SPRINGFIELD, PA – Undefeated Archbishop Ryan very much looked the part as they made quick work of Cardinal O’Hara to the tune of an 82-43 victory. The game marked the beginning of PCL play for both teams.
The game looked competitive up until just after the opening tip, from that point on it was Ryan's game. The Lions’ defense is going through a rebuilding process, as new head coach Jason Harrigan was quick to admit post game, but nonetheless the team was simply outmatched by the Raiders of Archbishop Ryan.
Ryan managed to take the early lead thanks to their terrific ball movement. The team would never settle for what was first available routinely moving the ball around the entire key looking for the most high percentage shot. The team gave up their occasional turnover to start the game.
Ryan senior forward, Matiss Kulackovskis, scored a game high 21-points - PSD photo by James Williamson
Cardinal O’Hara’s offense on the other hand focused mainly on driving the paint and trying to get to the rim, which worked to minimal success thanks in large part to the low post defense of Fred Taylor and Matiss Kulackovskis, who also scored a game high 21 points. The Lions would continue to drive the paint throughout the game hoping to make something happen.
Ryan’s coach Joe Zeglinski said that he wanted his team to put an added emphasis on aggressiveness to start the game. After coming out sloppy in their man-to-man defense early on, Zeglinski began to press the O’Hara offense.
Ryan’s press defense then opened things up for their transition game and they never looked back. The team went on a 17-2 run in the game’s opening quarter and would have closed the frame leading 21-5 had it not been for three O’Hara free throws in the quarter’s closing minutes.
While O’Hara did look better offensively to start the second quarter, they were never able to make a dent in Ryan’s 16-point lead, rather only momentarily limiting the lead from getting any bigger.
Soon enough however, Ryan started to run up the score and leading the way was senior Izaiah Brockington. Brockington may have been the most exciting player to watch on the court. Whether it was off the dribble with a nifty floater or on a no look pass, you quickly got the feeling that Ryan was liable to score whenever Brockington had the ball in his hands.
Ryan closed out the first half with an alley-oop from Izaiah Brockington to Fred Taylor, which let out any remaining air in the Cardinal O’Hara gymnasium. The third quarter featured an array of three pointers and a barrage of dunks from Archbishop Ryan. By the time the clock read triple zeros, the visiting Raiders had taken a 39-point lead over the home team Lions.
Cardinal O'Hara vs. Archbishop Ryan (55 Photos)
When asked what positives his team could take away from the loss, Harrigan just said that he will have to watch the game film.
Archbishop Ryan’s head coach Joe Zeglinski was thrilled to get the early win in PCL play.
“This is huge. To start off 1-0 is big because every game is going to be tough and every game counts. You have got to come out ready to play every night in the Catholic League.”
Despite his excitement, Zeglinski was not going to let it get the best of him saying that his team would take a game-by-game approach for the remainder of the season.
“We are just trying to take it one game at a time. Obviously cliché, but we are looking to go 1-0 every night. We are just stressing that a new season started tonight, 9-0 is huge for our program, but in the catholic league we are 1-0 right now.”
Looking Ahead: Archbishop Ryan will now go on to play Archbishop Wood this Friday at home, while Cardinal O’Hara will travel to Archbishop Carroll this Thursday looking to rebound and secure their first PCL win of the season.