Cahillite Corner
Basketball 2012-13

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  Dan Hoban is a former All-Catholic golfer at Roman Catholic ('92), and also played at La Salle University  ('96). He is now the PGA Director of Golf at Middletown Country Club in Langhorne and Roman's golf coach.  He has been announcing Roman Catholic football and basketball for over 20 years, along with Philadelphia University basketball.  His family goes back three generations at Roman.
   He may be reached at DanHoban@Middletowncc.com.

FEB. 10
CATHOLIC LEAGUE
Roman 46  Archbishop Ryan 32
  Roman Catholic entered the final Catholic League regular season game versus the Princeton of the league -- the Raiders of Archbishop Ryan.  I think it is safe to say that EVERYONE around the PCL gives nothing but respect to Ryan coach Bernie Rogers and the Raiders.  When you play Ryan, you come into the game knowing that you are going to see LONG possessions on defense, lots of screens, backdoors, and three-point attempts.  Despite the fact that the Raiders usually play five guards, they will scratch and claw their way through every game.  They handed La Salle a loss in their last game and also battled Neumann-Goretti to the buzzer before falling by two.  A very nice Sunday crowd was in the house to see whether Roman could impose their tempo on the game.  Roman coach Chris McNesby emphasized to the Cahillites the importance of getting a lead early and dictating the pace.  Well, that's exactly what jr G Shep Garner did -- burying a three from the top of the key after Roman won the tap.  He followed this with a fastbreak drive and layup and a steal and conversion to make it Shep Garner 7, Ryan 0 in the first several minutes.  Ironically, the two Ryan field goals in the first quarter came on offensive putbacks.  Ryan gathered 9 offensive rebounds on the day, most of which came on long rebounds after missed threes.  Roman led 9-4 after the first quarter with soph PF Manny Taylor gathering the other Roman field goal in the quarter.  In the past, I've seen Roman teams try to "over-force" the tempo and take some quick or bad shots mostly due to impatience. While there were a few here and there, this team played a very smart game, especially in the second half.  The Raiders are known for their three-point bombing, and many of their attempts come from the corners after drives and kicks.  Today was a nightmare for the Raiders from downtown, as Ryan shot 5-23 from the field in the first half with only one three.  Senior G Bryan Okolo hit from just a shade left of the top to cut the Roman lead to 19-12 at the half.  This was big because Roman had opened up a 13 point lead midway through the 2nd stanza.  Due to the Raiders being off with their shots, the large Raider crowd was unusually quiet throughout.  Some of these misses were because of good defense; some were just plain old misses.  (I know the feeling when my putting goes south! Haha!) McNesby employed a 2-3 or 1-3-1 zone throughout the game.  Roman is usually known for sticky, in your face pressure man-to-man defense.  The strategy definitely seemed to work except for the long rebounds or loose balls that were going to the tenacious Raiders.  Roman certainly owned a significant size advantage with Taylor and soph F TreVaughn Wilkerson.  Taylor scored 8 of his 15 points in the first half and also grabbed 5 rebounds.  Wilkerson, while only scoring 2 points on a follow, was huge again for Roman with 9 rebounds.  Tre does so many little things for this Cahillite team that don't get noticed.  Fans often look only at points scored as the stat, but Wilkerson has been a rebounding and shot blocking force, and often plays on the perimeter defensively in presses.  He will be a factor offensively more as he develops that part of his game.  In true Raider fashion, Rogers' Raiders scored the first four points of the half behind buckets by G Tyler Reed (reverse layup) and 6'7" F Billy Dykan.  This brought the Raiders' fans to life and the Roman faithful started getting a little antsy.  Not to worry.  Roman then embarked on a 10-0 run behind buckets inside by Taylor and Wilkerson,  3 free throws by jr G Rashann London, and a three ball by soph G Traci Carter.  Carter missed the last two games after spraining a knee ligament early in the Wood game.  He looked pretty solid, and he looked to have fine stability when he pulled up on a break to nail a 12-foot jumper.  Roman expanded the lead to a 31-20 lead after three, but no lead is safe against Ryan.  Okolo was the only Raider that reached double figures, scoring 15 points on 6-11 shooting and grabbing 4 rebounds.  He displays a nice stroke from the arc, but also did a nice job flashing to the foul line area for shorter jumpers.  Division 3's should be in touch with this kid!  Roman opened up an 18 point lead midway through the fourth, and the Cahillites did a nice job of controlling the ball and the clock down the stretch.  Despite having an off day shooting, London had 11 points with a 7-8 performance from the line while also adding 7 boards and 5 assists.  Garner had 11 points and 2 assists.  Senior G Matt Simon dealt 4 assists, mainly to Manny Taylor.  The Cahillites shot 16-26 from the field and 11-14 from the line for the game and 15 of those field goals were assisted!! (These are from the latest "Puck Stats", which can look like a kindergarten kid's writing at times) Ryan had a very non-Raiders-like day, shooting 13-44 from the field and 4-26 from the arc.  However, the Raiders will certainly be a tough matchup for anyone who plays them in the playoffs.  Roman has finished in a tie for first place with Neumann-Goretti and has the #2 seed in the playoffs from N-G's win over Roman.  The Cahillites will open up the PCL playoffs at 7PM at Philadelphia University's Gallagher Center (my "other" home court) against the highest survivor of the 7-10, 8-9 games.  It was certainly nice to see former Ryan and Roman football coach John Quinn, whose '92 Roman team will be inducted into Roman's Sports Hall of Fame this year.  Coach Quinn is certainly one of the Catholic League's all-time greatest coaches and people!  Former Roman football/basketball star and Penn State All-Big Ten nose tackle Scott Paxson was also in the house and has been to many Roman games this year.  Scott has a Super Bowl ring with the Pittsburgh Steelers and has been in the NFL for several years now.  A knee injury ended his season in the preseason this past year with the Cleveland Browns after he spent the mini-camps and OTAs with the first team defense. Here's hoping that all goes well and Scott can come back and be a force in the NFL again-good luck buddy! It was also nice to see former Raider and Elizabethtown College basketball star Tom Craig.  Tom is a true Catholic League basketball fan and works for Titleist, the leading golf club/ball company in the business.  If there is a nicer guy, I'd like to know him.  Finally, I am going to require from coach Chris and Ted that Hockey Puck be restricted to DECAF drinks only!! No more Cokes before a game! He has driven me absolutely nuts this season, between doing stats ("Yo! lemme see yo bwok, Hob!") keeping track of basketballs ("Hob, make sure we got all the bwalls!") and generally ordering people around!  Puck, I've been doing this stuff for 20-plus years.  I'm not a sophomore manager kid!  Coach Chris told Puck that he was banned from talking to him until 4 PM!! Haha! He's lovable, he'll do anything for the kids, he keeps terrific stats, but he's good for at least one (or two) headache a game!

FEB. 1
CATHOLIC LEAGUE
Roman 73, Wood 56
  Today's game at Roman versus the Vikings of Archbishop Wood proved a point that I have been trying to prove for years -- golfers are indeed athletes.  The Vikings rotation includes two All-Catholic golfers in soph sharpshooter Cody Fitzpatrick and sr F TJ Kuhar.  Also, Jack Walsh Jr., former Vikings basketball player and son of Vikings head coach Jack Walsh, was the Catholic League individual champ several years ago.  The games between Roman and Wood in the last several years have been physical, intense battles.  Coach Walsh defines the word intense.  The first quarter was a back and forth affair, with Roman taking a 21-18 lead.  Roman was led by its backcourt of jrs Shep Garner and Rashann London.  The Vikings countered with the quick release three-point shooting of 6'5" jr F Pat Smith, who hit three bombs in the first stanza.  I really like his game-a quick big guard that can get his shot off very quickly. Division Is start watching this kid!  While Roman's defense adjusted and played him a little tighter after the first quarter, Coach Chris McNesby's troops always had to know where he was on the floor.  I would venture to say that his release is the fastest I've seen since St. Joe's Prep and Bucknell University star John Griffin Jr.  The battle of the bigs was between Roman soph F Manny Taylor and Vikings 6'7" jr strongman Joe LoStracco.  Roman opened up a 44-31 lead at the break, but the collective breath of all Cahillite fans in the house was held about two minutes into the second quarter as Cahillite soph G Traci Carter went down at midcourt in a scramble for a loose ball and was holding his knee.  Traci is as tough an on-the-ball defender as I have seen and is always battling for every ball.  While he was able to walk off on his own power, he spent the rest of the game on the second row of bleachers with his leg extended with ice on his knee.  Hopefully it will not be a serious injury as Traci had an ACL tear in his other knee that caused him to miss all of last season.  The second half saw Roman turn up the pressure defensively as Smith was unable to hit another three, but still battled for 20 points, 4 boards, and 2 assists.  LoStracco battled inside for 12 points and 5 rebounds.  Fitzpatrick hit three long-distance bombs (NBA distance with a HIGH arc) for 9 points while adding 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals.  Roman ended the third quarter leading 57-42.  As seen in last year's game, the Vikings would continue to battle throughout.  Roman extended the lead to 20 points just once, but this was by no means a coast job.  This was an intense, physical battle that had both coaches up and screaming at nearly every call.  While I love Roman's gym and have been around it ever since I was crawling as a toddler, it is certainly a tough place to work for officials.  The fans are right on top of you, the angles are tough, the space is cramped, but hey-it's two years OLDER than the game itself! Roman was led by Garner, who collected 25 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals. He now needs 3 points to become the 16th Cahillite to record 1,000 points.  Given the limited number of games that teams are allowed to play in this PIAA era, I would venture to say that Garner may become the fastest Cahillite to reach that number. The only one I could think of that I have seen that is close would be Charron Fisher, of Niagara fame. Sunday's game versus St. Joseph's Prep would be career game number 73 for Garner.  I do realize that Roman leading scorers like '78 grad Reggie Jackson and '80 grad Lonnie McFarlan did not have the three-point shot, but they were also allowed to play 30-plus games then.  That might be a question for Ted or SJP coach "Speedy" Morris.  Complementing Garner was his backcourt mate London with 23 points and 3 rebounds.  Taylor continued his double-double streak with 13 points, 11 boards, and 2 blocks.  For the second game in a row, the varsity game was not even the best game of the day.  The JV tilt featured a triple-OT thriller featuring a last-second NBA-plus distance three by Wood to tie, several tight calls, some hot tempers, tons of referees, and plenty of tough, hard-nosed basketball that ended in a Roman win.  Just another day in the Catholic League!  Sunday's battle between the Cahillites and Hawks promises to be an instant classic, as Coach Morris brings his SJP team to the third floor at Broad and Vine for only the third time in his coaching tenure as the Hawks' boss.  All games between the 100-plus year rivals are examples of why the Catholic League is the best league in the state, and one of the top leagues in the country. Get there early, folks!!

JAN. 25
CATHOLIC LEAGUE

Roman Catholic 74, Bonner-Prendergast 39
 Roman Catholic entered Friday afternoon's game with the Friars of Bonner/Prendergast hoping not to have a hangover from their worst performance of the PCL season at Neumann-Goretti just three days earlier.  The Friars were visiting Broad and Vine coming off a tough OT loss to La Salle.  As the teams took to the floor to begin wamups, I looked out of the large windows in Roman's historic third-floor gym and saw snow falling.  The next thought was, "Uh oh, this is going to be a LONG commute home."  The threat of snow cut down on the crowd for this afternoon tilt, as there were actually available seats in the stands across from Roman's bench.  The game itself started out very strong for the Friars, as sr 6'6" F Nick Czibik and sr 6'2" G Christian Summers scored baskets to take a 4-0 Friar lead.  6'1" jr G Jack Carden and 5'11" jr G Joey Quinn both hit early threes to open up a 10-2 B-P lead before Roman turned up the heat.  Roman then embarked on a 18-1 run that saw the Cahillites' full court press lead to easy baskets.  The lead Roman warrior was jr G Shep Garner, who recorded an odd double-double with 19 points, 10 steals, 4 assists, and 3 rebounds.  In 20-plus years, I can't remember a Roman player recording that many thefts in a single game.  Balanced scoring was evident through the Roman scorebook, as jr G Rashaan London (15 points, 2 assists), soph G Traci Carter (10 points, 5 assists, 3 steals, 4 rebounds), and soph F Manny Taylor (11 points, 11 rebounds) all added double figures for Roman.  The team's lone senior, G Matt Simon, added 9 points on 3-4 on threes and 3 assists.  Roman ended the first quarter up 20-11 and the half leading 44-19.  A scary moment took place at the north end of the gym under the basket, after scoring on an offensive putback, Friars G Christian Summers went down in a heap against the wall on the baseline.  Holding his knee, Summers looked to be in some serious pain.  B-P coach Tom Meakim and Roman trainer Ken Eaves rushed to his aid.  Coach Meakim told me later that Christian is their best and toughest player.  Here's hoping that the injury is not serious and he can get back on the floor soon.  He, like all of the Friar players, plays the game with toughness and aggressiveness.  Roman kept up the pressure in the third quarter, outscoring the Friars 19-4.  London now leads the team in dunks, adding two on this day.  The Roman defense, always relentless on the smaller floor, forced 24 B-P turnovers.  Czibik lead the Friars with 8 points and 3 rebounds on 4-6 shooting.  Czibik shows some brass in the paint, not backing down against Roman bigs Manny Taylor and TreVaughn Wilkerson.  The margin reached 40 late in the third, and the Roman subs got their minutes in the fourth.  Several Cahillites are battling nagging injuries right now, as frosh F Paul Newman, jr G Seth Chisholm, and soph G Zach Mahler were not dressed for this one. Speedy recovery boys!  Best wishes for a speedy recovery also goes to longtime Bonner basketball assistant coach and golf coach Jack Glacken, who skipped today's game after recent knee replacement surgery.  Jack's son, Jack Jr., was at today's game and played basketball and golf for the Friars.  They both are longtime friends of mine and are true examples of the great people that are part of the Catholic League. Roman's next opponent will be a road test at the always tough Bishop McDevitt Lancers this coming Sunday.

JAN. 11
CATHOLIC LEAGUE
Roman 56, La Salle 49 (OT)

  I have been working Roman games both at home and on the road for over 20 years, and last night's game between the host Explorers and the young Cahillites rocketed into my top 10 all-time regular season games.  I was saying to a couple of the La Salle staff, including TS.com's Dan Spinelli and PA announcer and Director of Public Relations/Communications Chris Carabello, that people that waste hundreds of dollars for courtside NBA seats should pay five bucks and see a great Philadelphia Catholic League game like tonight's classic.  La Salle was coming off of the streak stopper against Neumann-Goretti, while Roman was entering a weekend with road wars against La Salle and Carroll.  Going into the game, I was wondering how Coach Joe Dempsey's squad would come out.  It would only be natural for a team coming off of a monster victory to have a natural letdown.  However, that win could also give them a ton of momentum.  A capacity crowd with a nice visiting Roman turnout awaited the outcome.  The opening minutes saw Roman jump out to a quick 10-0 lead behind soph G Traci Carter.  He buried two of his three "threes" and two other jumpers in the first quarter in a 12-2 Roman lead entering the second stanza.  The lead was aided by three La Salle tunovers.  Sophomore forwards TreVaughn Wilkerson and Manny Taylor set the tone inside, blocking 6 shots in the first half.  La Salle was obviously going to rely on their studs and Division One signees sr G Amar Stukes (La Salle) and sr F Steve Smith (Fairfield).  I really like Stukes' game, as he is relentless off the dribble and can get to the rim with anyone.  While most fans probably expected Roman to try to run as much as possible and La Salle to do much of the same, the game was more of a halfcourt game with occasional runouts.  While Roman ran out to as much as 27-12 lead in the first half, it also shot itself in the foot with turnovers, especially in the second quarter.  The halftime score was 27-17, with the second quarter being tied 15-15.  Stukes had eight points for the Explorers, despite not hitting an outside shot.  His points came on drives into the paint and nifty finishes.  Roman's three headed guard monster of Carter (19 points, 7-11 from the field, 3-3 on "threes", 4 rebounds, and a great 6 steals) jr G Rashaan London (15 points, 6-12 from the floor, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals) and jr G Shep Garner (16 points, 3 rebounds) were the catalyst for Coach Chris McNesby's Cahillites. They did a great job defending La Salle's Smith, who along with Stukes killed Neumann-Goretti.  Smith struggled getting open looks and was limited to one point, but he did manage to pace the Explorers with 11 rebounds.  Coach Chris McNesby emphasized the fact that La Salle was not going to quit, as they are too good of a team to go away on their home floor.  They had been down to N-G by 10 at the half the other night before chipping away to win.  Well, what do you know? Here came La Salle, scoring the first 8 points of the quarter behind threes by La Salle sharpshooter Pat Cooney and Stukes and a Stukes drive.  Roman answered with jumpers by Carter and Garner.  Carter has the heart of a lion, and simply would not back down.  He has to be one of the better on the ball defenders Roman has had in the last few years.  LaSalle's Stukes simply put the Explorers on his back in the second half, scoring 18 of his 28 points in the second half.  Very impressive! La Salle outscored the Cahillites 14-9 in the third and the war was on! Roman aided the Explorer cause by having five of their 12 tunrovers in the third.  As the fourth quarter began, the Explorer student section was rocking and the Explorers were ready to pounce on their purple and gold guests.  Behind a Cooney three and a Stukes three, La Salle took the lead at 37-36 with 6:12 left in the fourth.  The Explorers would stretch the lead to as much as 7 points, and the Roman faithful were starting to wonder whether this was going to be another heartbreaker.  To Roman's credit, McNesby's men rallied to not quit.  Down 6 with 4:32 to go, McNesby switched Carter to play Stukes defensively.  The move paid off as Carter made a steal on a fullcourt press and converted the bucket.  Defensive stands and two free throws by London and a terrific drive and layup by Garner created a 46-46 tie with just under a minute to play.  La Salle held for one, burned two timeouts in the process, and had a chance to win the game in regulation on an inbounds play underneath with .03 seconds to go.  This lob play was thwarted by Wilkerson, who was Roman's leading rebounder with 14 while 4 points.  However, going into overtime, Roman fans, myself included, were driven to the point of cardiac arrest by the Cahillites poor foul shooting. Roman shot a dismal 8-23 from the line, which could have helped them in regulation and the subsequent overtime. With three quarters of the sellout crowd standing from the last minute of the fourth quarter, overtime began with Roman winning the tipoff and scoring the first six points of the OT behind a drive by Carter, and finish off a turnover by London off a great pass by sr G Matt Simon, and two Garner free throws.  La Salle appeared to run out of gas at this point, as Roman would beat La Salle to long rebounds and loose balls then use large amounts of clock forcing La Salle to foul.  However, Roman kept giving the Explorers life by missing freebie after freebie.  The lead never got below five, as Smith converted one of two at the stripe and a Stukes bucket accounted for the only Explorer points.  Roman outscored La Salle, 10-3 in the extra session to win 56-49.  While it was a great Roman win on the road, to a man Roman's players will tell you that they "gotta do a better job" (sorry Andy) with turnovers and free throw shooting.  With another huge game at Carroll on Sunday, Roman will have to clean those areas up.  In the house tonight, along with a visit to Roman's locker room, was former Roman, DePaul, and NBA star Dallas Comegys.  I didn't get a chance to talk to him after the game, but former La Salle basketball boss, current faculty member and Explorer golf coach Marty Jackson was in the house also.  Marty and Chris Carabello are good friends of mine and have done a tremendous job with the Explorer golf powerhouse, winning numerous Catholic League championships.  I have known Coach Jackson since the battles with Roman from '89 to '91 along with my Roman golf days as a player and a coach.  One of the great things about the Catholic League is that no matter what school, there are so many great people throughout the league.  Many of them have been with their respective schools/teams for many years.  I did feel sorry for La Salle's scorebook man and website writer Dan Spinelli-he had to put up with "Puck" during the usual "Hockey Puck" postgame frantic stat totaling effort. Welcome to my world Dan! Seriously, Dan did come up to me and apologize for a few things he had written after last year's Roman-La Salle basketball tilt.  Some Roman feathers were ruffled, including mine at the time, at some remarks about our gym. Hey, no harm intended.  Dan was a gentleman and I told him not to worry about it.  The only bad part was that he called me "Mr. Hoban." While I know that this is a sign of being a gentleman and respect, I hate being called "Mr" because it means that age is catching up! I forbid my own players from using "Mr"-it's "Coach" or "Hob". Haha!! The bad part of being in the golf business and having 60+ degree weather in January is that I will be forced to miss the battle at Carroll on Sunday.  Of course, leave it former Roman basketball boss Dennis Seddon to playfully bust 'em about where my priorities lie! Coach will always be a mentor in coaching and life to me! 

JAN. 6
CATHOLIC LEAGUE
Roman 73, Judge 48

 Roman Catholic entered their first home game of the 2012-13 Catholic League season against the Crusaders of Father Judge.  Roman opened up league play this past Friday night at Lansdale Catholic (a much improved LC squad I might add) and came away with a 67-52 road victory as jr G Shep Garner opened the game by scoring Roman's first 14 points and 23 for the game.  This Sunday afternoon game at Broad and Vine saw a terrific crowd (although "crowd" is a little different in our gym) that had spectators out into the hall leading into the gym.  Between the JV and  varsity games, members of the maintenance staff were pulling extra chairs out from under the stage and adding them onto the stage.  The Crusaders entered the game coming off of a tough loss to La Salle.  Judge's coach, Sean Tait, is a very close friend of Roman boss Chris McNesby and a great guy and coach.  I always liked the way he coaches -- intense, passionate, and tough. Judge jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead behind buckets by CG Malik Robinson and F Brandon McGuire.  Roman answered with 20 of the next 26 points to close out the first quarter leading 20-10.  Garner displayed his outside shot as well as quick drives to the basket in transition.  Jr G Rashaan London had a performance to remember on this day, shooting 11-17 from the floor, 2-2 on "threes", and 6-6 from the stripe for a career-high 30 points, 3 boards, and 2 assists.  London converted 3 "and ones" also.  Roman's pressure defense forced numerous turnovers in the first two quarters which were turned into Cahillite points.  Coach Tait was forced to burn several timeouts to try to quiet the Roman momentum.  Several times, Roman would beat the Crusaders down the floor to the rim before they could set up their defense.  This has become a trademark of McNesby's teams, going back to his days as an assistant of Coach Dennis Seddon and the days of the Wanamakers/Wayns/Brookins teams.  One break even led to a London one-handed slam.  The second quarter was more of the same, with Roman outscoring Judge, 26-17 for a 46-27 halftime lead.  The team's lone senior, G Matt Simon, struggled with his stroke, only shooting 1-4 from the field for 3 points, but played a great floor games with five steals.  Matt is living proof to any kid who dreams of wearing a Roman (or any) uniform that if you work hard enough, you want something bad enough, and are willing to put the time in-you can be successful.  With a 19 point lead at the break, the challenge that McNesby emphasized to his troops was to come out of the halftime with the same intensity that got them the lead in the first place.  This has been an issue at times through this early season.  Despite the efforts of Judge's McGuire (18 points, 9 rebs), Robinson (11 points, 9 rebs) and G James Bogans (8 points), every Judge basket was answered by a Roman "three", transition bucket, or a steal.  Soph G Traci Carter, who battled foul trouble throughout, was a defensive pest with 5 steals.  Carter missed the entire 2012 season with a torn ACL and his best days are ahead of him.  Roman's big man tandem of 6'6" sophs TreVaughn Wilkerson (7 points, 10 rebs, 1 block) and Manny Taylor battled foul trouble also.  The bench chipped in with 6'5" jr F Carnell McGirt adding 6 points, 4 boards, and 2 assists.  Carnell is a smooth, fluid player with a long wingspan.  Garner had a solid game with 16 points on 7-14 shooting, 3 assists, and 3 steals.  Roman won the 3rd quarter 19-11 and the fourth 18-10.  One stat that I always look for with this group is assists for field goals.  Roman shot 28-59 from the floor (47.4%) and 17 came via an assist (60.7%).  Nice!  Roman faces the toughest test so far of this season this coming weekend with road tilts at La Salle and Carroll . . . The REAL game was played after the varsity game, as the names of Roman's glorious past stepped onto the hallowed third floor hardwood for our annual Alumni Game.  Many thanks to Mike Leinheiser '87 who organized this year's game and Dave Falcione and the Henry James Saloon for sponsoring the shirts and ther game.  Names like Ernest Pollard '86, Tarone Thornton '84, Ed Jenkins '88, Brian Wanamaker '07, Mike Wild '00, Demetrius Styles '83, Chris McNesby '95, Lonnie Perry '07, Kyle Locke '92, Donnie Carr '96 and many others went after it just like their Roman days for a rather spirited battle.  It's funny how in the first three quarters everyone is laughing and joking around, but once the fourth quarter sets in, everyone's competitive instincts take over. One team even called a timeout to "draw up" a play!!! I was announcing the game but had a hard time keeping "Puck" quiet with his goofy comments.  He kept ragging Donnie Carr and Mike Wild, but Donnie got even in the end!

DEC. 27
ESCIT INVITATIONAL (At Trenton Catholic Academy)
Roman 79, West Windsor/Plainsboro South 63

  Every time I was either working a Roman football game or attending a road game, there was a member of the TS.com crew there that was much more experienced than yours truly.  So, I respectfully deferred to them in terms of writing reports.  My absence in reporting on Roman's first few basketball games had more to do with my schedule.  Roman's first three games were played at the prestigious Gonzaga DC Classic in Washington D.C. The Cahillites went 1-2 in that tournament with a first game loss to The Bullis School, a 13-point victory over Archbishop Carroll of DC, and a heart-breaking loss to Archbishop Malloy of New York (where a Shep Garner layup to tie was ruled late after the horn sounded).  Roman followed that up with a 50-point win at home over Roxborough, a poor showing at Albright College versus Berks Catholic (the former Reading Central Catholic), and a double digit win last Friday at Holy Family University against Shipley School.  With a 3-3 record heading into the first game of the Eastern States Christmas Invitational at Trenton Catholic, I was already hearing the questions, "What's up with Roman?" Well, the casual basketball follower might not realize that the Cahillites start one of the youngest teams in our history with only one senior in the entire program.  Yes, it's no big secret that Roman has been hurt by transfers in recent years. Not to go on a soapbox here, but I feel for coaches in today's era of high school basketball.  Today's era of AAU and street agents has made things tough.  Kids will transfer for any reason now, not just playing time or school-related issues.  They will now leave if they don't like the position that they play or the position that a parent or summer coach thinks they should play.  Okay, that's off my chest.  Coach Chris McNesby's squad had to wait out a delay in the start due to several earlier games running late.  Roman was dueling with the Pirates of West Windsor/Plainsboro South.  Roman started jr guards Shep Garner and Rashaan London along with sophs Traci Carter (g), 6'6" TreVaughn Wilkerson (f) and 6"6" Manny Taylor (f). Roman jumped out to an early 9-1 lead due to their trademark fullcourt press and transition game.  This team will pressure guards and get the ball down the floor to the rim very quickly.  The Cahillites broke the Pirates' 2-2-1 zone press fairly routinely, leading to layups by London and Taylor.  The first quarter ended with Roman leading 18-14.  Both teams were feeling each other out as the Pirates also liked to force the tempo and push the ball.  The second stanza was the difference in the game.  Sixth man and sharpshooter sr g Matt Simon entered the game and proceeded to mad bomb two of his three triples early in what was a 20-2 Roman run and a 24-10 second quarter. Garner, Carter, and London all were big in this run, contributing fastbreak baskets and shots from the perimeter.  All in purple and gold had a scare in the 2nd when big Manny Taylor went down holding his ankle after battling for a rebound and missed most of the 2nd quarter and the end of the first.  Taylor goes a solid (and I mean solid) 6'6" and 260.  It remains to be seen how Manny will project as a football player, with this past season being his first playing football.  I could see Coach Joe McCourt using him as a noseguard or maybe even a tight end someday.  Manny's return made us all breath a little easier.  I could see Manny and Tre forming a nice high-low tandem as the season progresses.  Catholic High led 42-24 at the break, and Coach McNesby stressed the importance of executing on offense and getting good movement along with keeping up the intensity on defense.  With such a young group, it would be very easy for the guys to play scoreboard instead of the right way.  The Pirates came out of the break firing, with seven threes being knocked down-some of which were in the face of good defense.  Sr G 6'0" Bryan Rivers (20 points) hit four, sr 6'2" G Dennis Zhuo (11 points) buried two, and 5'9" sr G Zavon Johnson ( 14 points) hit one.  The lead got down to 12 when Garner hit back to back threes to answer the Pirate run.  A three-point play by London and a third trey by Simon pushed the lead out to 21 before the quarter ended 64-49 after a West Windsor run.  The fourth quarter opened with Roman building the lead back to 21 before turning it over to the bench in the last few minutes.  Four players reached double figures for the Cahillites. Rashaan London (20 points, 9-12 from the field, 4 assists), Shep Garner (14 points, 5 steals, 4 assists), Manny Taylor (14 points, 7-8 from the field, 6 rebounds, 3 blocks) and Matt Simon (10 points, 3-5 on "threes") led the way. Soph G Traci Carter played a terrific floor game with 8 assists and 7 steals.  The stat of the game was the fact that out of Roman's 31 field goals, an astounding 22 were via an assist.  Ironically, in Roman's three losses so far, it appeared that there was a lack of playing together and sharing the ball.  In the 4 wins, the Cahillites shared the ball, made the extra pass, and were not concerned about who was doing the scoring.  Playing aggressive team defense and execution on offense will be the key for this group as the Catholic League opens.  Roman will face Princeton Day School, which held on for 3-point win over Roberts Vaux, on Saturday night at 7:30 at Trenton Catholic Academy.