By Ryan Mink
rmink@digitalsports.com
It seemed that at any moment during Saturday’s quarterfinals, top-seeded DeMatha was simply going to start pulling away.
But when St. Mary’s Ryken kept delaying that moment, and delaying it more, a certain sense of concern started to creep over the Stags.
“It was scaring us for a little bit,” senior guard Marcus Rouse said.
But in the end, DeMatha finally went on the run many expected and came out with a 55-42 win over the scrappy Knights behind a scrappy senior of its own.
Rouse was pivotal down the stretch, scoring 10 points in the fourth quarter to seal the game for the Stags. More than scoring the points, he made other critical plays like steals, assists and rebounds to jumpstart the Stags.
“This is my last year, I’m a senior. So I’m trying to win a championship, point blank,” Rouse said. “Whatever I’ve got to do to get my team rolling, that’s what I’ve got to do.”
St. Mary’s Ryken took a 9-0 lead off the start with three three-pointers, including two from Gokhan Sirin, who finished with a team-high 10 points. DeMatha charged back to take a lead in the second quarter, but St. Mary’s Ryken just wouldn’t go away.
“It’s the toughest game,” DeMatha Coach Mike Jones said. “You’ve got all the butterflies and the build-up. A lot of guys, this is their first varsity WCAC playoff game. There’s a lot of reasons to expect the youth on our team to respond the way they did today.”
The Knights (12-17) scored six straight points to start the third quarter and were just one point entering the fourth quarter after a last-second steal and layup by Kai Smith.
DeMatha sophomore Quinn Cook kicked off the fourth quarter with an and-one play, followed by back-to-back field goals by senior Naji Hibbert. The final blow was back-to-back three-pointers by Rouse that gave the Stags a 14-point lead in a matter of minutes.
“We’ve got some seniors that didn’t allow us to stay dead,” Jones said. “Marcus Rouse had a great day today. He kind of played us out of it himself.”
Processing your request, Please wait....
