Archbishop Ryan Defeats Roman Catholic 64-57: Kehler on Hoops
Written by: Dell Jackson on February 12, 2024
Archbishop Ryan Defeats Roman Catholic 64-57: Kehler on Hoops
Article by David Kehler
Archbishop Ryan opened the game with an 18 to 3 run, withstood a furious Roman Catholic comeback, then cruised to a 64 to 57 victory on Sunday afternoon in the Philadelphia Catholic League regular season finale for two of the best teams in Pennsylvania. Ryan’s gym was close to full for the spirited contest on Super Bowl Sunday.
With 6’ 7” junior Shareef Jackson being rested due to an ankle injury, Roman was at a decided disadvantage on the boards, and they missed his formidable inside presence on offense and defense. As such, Roman relied on outside shooting more than usual in this game, a contest dominated at times by 6’ 10” Ryan senior Thomas Sorber, who will be playing at Georgetown next season.
Ryan got off to a great start. 6’ 3” senior Darren Williams, a Florida Gulf Coast commit, opened the scoring with a couple of 3-pointers, then Sorber slammed down a dunk. Roman quickly called a time out, and, when play resumed, Ryan went up 10 to 0 on a hoop inside by 6’ 6” senior Jaden Murray. With 4:10 left in the first quarter, Roman scored their first points of the game on a 3-pointer by 6’ 2” junior Sebastian Edwards. Ryan responded with an 8 to 0 run on Williams’ third 3-pointer of the quarter, a three point play by Sorber, and a fast break layup by 5’ 11” sophomore Matt Johnson. However, Roman did not fold, responding with a 3-pointer by 6’ 2” senior Travis Reed and a couple of clutch scores by 5’ 10” senior Bobby Cottrell. Ryan led Roman 20 to 11 after eight minutes of play.
Roman had a strong second quarter, largely due to effective outside shooting vs. Ryan’s 1-3-1 zone defense. Five different Roman players scored during the second frame, and the visitors scored four times from beyond the arc, with Edwards; Cottrell; and, in particular, 6’ 5” sophomore Sammy Jackson leading the way. Ryan scored only four field goals during the second quarter, three of them by 6’ 1” senior Ryan Everett, who had a superb game. Two of Everett’s three second quarter scores were 3-pointers, and his teammates were clearly feeding his hot hand. With 2:57 left in the first half, Roman tied the game at 28 on a layup by 6’ 5” junior C.J. Miller off of a slick bounce pass by 5’ 8” senior Kabrien Goss. Miller was fouled on the play, and his free throw gave Roman their first lead of the contest, 29 to 28. The teams exchanged scores back and forth for the rest of the quarter, with Roman’s Goss getting two key defensive rebounds on the weak side during the sequence. The teams were tied at 34 at halftime.
Ryan won the game on the boards in the second half, out-rebounding Roman 17 to eight in the final two quarters of play. Roman did not get a single offensive rebound in the second half, and it seemed like Ryan’s superb Sorber got every carom down the stretch, as Ryan had a decisive nine to one rebounding advantage in the fourth quarter.
With Roman in a 1-3-1 zone defense, Ryan scored first in the third quarter on a follow by Williams, then Roman tied it at 36 on a drive by Goss. Ryan went up by two on a jumper by 6’ 3” senior Rocco Marabito, who had a strong third quarter, then Roman took their final lead of the contest, 39 to 38, on Reed’s second 3-pointer of the game. Then Ryan went on an 8 to 0 run that proved to be decisive on two free throws by Murray, a 3-pointer by Marabito, a free throw by Marabito, and a jumper by Sorber. That made it 46 to 39, Ryan.
Early in the fourth quarter, Roman’s Edwards scored inside to cut Ryan’s lead to 51 to 47, but Ryan immediately responded with another 3-pointer by Everett, with 5:10 left in the game, followed by Williams’ fourth 3-pointer of the contest to seal the win.
Both teams played a lot of 1-3-1 defense in this game, but they also switched back and forth to man-to-man. Both squads ran quite a bit, and the level of play was very high.
Roman concludes the regular season with a 20-2 record, and, in spite of this loss, they finished in first place in the Philadelphia Catholic League regular season standings. Roman is a contender for the PIAA Class 6A state championship. Ryan is Class 5A, and this outstanding team will likely sometime face off against Imhotep Charter and/or Abington Heights in the PIAA state championship tournament. However, before the PIAA tournament, these two squads may meet again in the Philadelphia Catholic League playoffs.
For the game, Ryan out-rebounded Roman 29 to 18. Roman had just three offensive rebounds. Ryan had nine turnovers, and Roman had eight miscues. Ryan was 14 of 19 from the free throw line. Indicative of their emphasis on outside shooting in this game, Roman took only one free throw in this contest, and it was a make. Roman made 12 3-pointers, and five different Roman players hit at least once from beyond the arc. Ryan made eight 3-pointers. There were six ties and six lead changes.
Archbishop Ryan scoring: Thomas Sorber 23, Darren Williams 14, Ryan Everett 13, Rocco Marabito 6, Jaden Murray 6, and Matt Johnson 2.
Roman Catholic scoring: Sammy Jackson 16, Bobby Cottrell 13, Sebastian Edwards 10, Kabrien Goss 9, Travis Reed 6, and C.J. Miller 3.
Roman Catholic 11 23 8. 15 – 57
Archbishop Ryan 20 14 13 17 – 64
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