Varsity 365

Roman Catholic aggressive; defeat St. Joe's Prep, 55-42
by Marcus Wright

Highlights

Kelly Fieldhouse, North Philadelphia - Give him an inch, and he'll take a mile. That infamous cliche can be applied to the game that Maalik Wayns of Roman Catholic had today against St. Joe's Prep. His 18 second half points - after only scoring three in the first half - helped the Cahillites pick up a 55-42 victory over the Hawks.

The game was much closer than the final tally shows. The first quarter saw both teams only score 7 a piece, and part of that was due to the physical nature of the game from the start. Both teams hustled, and the intense defensive efforts caused for poor shooting for both teams in the period.

The offense picked up in the second period as the teams traded shots. Sr. Guard Phil Giordano was able to connect with a couple of long baskets for the Prep, while Roman Sr. Guard Courtney Stanley made some tough baskets of his own. The Prep started the quarter shooting much better than they did in the first quarter, but the shooting cooled down as the game went into halftime with Roman up 21-18.

The key factor in the game to this point was that Roman Catholic star junior guard Maalik Wayns was held to only 3 points. The Prep crowd at the Fieldhouse was constantly on top of him with various chants, and there's a chance that the chants may have gotten in his head in the first half.

But all of this would change in the second half, as Wayns found his touch and started connecting on shots from the perimeter, no matter what the defense did. His improved play was complemented by a raise in energy from the rest of his squad as well. Soph. Guard Rakeem Brookins opened the quarter with two quick baskets (and finished the game with 15 points), and the rest of the team seemed to step up their game a few notches. The Hawks had trouble connecting with shots as Roman stepped up the defensive pressure (including meeting Prep Sr. ballhandler Joe Meehan with double-teams numerous times as he crossed halfcourt). Still, thanks to a buzzer beater by Jr. Guard/Forward Dan Fitzpatrick, the Hawks went into the 4th quarter still within reach, down 37-30.

But there was just too much Maalik Wayns for the Hawks to take. He handled the ball with poise in the 4th quarter, and continued his aggressive play, getting to the free throw line a few times at the end of the quarter to ice the game.

Perhaps the most glaring stat - and a further testament to the tough defense Roman played - was St. Joe's Prep did not have a single player in double digits, led by Sr. Guard Matt Williams with 9. The Hawks settled for many long jumpshots, and many of them looked to be on the mark, but just didn't fall. And the interior was a tough place for both teams to work in. In the end, Roman just made more plays and outlasted the Hawks.

Roman improves their record to 4-2, and will play Neumann Goretti next on Dec. 26th. St. Joe's Prep fall to 4-5 and will play Simon Gratz on Dec. 27th.

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The Hawks will look to get back on the winning track on Thursday