Cardinal Ritter set the tone early on Tuesday night in a Class 2A Sectional 42 first-round game.
The Raiders took an early lead they would not relinquish in a 61-49 win over Riverside.
“They played fantastic,” Ritter coach Derrick Williams said of his team. “I think we set the tone early on the defensive end. We talked about this being the championship time of the year, right? You’ve got to lock in defensively. It’s going to be a gritty game; we kind of wore them down. I mean, when they made their run, I’m like, ‘Hey, basketball’s the game of runs.’ They made their run, and we got to respond and close the game out. So I’m super proud of my guys.”
Both teams stayed within three points until late in the first quarter when a field goal from Thomas McDowell III gave the Raiders a five-point lead. An unsportsmanlike technical foul called against senior Kameron Reese gave the Raiders (12-12) two more free throws, and another bucket from Cheick Wade extended the lead 21-15 heading into the second quarter.
The Argonauts (21-2) scored just twice in the second period – two three-pointers from Reese and Deloris Major – as Cardinal Ritter’s defense stepped up. The Raiders outscored the Argonauts 10-6 in the second quarter giving them a 10-point lead at halftime.
Ritter led by as many as 19 in the middle of the third before Riverside mounted a strong comeback, courtesy of three 3-pointers from Cassidy Dash. Two more buckets from Jase Bennett – who led the Argonauts in scoring with 12 points – and Isaiah Weir, cut the lead to four in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter. With mental mistakes mounting, the Argonauts had the Raiders on their heels.
But Ritter, led by Devin Bolden’s team-high 21 points and strong efforts on the glass, did not flinch.
“I called that timeout and said, ‘Everybody relax,’ Williams said. “I said, ‘You’re playing to not lose instead of playing to win. We’re here to win, all right? So you’re getting tight.’ We still want to play. We stopped executing. We got a little lazy. They’re young kids, right? So they get fatigued, and they start making mental mistakes. It’s how to get them back. I literally said, ‘Everybody breathe, everybody calm down, we’re gonna be fine, all right?’”
Ritter got on the board for the first time in the fourth quarter at the 4:30 mark, with a bucket by Wade and a layup from Rylan Coleman. The Argonauts pulled to within five after two free throws, but Ritter re-extended their lead with back-to-back field goals from Coleman to give them an insurmountable lead.
“Our whole goal this year was ‘Job’s not finished’,” ‘Williams said. “I’m a Philly guy, all right? Kobe Bryant’s my guy. I mean, I knew him when he was 13, coached against his dad. So when I heard that little saying … like, we had a chance last year, we knew the path was there. University beat us, and that was the path that we had charted out, right? So we’re not done. Job’s not finished. This team had a chance to make the same run. But we just got to be hungry.”
In the first game on Tuesday, Monrovia kept pace with University midway through the first quarter before the Trailblazers built a seven-point lead to conclude the period, courtesy of five points from senior Blake Gray and two more from Josh McGee.
The Trailblazers went on to roll Monrovia 74-44 in the first sectional matchup. The Bulldogs led just once and very briefly in the opening minutes after a three-point shot from senior Jayden Najera, but a field goal and free throw from McGee gave University a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
The Trailblazers held a 10-point lead after two threes from Gray and senior Faisal Mohamud. Monrovia cut the lead to six courtesy of a three from Clayton Tharp and a free throw from Hudson McCloud, giving University just a 22-16 lead after the second quarter.
University coach Justin Blanding wasn’t concerned about the team’s slow start on offense heading into halftime.
“Just keep going, you know what I mean?” Blanding said when asked about his message at halftime. “Like, we knew at some point we were going to make a run. It’s always like that in the first couple minutes, especially when you’re in the 6 o’clock game. We were off our rhythm a little bit.”
The second half brought an explosion of points for the Trailblazers (16-8), starting off with three 3s from Gray and another from Mohamud. University led by 24 points after twos from McGee, whose additional free throw gave the Trailblazers 25 points in the third quarter – more than they scored for the entire first half – and went on to win by a decisive 30-point margin.
“I feel good,” Blanding said. “We just got to make sure that, in practice, we’re having good practices and making sure we’re sticking to the game plan, doing what we have to do.”
University, last year’s state runner-up in 2A, will play Covenant Christian (12-10) at 6 p.m. on Friday, followed by Park Tudor (14-8) vs. Ritter (12-12) in the second semifinal.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: ‘Job’s not finished.’ Ritter, University advance in Class 2A Sectional 43
Reporting by Bryan Ault, For Indy Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
