Gang Green, Basketball 2009-10

FEB. 14
CATHOLIC RED
Bonner 56, O'Hara 43
A 4-9 record may trick a person into believing that this team isn't going to make the playoffs. However, looks may very well deceive you, as the Bonner Friars are only one win away from locking up another playoff appearance, their first under new head coach Tom Meakim. They inched closer by defeating arch-rival Cardinal O'Hara on Sunday afternoon at Bonner 56-43.
It was senior day for Bonner, and the six seniors who are on the team were honored before tip off. They are: Chris Morrisson, Miles Williams, Dan Vanderslice, Rick Reigner, Keefer Francis and Jamal Melvin. It was certainly a special moment for these seniors before a very important game. In the first quarter, O'Hara took the early 3-0 lead about two and a half minutes into the game. A high scoring first quarter of play saw Bonner with the lead 18-14. The scoring toned down in the second half. Bonner's defense held the Lions to only four points. Rick Reigner was able to knock down two of his three 3-pointers to spark the Friars to a 27-18 lead as both teams headed into the locker rooms.
It seemed like Bonner left their "A" game in the locker room after the half. For much of the third quarter, the Friars committed numerous turnovers. Lazy passes, forced shots gave O'Hara some hope to get back into the game. The worst of this occurred off an O'Hara miss, Keefer Francis dribbled down court who found a wide open Bonner player on the wing for a three pointer. The only problem was that he had his head down and not paying attention. It led to a turnover and O'Hara took advantage. But the star of the game came just in time to save Bonner from melting completely. Reigner was able to knock away an O'Hara inbound pass, and give the ball back to Bonner on a great hustle play. This sparked the Friars and everyone seemed to be sharp from that point on. At the end of three, Bonner was up 37-27. O'Hara tried to mount a comeback in the fourth, led by Dan Kearney, but was unable to do so as the Friars were able to put the rivals away. When it appeared clear that the game was over with about a minute left, Bonner took all their seniors out one by one, and were given standing ovations by the entire gym. Both teams cleared the bench, playing what pretty much was their JV for the final thirty seconds. A late three by O'Hara made the final score: Bonner 56 O'Hara 43.
With the win, Bonner continues its dominance over the boys from Springfield, winning 15 of 17, and sweep the Lions for the fourth straight year. The Friars improve to 4-9 in league play, and will look to lock up a playoff berth Monday afternoon against North Catholic. Meanwhile, O'Hara concludes its season at 1-13 in the Catholic League Red Division. Keefer Francis led all scorers with 19 points. Rick Reigner scored 11, and four year varsity member Jamal Melvin scored 10. Dan Kearney led O'Hara, scoring 14 points.
As stated, Bonner will have one final regular season game. They'll travel to "The Pit," North Catholic's famous (or infamous if you're a visitor) gymnasium. North Catholic solidified a playoff berth, but is looking to jump to third in the standings. Bonner must win against the Falcons to jump Archbishop Ryan and clinch a playoff berth. Tipoff is set for 4:30.

FEB. 1
CATHOLIC RED
Roman 58, Bonner 48
After coming off a very tough loss to Archbishop Ryan on Friday night, the Bonner basketball team desperately needed a win to halt a two game skid, and to get back into any playoff discussion. Coming into the game Bonner was 2-7 in the Catholic League Red, two games behind Father Judge and North Catholic for the fourth and final playoff spot. A win would inch them one game closer in the standing. Bonner's opponent was the always formidable Roman Catholic. The perennial city power came into the match-up in second place in the division at 7-2 in the league, and 11-6 overall. A win for them would help them keep pace with the first place LaSalle Explorers.
The first quarter started off well for the Friars. Scott Slade scored the first points in the game. The speedy and elusive Jamal Melvin was able to penetrate the Roman 2-3 zone defense and make a couple early buckets to give Bonner a 10-9 lead at the end of the quarter.
The second quarter was filled with golden opportunities for Bonner. Unfortunately, they could not take advantage. The Friars played great defense, leading to scoring opportunities, but they could not finish their shots. They also turned the ball over too many times, which is something that can't be done if there are any hopes of beating a team like Roman. The worst of these was off a Roman missed shot. A Bonner defender rebounded the ball, but Rakeem Brookins from Roman stripped the ball back for the Cahillites, leading to two points for the bad guys. After having a strong first quarter, Roman's coach decided to double team Bonner's Melvin. It paid off, as Melvin did not have a great game when the double team took effect. When he had his opportunities, the tall Roman defenders were there to swat the attempts away. Roman took their first lead of the game with 4:39 left in the second. They started to run the floor, and Bonner couldn't keep up. Coach Tom Meakim called a time out to let the Friars regroup. It worked. Layups by Keefer Francis and Karonn Davis cut Roman's lead to 24-23 at the half.
After coming out of the locker room, it seemed as if Roman turned their game on. They started to pull away, taking advantage of the Bonner turnovers and missed opportunities, while cashing in on their own. A one point lead quickly turned to nine. This came off a block by Roman's Anthony Mayo, leading to a Roman layup. It extended to 11 right after a Bonner miss. Roman missed four shots in a row, but were able to secure each offensive rebound, and on the fifth opportunity they converted, giving Roman a 38-27 lead. At the end of the third, Roman was up 40-29.
The Cahillites appeared to have the game wrapped up early. They had a lead of 16 at one point, and it looked all but over. But Bonner was able to cut the lead down to 7 at 48-41 with two minutes left off strong efforts from Dan Vanderslice and Slade. Everything was going Bonner's way at this point. With 1:32 left, Bonner's fortunes continued. Roman had a 1 and 1 at the foul line. The shooter made the first, but it was waved off as a Roman player stepped in the lane too early, giving Bonner the ball. The Friars luck ran out here. On the ensuing inbound pass, the Bonner player passed it to point guard Joe McGinn. He passed it back to the inbounder, whose foot was still on the end line. This gave Roman the ball, and all but ended the game. Bonner had to foul, and Roman hit both free throws to make it a 50-41 lead. McGinn raced down the court and hit a layup to cut the lead back to seven. Bonner had to foul on Roman's possessions, and the Cahillites hit all of their free throws, icing the game. McGinn hit another layup with three seconds left, but it only changed Bonner's total. Roman defeated Bonner by a final score of 58-48.
B onner just could not cash in on their opportunities. Turnovers and missed layups spelled doom for the now 5-12 (2-8) Friars. It certainly did not help that Roman, 12-6 (8-2), dominated the boards, earning rebound after rebound. Rakeem Brookins led all scorers with 19 points on the night. Kevin Regan, also a football star, pitched in thirteen of his own to pace the Roman win. For Bonner, Scott Slade had 14 points. Keefer Francis scored 8, Jamal Melvin had 7, and Vanderslice pitched in 5. Bonner takes on Father Judge in a critical game for the Friars. This game will be played on Friday, February 5th, at 7:30 at Father Judge.

JAN. 22
CATHOLIC RED
Bonner 53, O'Hara 42
In the past couple seasons, Bonner has had much success against the Cardinal O'Hara basketball team. They have swept the Lions in each of the past three years in the regular season, and have won 13 of 15 games against them. They can make it 14 of 16. Bonner is halfway there to making it four straight season sweeps, as the Friars defeated O'Hara 53-42 in a very competitive rivalry game.
The early moments of the first quarter started off well for the green and white. They jumped out to leads of 5-2 and 9-4. However O'Hara was able to storm back and take a 14-11 lead late in the half. In the last seconds of the half, Joe McGinn drove to the basket and was fouled. He knocked down both free throws, cutting O'Hara's lead to 14-13 after one quarter. The second quarter was all Bonner. Key buckets by Jamal Melvin and Dan Vanderslice propelled the Friars to an early 7-0 run. At halftime, Bonner held a 27-21 lead. Bonner continued to outplay the Lions in the third stanza. O'Hara started to inch back late in the quarter, but a key three pointer by Melvin ended any momentum the Lions gained. Bonner had a 38-30 lead at the end of three quarters of play. In the fourth, things got a little nerve racking for the Friars. Bonner's offense froze early in the last quarter of play. They couldn't buy a bucket. Meanwhile, one team's misfortune is the other's opportunity. O'Hara took advantage of the missed chances by Bonner, and cut the lead to 38-35. Bonner was able to get off their scoring drought midway through the quarter, and took a 45-36 lead. Once again, O'Hara inched back, cutting the lead down to three. But Bonner was just too much. Strong defense from Vanderslice and Francis helped seal the win. Clutch free throw shooting helped as well, as Bonner was 13/16 from the line. McGinn hit four foul shots with under twenty seconds left in the game to clinch the victory. Jamal Melvin was 6 of 13 from the field, but was clutch when he had to be. O'Hara was just unable to stop the very quick and skilled point guard. He finished with a game high 17 points. Keefer Francis also had a big game, scoring 10 points, while blocking three shots. McGinn finished with 11 points, and Vanderslice finished with 7. For O'Hara, Anthony Bertolino, Dan Kearney, and Ryan Howarth each had 10 points in the loss. With the win, Bonner improves to 5-9 overall, and 2-5 in the Catholic League. O'Hara meanwhile falls to 5-9 overall, and 1-5 in league play. Bonner looks to build off of this huge win against the neighborhood rival Lions into the second half of the season, and get back into the playoff mix. The quest begins Sunday against St. Joe's Prep. The Hawks beat Bonner earlier in the year 60-38, but the Friars are determined to earn a much better result. Tip off is set for 2:30 at the Prep.
Notes: Personally, I think the schedule-makers should just give Bonner two home games against O'Hara. Bonner's student rooters took over O'Hara's gym, and gave the feel of the game being played in the comfort of Bonner's gym. Things looked like they were going to get intense, when the surprisingly many O'Hara fans got up to try and make it a student section war midway through the second quarter. At halftime, some O'Hara kids started dancing in front of Bonner's section, prompting some of the Bonner students to have a "dance-off" on the court. However it did not last, as the Bonner boys drowned out the little effort O'Hara had into supporting their team. It was a very entertaining night for the many spectators watching, as they saw not only a tremendous game, but also a boisterous and entertaining Bonner crowd. On second thought, keep the one game at O'Hara. It's much more fun having the rival school's gym to ourselves (smile).

JAN. 15
CATHOLIC RED
Bonner 58, North Catholic 52
It took them five tries, but Bonner finally earned their first Catholic League win on Friday night with a 58-52 at the hands of visiting North Catholic. Senior point guard Jamal Melvin had a team high 14 points to lead Bonner past the Falcons. The small, but quick Melvin also had seven assists. Keefer Francis and Scott Slade also led the way to victory, scoring 12 and 11 points each respectively. North Catholic's Jaleel Mack led all scorers with 23 points. With the win, Bonner improves to 4-8 overall, 1-4 in the Catholic League. Meanwhile the Falcons fall to 4-7 (2-3). The green and white will have off Saturday before a big match up with La Salle. The Explorers dismantled O'Hara Friday night 63-37. Bonner looks to ride this momentum into the game and get back into the playoff mix. Tip off is set for 2:30 pm at La Salle.

DEC. 11
NON-LEAGUE
Malvern 59, Bonner 49 (OT)
There was much anticipation for the 2009-10 Bonner basketball season opener. The green and white made some noise after a controversial season last year, reaching the quarterfinals of the playoffs before bowing out to North Catholic. Under new head coach Tom Meakim, Bonner looked to continue their string of three straight post season appearances. Unfortunately, they did not get off to a good start, losing a thriller to Malvern Prep. The game was tight through regulation. Malvern took a 11-10 lead at the end of the first quarter. Bonner took a 21-20 lead into the locker rooms at halftime. Neither team separated themselves in the final two quarters, and the game was tied at the end of regulation 45-45. But in overtime, Malvern took control. Bonner couldn't keep up with Malvern and fell by a score of 59-49. Junior DeQuann Walker had a game high 20 points for Malvern. Lamon Church scored 19 points, and Tracy Peal had 14 of his own. Meanwhile for Bonner, senior standout Jamal Melvin led the scoring with 18 points. Keefer Francis added 17 points of his own, but it wasn't enough. Bonner falls to 0-1 on the year, while Malvern improves to 4-1. Up next for Bonner is a date with Cardinal Dougherty this Sunday. Unless the two teams meet in the playoffs, this will be the last time the two schools will play each other on the basketball court, as Dougherty will close at the end of this school year along with North Catholic. Tipoff is set for 2:30 at Dougherty.