Jake West 12, Su’Meer Alleyne 8, Dean Coleman-Newsome 7, Khair Dixon 6, Ian Williams 6, and Nasir Ralls 5.

Archbishop Ryan played a very challenging non-conference schedule—largely against out-of-state teams—and is now 6-6 on the season and 2-1 in Philadelphia Catholic League games. Archbishop Carroll is now 9-3 this season and also 2-1 in the Philadelphia Catholic League.

Archbishop Carroll 12 9 7 16-44
Archbishop Ryan 18 7 20 17-62

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