St. Raymond will take on Christ the King for a spot in the championship game on Wednesday at St. John’s University.
While Christ the King will enter the arena with tons of experience, a young St. Ray’s squad will rely on hard-work and determination to put them into the next round.
Upon losing standout junior Corey Edwards to injury earlier this week, the Royals will be missing a true court-leader on the floor. Guard T.J. Curry will replace Edwards in the lead guard role on Wednesday. Curry is an overall better scorer than his teammate, but lacks Edwards’ pure floor-vision. Curry will be tagged with sophomore Omar Calhoun in the back-court against St. Ray’s. Curry and Calhoun will prove to be a dominant scoring tandem throughout the contest.
The back-court of St. Ray’s includes senior Gabe Burroughs and junior Devin Brooks. Burroughs, a pass-first guard and Brooks, an effective scorer off the dribble, will be supported with a bevy of guards off the bench. Senior Jatton Pierce-Bias along with sophomores Myron Hickman and Larry Graves will provide St. Ray’s with solid play on the court.
Back-Court Edge: Christ the King
Christ the King’s front-court players support bigger frames then those of St. Raymond’s. Roland Brown and Dominykas Milka, two senior big-men, will have to establish their presence in the paint from the get-go for the Royals. Forward Maurice Barrow matches up with the Ravens’ front-court athleticism extremely well. Barrow, who has the ability to take his game 15-feet from the hoop, must be aggressive through the course of the game to send St. Ray’s home packing.
St. Ray’s sophomore-duo of Nkereuwem Okoro (pictured left) and Daniel Dingle having been playing exceptional ball the past few games leading up to Wednesday. Expect both Okoro and Dingle to keep their solid play up against Christ the King. The duo will be able to score efficiently on the fast-break.
Front-Court Edge: St. Raymond
With a player like Edwards on your team, you must take advantage of his high basketball IQ and slow the game down to your own pace on the offensive end. With Edwards out of the equation, Christ the King’s offense may not run as smoothly against St. Ray’s on Wednesday. The Ravens will need to capitalize on forced-turnovers as well as limit unforced-errors and come out with a high intensity to start the game.
Christ the King pulled out a 75-69 overtime victory against St. Raymond during their last meeting on March 4th. Edwards’ presence will be greatly missed on both ends of the floor as St. Ray’s will come out on top in the end.
Prediction: St. Raymond
