Cahillites Control in Victory
Use balanced offense to defeat St. Joe's Prep
by Marcus Wright
1/14/08

Philadelphia, PA

Fast Break: Roman Catholic remained undefeated in Catholic League Red play (6-0) as they defeated St. Joe's Prep at Kelly Fieldhouse, 58-45. The Cahillites succeeded with balanced scoring from their starters: Maalik Wayns had 17, Rakeem Brookins had 14, Koron Reed had 13, and Kevin Regan had 12. St. Joe's Prep were led by Joe Nardi, who had 17, and Mike Leithead, who had 11. While the Hawks were able to keep it close by employing a strategy of keeping the ball away from Prep and hitting three pointers (8-15), Roman proved too much for them. The Cahillites countered by attacking the offensive interior and grabbing defensive rebounds (grabbing 15 boards out of 18 missed Hawk shots). This helped them get out to a 12-0 run to start the 2nd quarter (to lead 22-7) and ensured that the Hawks never got any closer than 8 for the rest of the game.

3 Pointer:

1. Roman's greatest success offensively came whenever they attacked the interior. They were bigger than Prep, and this led to them being able to make some tough shots inside, as well as drawing fouls. The team has height in the front court with Koron Reed hovering there, and the backcourt of Wayns and Brookins aren't afraid to drive to the cup as well as take the outside shot.

2. St. Joe's Prep was able to keep it within reach by displaying their shooting chops, hitting 8 three pointers. Joe Nardi had a great game in particular, hitting 5 from downtown. They kept the ball away from Roman, working the ball around the perimeter, and slowed down the entire pace of the game. Unfortunately, they got off to a slow start in the first quarter and a slower start in the second quarter (where the 12-0 run occurred), so they just never could really get back in to the game.

3. The one period during the game where the pace was quickened was the beginning of the second quarter, where it looked like everyone on both teams decided to put some pep in their step. This short spurt favored Roman completely. I was expecting them to run more during the rest of the game, but they didn't. Instead, they worked on a good amount of halfcourt plays, which is a good idea because that is what they will need come postseason time (the run and gun can only take you so far).

Free Throw:

Kevin Regan seemed to be a real matchup problem for Prep. He was everywhere, making some good cuts. He finished the game with a sound 12 points.

Quotes:

"We've bonded. We hang together on weekends. We do everything together. I think we're a good team. And on the court we got good chemistry, so we're playing well together"
- Roman's Maalik Wayns, on how he feels about the team at the moment

"We tried to play hard defense, stay in front of the screens and get as many points as we could to keep them away,"
- Roman's Koron Reed, on how they were able to keep control of the game


Beyond the Arc:
Special thanks to the St. Joe's Prep students who did the "Play Hard. Celebrate" promo for us. The interns thought you guys were funny. Well, crazy and funny... I thought more people would be at this game since last year, there was an overflow of people in attendance. Maybe the time wasn't good for the people. I liked the afternoon game because that gave me plenty of time to get this report done and go to sleep at a good hour!

Image - Mike Young

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