Philin' It Up, Basketball 2008-09

FEB. 8
CATHOLIC RED
Judge 49, Ryan 43
When Ryan met their rival Father Judge on this Sunday afternoon, there were a lot of things the Raiders were playing for. For one it was Senior Day (coach started all the seniors: Tom Sottnick and Matt Yabor made their first career varsity starts) and the seniors wanted to make their last game at the Ryan gym memorable. The other two reasons were: what place would the Raiders finish in and how would they react to the loss of senior point guard and captain Rus Slawter (ankle injury)? Neither of those questions was answered in positive fashion. Ryan lost the game 49-43 and they did not play well on defense in the first half and they missed a lot of key shots.

Father Judge started the game by making two threes in less than a minute. Judge’s hot shooting did not last in the quarter as Ryan took back the lead with the help of Jerry Smith and Anthony Keiter (who answered back with threes, but they would soon lose their shooting touch). At the end of one it was 12-10 Raiders.

In the second quarter the Raiders' defense failed them. They let Judge score almost every time down the court. Ryan’s offense kept them in the game because Judge let them do the same thing.

At the half Coach Rogers stressed defense. “It is like you guys aren’t even there,” he said. The team answered his call and they played better defense in the second half, but their offense failed them. They scored only two points in the third quarter, Judge led 32-26.

Judge started the fourth making shots again; they opened up a 9-point lead with 6 minutes left. Ryan then went back and forth with the Crusaders for a couple possessions, then it all changed. Ryan slowly chipped away after a Keiter steal off an inbound and dished it to Yabor who finished and got fouled. Yabor missed the foul shot but he chased down the rebound and hit a big three-pointer. The Raiders then got within 4 after a NBA-range three by Anthony Magallanes. Mags later fouled out and Judge made their foul shots in the end.

Neither of the questions was answered; Ryan does not know what place they finished in or who they will play. We also don’t know how the Raiders will recover from the loss of Slawter. Without Slawter in the lineup the Raiders lose a scorer, defender and most importantly a leader. Slawter for the rest of the season will just have to share his knowledge as he sits on the bench next to coach, instead of leading them on the court.

The Ryan fans did find out one thing from the game and that is that Yabor is capable of playing valuable minutes down the stretch. Yabor played strong defense, ran the point and displayed his scoring touch. Yabor played with a chip on his shoulder and everyone in attendance definitely noticed his hard work. Yabor finished with 7 points, 4 rebounds and a steal. Keiter finished with 8 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assist and 2 steals.

Tom Ryan led the Crusaders with a game-high 12 points.
Notables:

I would like to thank Tyler Donnelly, who wrote notes down about the Bonner game while I was keeping the book for the game. Donnely is a member of the Ryan JV team and he his the starting shooting guard. I forgot to mention him in my last game report.

The JV and Freshmen team finished their seasons today against Judge and I would like to say good job in the season. Both teams might not have finished with best records but there are many talented kids on the teams and they always work hard.

Czarny, good job on getting lost on the way to La Salle after you thought the game was at Prep. Next time ask before you leave. I hope you did a good job filming.

FEB. 6
CATHOLIC RED
Bonner 59, Ryan 54 (2 OTs)

Archbishop Ryan’s second game against Monsignor Bonner did not end the way they wanted it to. In the first match Ryan had its way with the Friars, 59-42. Rus Slawter scored 19 in the win.

This loss came after a gigantic win on Super Bowl Sunday against first place and undefeated-at-the-time Roman Catholic. Anthony Keiter went 8 for 8 from the stripe in OT to help the Raiders' cause.

Ryan started this game against Bonner with a lead, but missed a lot of open shots. The game was tied at 10 after one quarter.

Ryan started the second with big threes from Kieter and Jerry Smith. Ryan then was unable to hit key shots and Bonner took a 20-18 lead into half.

Coming out of the locker room sophomore Eric Fleming sparked the team by getting a steal and taking it the length of the court, and then moments later he hit two big treys.

The key factor in the game happened with 2:57 left in the third when Slawter went down with a left ankle sprain. With the injury to Slawter the Raiders lost a key part of their team. Slawter finished the game with only three points. When Slawter went down the referees supposedly kicked out a portion of the Bonner fans because of the way they continued to cheer when Slawter went down. Both teams lost a key factor at that point. It was 32-29 Ryan after three.

Ryan started the fourth quarter hot again but that soon changed. Bonner came back and took the game to OT thanks to the three- point shooting of Bill Scanlan.

In the first OT, Ryan scored first and last. Bonner was up one with time running out and Jamal Melvin at the line. He sank both. The Raiders went down the floor and Smith hit a buzzer-beating three to extend the game. With the momentum on their side Ryan went into the second OT.

In the second OT, Ryan went cold shooting and could not find a spark. They missed open shots and free throws, which sunk them in the end as Bonner won, 59-54.

The Raiders finished the game with three double-digit scorers. Keiter finished with 14 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists and 2 steals. Fleming with 14, 6, 2 and 2 and Smith with 12, 6 and 4. Melvin finished with 11 to lead the Friars.

JAN. 30
CATHOLIC RED
North Catholic 60, Ryan 53

Over the last couple years that I have been following Ryan basketball by going to every game, I have seen my fair share of boring basketball games and games that I will never forget. This game was one of those unforgettable ones.

The gym’s crowd was larger and louder then usual and the fans were there to see a rematch of Catholic Championship game from last year, but most of the fans, especially the students, thought Ryan was going to get run out of the gym because of the abundance of talent on the North Catholic roster.

If you were at the game or saw the box score in the paper, you would know that wasn't the case, Ryan came to play and did so with a chip on their shoulder because the last two meetings did not end the way they wanted them to. However, neither did this one.

The Raiders jumped out to an early lead 6-1, but the Falcons came back in the end of the first quarter. Ryan trailed 16-11 after one. Sophomore Eric Fleming had 7 first quarter points keeping the Raiders in the game after a strong end of the quarter by North. North's surge was led by junior Jack O’Neill, who had 8.

The second quarter went the same way with both teams exchanging baskets and making key defensive stops. At the half it was 28-20 North, and Ryan was getting many chances to cut the lead but they weren’t falling. The Raiders just used that as motivation.

In the third quarter North jumped out to an 11-point lead and they went into the fourth with the same lead but a important event happened in that third. Ryan senior Anthony Keiter and North soph Rakeem Christmas got in to an altercation. Christmas fouled Keiter while going for a rebound and after the whistle Christmas body-slammed Keiter to the floor. Both players were given technical fouls. I don’t know why Keiter got one because he was thrown to the floor hard. This marks the second time that Christmas got into an altercation with a Ryan player. He threw a punch at Keiter last game. Christmas, I guess, doesn’t like the hard defense that Keiter brings. The rest of the game both teams fouled each other hard because of the intense rivalry that has been building and the magnitude of the game because in the fourth the Raiders slowly chipped away at North's double-digit lead.

With about 2 minutes left the Raiders started cutting the lead. Keiter hit two big threes and Anthony Magallanes hit a couple big treys and made a nice coast-to-coast layup off a steal.

The Falcons' once-eleven-point lead was cut to four and the whole gym was on their feet, including a rowdy student section, “The Tribe” led by Tim Lucarini, Joe Henry and Tim Ott. They started get on the North players, especially Christmas, which resulted in them missing free throws and almost coughing up a lead. The team encourages more students to come out and be loud the whole game because they believe they feed off the energy of the crowd.

The Falcons started making their free throws and the Raiders lost by a score of 60-53.

The Raiders finished with four double-digit scorers. Jerry Smith finished with 11, hitting big shots all game and taking advantage of Christmas’ defense on people outside the lane. Fleming finished with 15 (on 6 for 10 shooting), Magallanes with 12 and Keiter with 10.

Jack O’Neill and Mike Terry finished with 14 and Christmas added a game high 18.

The game was exciting and coach Rogers was proud of the way his team fought back and he believes the team has turned a corner.

North should watch out the next time they, hopefully in the playoffs because the Raiders are playing hard and with confidence and it is going to be hard for any team to match their intensity.
Notables:

The Ragdolls improved their record to 16-3 with a win over Kennedy-Kenrick, 69-46, on senior night.

Junior captain Lauren Smith had a game-high 14. Sarah Strybuc and senior captain Megan Tole both finished with 11.

It was also senior night for the Raider cheerleaders because next Sunday they will be competing in Nationals at Florida. The boys would also like to thank the senior cheerleaders for their great senior gifts.

THANKS TO ALL THE SENIORS FOR THEIR GREAT YEAR!!!

JAN. 25
I was sick for the La Salle game so I missed the Raiders' 64-51 win.

I heard the Raiders shot well, going 23-for-33 from the field. I also heard that Senior Tom Sottnick had 5 points and 5 rebounds, in a game where he didn't play that much. Sottnick works hard every day in practice and is finally being rewarded with key minutes. The trey he hit was early and it gave the Raiders a nice cushion.

The Raiders also were led by Rus Slawter 15 points, Anthony Keiter 17 and Anthony Magallanes added 12.

JAN. 23
CATHOLIC RED
SJ Prep 43, Ryan 26

The Ryan Raiders traveled to Saint Joseph's Prep for the teams’ second meeting of the season. The Raiders lost the first game meeting, 60-43, and hoped a change of scenery would help them.

The beautiful 5-court, 10-net gym with a track running atop of it makes their gym look like something off a college campus, but the nice gym did not help the Raiders' cause.

The game did not start the way the Raiders want it to, as they fell behind early. The Prep was led again by Joe Nardi, who hit three early threes and finished with 15 points. The last time they met he had 18. He was the key factor in both games this year. Nardi was not the only contributor in the Prep win. Pat Stewart added 10.

The Prep also got helped by Pete Buzby. He made it hard for the Raiders because he grabbed a ton of rebounds limiting the Raiders second chances. Brandon Robinson also made it hard for Ryan because every time they drove the lane he was there to block their shots. He finished with 4 blocks (unofficially, he at least had 4).

The Raiders were led by senior Rus Slawter (12 points, 6 rebounds). Slawter gave the Raiders a chance in the game. He played his heart out. He led the team in points, which is what he often usually does, but he also led his team in rebounding because of his hard work on every play. (The rest of the team works hard but it is easy to say about Slawter because of the way it reflects on the stat sheet).

The Raiders are looking forward to meeting the Prep again in the playoffs because they know they haven’t played well in both games. They also want another shot at Nardi.

JAN. 20
CATHOLIC RED
Ryan 56, O'Hara 36

The Raiders struggled in the first quarter. They played solid defense but they only scored 7 points, so at the end of the quarter it was 7-6.

When the second quarter started, the Raiders woke up. They started shooting better and took a big lead, at 25-13, into half. The Raiders played well, but they were really ready to make a statement in the second half.

To start the third O’Hara got hot and made a mini-run. After seeing their lead cut to 7, the Raiders had enough. The rest of the game the Raiders played with a chip on their shoulder and they dominated O’Hara. The Raiders played very well and they showed that they were superior in the final score.
Rus Slawter finished with 13 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals. Slawter was upset at the end because he thought he had more then 6 assists. “I really wanted that double-double” he said. Junior Anthony Magallanes also contributed 13 points.

Senior Anthony Keiter got hurt at the end of the game and, hopefully, it is nothing that will keep him out because he is a key contributor.

JAN. 16
CATHOLIC RED
Ryan 46, Judge 43
RIVALRY. Rivalries are what make sports, sports. When you are playing against the team that is your rival it is win at all cost and the players give everything they have for that one game.

The latest installment of the Father Judge-Archbishop Ryan rivalry did not disappoint the fans in the packed Bill Fox Jr Gymnasium at Father Judge High School.

The game brought the best out of both teams. The game was played with a lot of passion and emotion, which helped make the game exciting and come down to the last shot.

The game for the Raiders was a tale of two halves. In the first half Ryan had many open shots but they could not convert. Judge however did score on their opportunities getting a lead as much as 11 points.

Sophomore Eric Fleming kept the Raiders in the game scoring the first 6 and 8 of the first 10 points for the Raiders. He was 3 for 3 from the field at this point but he soon became cold but he was picked up by his teammates.

Judge took a 22-15 lead into the locker room.

At the half the Ryan players continued to be focused and they didn’t panic. There was no panic because the team realized as bad as they played offensively they were still in it. The coaches told them they are playing hard and don’t worry the shots will soon fall.

In the second half the Raiders came out pumped up. They were led by senior center Jerry Smith, who scored early and often in the beginning of the second half.

Smith hit three big threes to start the half. He finished with 13 points (on 5-5 shooting) but his points came in a very timely matter. He started shooting well and it gave the rest of the team confidence to start shooting. With Smith shooting well the Raiders took an early lead and then from there the game went back and forth.

At the start of the fourth Judge led 31-28 but yet again the Raiders, who desperately needed a win, did not panic.

Senior Anthony Keiter (a former Judge Student and basketball player) did not play well up to this point but like it has been all season Ryan has had different people step up at different times. First Fleming, then Smith, now Keiter. He scored all of his 7 points in the fourth and he gave Ryan a lead.

Keiter was not the last of the Ryan heroes against Judge. Now it was time for Junior Anthony “Iceman” Magallanes, who got fouled late in the game with Ryan up one. He sank both (that’s where "Iceman" comes in; no panic as he just did his job) and gave Ryan a three-point lead.

Judge got the ball with plenty of time left but the tough Ryan defense did not even let them sniff the three point line. That resulted in Judge throwing up a long shot as time ran down.

Ryan won 46-43 and the win moved them past Judge and into fourth place with a 3-4 record.

The game was very exciting and it showed that Ryan is a team capable of hurting you with many different players.

For the Raiders Smith finished with 13, Fleming 8, Keiter 7 and Magallanes with 5.

    Not to go unnoticed, senior captain Rus Slawter finished with a quiet 10 points and 3 assists. He was a key factor in the game because his points were spread out and they came at times when the team was struggling.
    For Judge, sophomore Seamus Radtke and senior Fran Hennessey both finished with 11 points.
    The Raiders' next game against O'Hara was moved to Tuesday night because of the Eagles.

JAN. 12
CATHOLIC RED
Ryan 59, Bonner 42

“Tonight we get back on track.” Those were the words of senior forward Anthony Keiter before this game against Monsignor Bonner.

The Raiders got back on track, ending their three-game losing streak by beating Bonner 59-42. The Raiders now sit at 2-4 in the Catholic League.

The Raiders started and finished strong. They had a 14-9 first quarter lead, partly because of good team defense. The other part of that early led was Keiter’s 7 points.

Coming out of the half the Raiders led, 25-19. They broke the game open early in the third quarter when senior Colin O’Malley scored 5 quick points, including a nice “and one” play. The Raiders stayed in cruise control after that.

Seniors Rus “If Only I was 6’7” Slawter and Keiter also got back on track on offense. Slawter finished with 19 points and 5 assists, this coming after a game in which he was held scoreless by Roman. Keiter finished with 12 and 3, after a couple games of not starting and not shooting too well.

The Raiders look to stay hot Friday when they meet rival Father Judge.

Notables:

- The JV Raiders won there first game against Bonner on Monday.

- Tom Sottnick is on a three game scoring streak.

- Congratulations to freshman Nick Augenbaugh, who has been working hard at practice and has earned a call up to varsity.

- Look out for a schedule change Sunday the 18th against O’Hara because of the Eagles' quest for another NFC Championship. Go BIRDS!!!!!

JAN. 9
CATHOLIC RED
Roman 63, Ryan 36

Ryan’s latest stop in league play brought them to the oldest gym in the city. However the old, small gym did not help the Raiders slow down the backcourt of Roman Catholic, as Ryan lost 63-36.

Maalik Wayns, a Villanova recruit, and junior Rakeem Brookins make up the fast, talented Roman backcourt.

Wayns and Brookins scored 25 of the team's 29 first quarter points. Wayns in limited action finished with and 11 and Brookins finished with a game-high 24.

Roman announcer and statistician Dan Hoban, also the former golf pro at Bryne GC in the Northeast said after the first quarter that “they [Wayns and Brookins] are the best backcourt in the state.”

Without seeing the rest of the teams in the state I agree with his comments because they are the best two players I have every seen play together. As a Ryan fan the game was ugly but as a basketball fan it was fun to watch the two of them.

The Raiders leading scorer was again sophomore Eric Fleming. He finished with 8 points, 5 assist and 4 rebounds.

Anthony Keiter also added 8 points off the bench, in a game that he played sick.
NOTABLES:

Ryan's freshmen, coached by Keith Czarny (rookie coach, only 19 but with knowledge beyond his years), won a big game against Holy Ghost at the buzzer on a Mike Anusky three, they were victorious 36-35. This win came after two losses at the buzzer in their last two games, including a two point loss to North in a game they dominated.
Congratulations to Kyle “Starpino” Arpino for scoring 6 points on 2-for-4 shooting and Tom Sottnick for scoring 2 points against Roman. Also to Brendan Ostaszewski for making his first varsity start, he scored two points.
The Ryan girls’ basketball team is off to an 11-1 start, they are lead by senior captain and point guard Megan Tole.
Former Ryan football and basketball all-Catholic Mike Varanavage attends Bloomsburg University, where he plays football and basketball. He finished third on his team in tackles and he is off to a good start in basketball scoring 11 points on January 3 against Lock haven, winning 71-63. He also added 16 points in his teams’ next win. Also best wishes to Joe Zeglinski. He has been medical red shirted for Hartford. May he come back next year and tear up the competition like he was doing.
Ryan’s game on Sunday January 11 has been changed to Monday night due to the Eagles game. GO BIRDS!!!!

JAN. 6
CATHOLIC RED
N. Catholic 61, Ryan 51
Every Archbishop Ryan and North Catholic fan remembers last year's Catholic League Championship game at the Palestra, where both teams fought hard and North came out on top at the end.

This was Ryan’s chance at revenge, but the game did not go as planned.

A game that people would be highlighted by Ryan’s senior captains, Rus Slawter and Anthony Keiter, and North’s underclassmen, Woody Redding and Rakeem Christmas, did not turn out as expected.

Slawter, who came up big the last time Ryan played North, only had 6 points and 3 assists and did not shoot well. Keiter, who started the game on the bench, never found his offensive touch, scoring only 7 points. Slawter and Keiter were key contributors on defense and Keiter grabbed 7 rebounds.

Redding was shut down by the Raiders' defense, finishing with only 9 points. Redding burnt the Raiders' defense in last year’s championship game.

As for Christmas, he was held to a season-low 6 points because he was thrown out of the game with 3 minutes and 40 seconds left in the second quarter for receiving his second technical foul. He received his first tech with 5:05 left in the second quarter for jumping up and hanging on to the rim after a made basket by a teammate. He received the second one for throwing a punch at Keiter after he was being denied the ball because of the Raiders' physical defense.

The game was filled with turnovers and both teams did not take care of the basketball. Ryan finished the game with 26 turnovers, which was the reason they lost because they shot the ball well (21-for-50 from the field; seemingly half of those missed shots came at the end when the Raiders were throwin' 'em up).

The stars of the game were unexpected. Sophomore Eric Fleming finished with17 points and senior guard Matt “I love MP” Yabor finished with 10 points.

Yabor played the game very hard from the beginning when he came in off the bench. He made plays happen on the offensive and defensive ends of the floor. Yabor was an unexpected star because he had not been playing a lot of minutes.

Coach Rogers has been stressing to his players, "When you get in, make your minutes count.” Yabor responded to the coaches’ call and did just that. Yabor has been playing more because of his hard work at practice and his leadership ability on and off the court.

North’s unexpected stars were junior transfer Jack O’Neill (14) and junior Mike Terry (17)..

The Raiders' schedule does not get easier they will meet league powerhouse Roman, led by Villanova recruit Maalik Wayns.

JAN. 2
CATHOLIC RED
La Salle 67, Ryan 59
Christmas vacation has come and gone and that means the tuneup games and the Christmas tournaments are over. Now it is time for the tough Catholic League schedule.

During the Christmas break Ryan routed Holy Ghost. Then they went on to play two games, at the Boardwalk Classic in Wildwood, New Jersey, where they lost to Parkland and Camden Catholic. Despite not playing well, Ryan was confident for the remaining Catholic League games.

The Raiders' Catholic League schedule reopened with La Salle, and Ryan lost, 67-59, dropping them to 1-2 in the Catholic League.

In the first half both teams were running up and down the court exchanging baskets at both ends. The Raiders finished the half shooting 11 for 21 from the field.

One of the reasons for the good shooting was junior Anthony Magallanes, who had 15 first half points. The unexpected first half breakout of Magallanes was due to the fact he was playing with confidence while making his first career start.

Despite the Raiders good play on offense, Coach Bernie Rogers stressed defense.

During the third quarter the Raiders responded to coach Rogers, holding La Salle to 6 points, with their stout defense. However their shooting went cold and they only cut the lead to two points.

In the end despite the cold second half shooting, senior point guard Rus Slawter finished the game with a career-high 28 points. He also added 3 assists, 3 rebounds and 3 steals. Magallanes also finished with a career high of 17 points.

Another storyline of the game was senior forward Anthony Keiter being held to only 6 points. Keiter was averaging 22 points a game in Catholic League play. Keiter was working hard, but every time he touched the ball there were multiple players in his face because of his great scoring ability. Keiter finished with 5 assists and 5 rebounds to go with his 6 points. Although Keiter was not scoring, he helped his teammates Slawter and Magallanes have the games of their lives.

The Raiders also held La Salle’s leading scorer, Tom Cooney, to 12 points. Junior Malik West led La Salle with 16 points.

DEC. 21
CATHOLIC RED
SJ Prep 60, Ryan 43

The Ryan Raiders fell to 1-1 in the Catholic League with a loss to St. Joe’s Prep.

The game started out fast with a lot of scoring, as both teams were exchanging baskets.

The Raiders were only down three going into halftime because of a big three hit by Senior Forward Anthony Keiter, with seconds left.

After the half St. Joe’s came out strong and took advantage of Ryan’s poor shooting from the field and the line (finished 7-16 from the line). In the end the Prep and their hot shooting pulled away. Junior guard Joe Nardi led the Prep with 19 points and Senior Pat Stewart added 19 points as well.

The Raiders were led for the second straight game by Keiter who had 19 points, 3 assists and 6 rebounds.

The other bright side for the Raiders in the loss was the play of Senior Rus Slawter. Slawter had 7 points, 4 assists and 3 rebounds. Slawter also played spectacular defense on Nardi despite his 19 points. Slawter made him work for every shot.

DEC. 19

EARLY SEASON RECAP

Archbishop Ryan has started the season with a 3-2 record. They have had big wins against West Catholic, Cardinal Dougherty and Washington. Their losses came at the hands of Bodine by three points and Bensalem by seven.

Rus Slawter has been the team’s leading scorer in the preseason, including his 18 points against Washington. Slawter is not only scoring but he is leading the team by example and making big plays when needed.

Senior Colin O’Malley has been the team’s setup man; he had a career-high 10 assists against West Catholic. O’Malley also has been a big contributor on the defensive and offensive glass.

The Raiders opened up the season Friday night with a 56-43 win over Cardinal O’Hara. They were led by Anthony Keiter’s 23 points and six rebounds.

“Keiter is going off tonight, he is going to have a huge game” junior Joe Henry said before the game. “He just looks so focused and prepared.”

The Raiders started fast, hitting the first five three-pointers they attempted. They finished the game a combined 7-for-10 behind the arc.

Slawter also added 11 points with five assists. Jerry Smith was also solid on the defensive glass, grabbing eight rebounds.