BOYS' BASKETBALL: Haverford School Ends Season on a High Note at PAISAA Championship Game
Haverford School junior Christian Ray hits milestone for the second time.
ASTON — Despite being overwhelmed by a second-half avalanche in the form of the Hill School in Saturday’s PAISAA championship game, Christian Ray still got to experience a special basketball milestone.
For the second time, in fact.
In just his second season as a member of the Haverford School program, Ray reached the 1,000-point club as a member of the Fords, a little bit more than a year when he got to 1,000 points as a high school player.
Ray spent two years playing for Octorara High School in Chester County before transferring to Haverford in 2016 and reclassifying as a member of the Class of 2019. Last January, Ray got to 1,000 cumulative career points, and then reached that threshold for the Fords on a strong drive to the rim in an eventual 68-50 loss to Hill.
Haverford School Junior Christian Ray #24 soars in for a dunk during the PAISAA championship- PSD Photo by Kevin Murphy
Ray #24 celebrates monster dunk with teammate Bob Stratts - PSD Photo by Kevin Murphy
The loss stung for sure, but Ray took some solace in just how far he has come in his two years at Haverford.
“It means a lot,” he said. “I got to 1,000 career points last year, but I always wanted to get to that number in one place too. I wanted to come in here and get it, and it wouldn’t be possible without my coaches and teammates. It felt great to hear them announce it over the speakers when it happened, but we had to stay focused.”
Ray’s 1,000th point as a member of the Fords cut Hill’s lead to two points, and Haverford trailed just 26-22 at the break. However, Hill, armed with a much taller roster that included 7-foot senior Seth Maxwell (15 points) and 6-foot-7 senior Nick Alikakos (17 points), put some distance between themselves and the Fords by way of a 22-9 third quarter.
Just like that, a four-point deficit turned into a 48-31 hole after three quarters.
“We did a good job defending in the first half, and we expected a dog fight coming in,” Ray said. “We gave ourselves a chance early on, but we failed, execution-wise, in the second half and I think our inefficiencies on offense led to defensive troubles in the second half. When they have a 7-footer who can step out and shoot a 15-foot jumper, it’s hard to guard. We fought all game long, we just didn’t get a win.”
The Fords were disappointed in the loss, but it by no means diluted the fact that the team won 23 games overall, stacked against just six losses. Ray helped lead Haverford to an undefeated season in the Inter-Ac, and while the team will graduate seven seniors (including guard Kharon Randolph, who also scored 16 against Hill), it returns a lot of talent, too. That starts with Ray, but also includes players such as freshman Christian Clover (11 points) and junior guard Gavin Burke.
Ray said he’s ready to step up as a senior leader, but also took a few moments to personally thank all of the seniors who helped ingratiate him into the program as a transfer student.
“I came into Haverford not knowing anyone,” Ray said. “I talked to Kharon and Joey (Dignazio) before I came in, and then I met Nasir (Smith) at the first workout. From the very beginning, these guys welcomed me in. I built a relationship with them all and love them to death.
Hill School vs. Haverford School 2018 PAISAA Highlight Video - Shot by Kevin Murphy
“The little, intangible stuff kept me going. Joey kept me going and encouraged me every game, Will Yoh guarding me in practice, Bob Stratts rebounding and blocking … I can go down the list, every single one of them helped me become a better person and player. I’m thankful for the player part, but words can’t describe what impact they’ve all had in my growth as a person since I got here.”
Head coach Bernie Rogers, who just completed his third season at Haverford, also was sure to thank the seniors who helped him transition to the Inter-Ac after coming over from Archbishop Ryan.
“They’ve been with us since day one and created a great basketball culture within the program,” Rogers said. “They were selfless, they helped each other and fostered a team-first attitude. They took us from 10 wins to 19 to 23. It’s been an impressive run.”
Hill vs. Haverford School - 40 PSD Photos by Kevin Murphy
Hill vs. Haverford School - PSD Photos by Kevin Murphy
Like any veteran high school coach, Rogers is accustomed to players graduating. It’s never enjoyable to watch committed seniors move on, but at the very least Rogers can take solace in the fact that he returns a large chunk of talent that just posted a 10-0 Inter-Ac record.
Obviously, that starts with Ray.
“He’s been great,” Rogers said. “Just an all-around good player. He defends, rebounds, passes and scores. He’s brought a lot to the program.”
The loss to Hill will certainly keep the holdovers motivated as they enter their offseason, and Ray said he’s ready for the challenge to lead the team as a senior leader, which will start before he finishes the school year out and officially becomes a senior.
“I look at myself as a senior leader now, and it’s my job to lead this team,” Ray said. “We’re ready to get going as early as next week. There are no weeks off, but we know we’ve got to get back into the gym.
“We were hoping to put one more run together and win a PAISAA championship for our seniors, but we just came up a little short. We’ve been down before, but we’ll be back.”