Five Takeaways: McNicholas at Purcell Marian
The “Castle” on Hackberry was lit Saturday night as Purcell Marian hosted the 2nd ranked D-II team in the state and conference foe McNicholas. And despite a great performance by 2018 PHO #178 PG Ryan Reidy, the Cavs defended there home with a 54-47 upset home victory.
After two early deep 3’s from Reidy to give McNick a 6-0 lead, Coach Scott Kerr squad locked down on the defensive end and took a lead that they held for the rest of the game. The Cavaliers did a good job making Reidy work hard for open looks and switched defenders on him throughout the evening. Offensively it was a balanced attack for Purcell as 8 players scored in the game lead by rising junior W Javonta Lyons 12 points on an efficient 5-9 from the floor. 2019 PHO #80 G Alex Dotson had a nice game as well with 10 points and 6 rebounds for the winning Cavaliers. Reidy scored a game high 21 points on 6-16 shooting for the Rockets to go along with 5 rebounds and 4 assists. His play in the 4th quarter is the main reason the Rockets stayed in the game.
Five Takeaways: McNicholas at Purcell Marian
- The Rockets lack of depth was a huge factor in determining the outcome of this game. Coach Kerr got 12 points from his bench on 3-5 shooting from the field, 2-4 from the three. In contrast, Coach Tim Monahan squad had 0 bench points on 0-1 shooting. Lack of a quality bench could play a huge role for the McNick come playoff time.
- I was also very surprised how much Reidy has to play with the ball in his hands. It was not until late in the 3rd quarter that I remember anyone beside Reidy with primary ball-handling duties. If McNicholas hopes to advance far in the post-season, they must have the ball in senior G Cole Burdick (12pts, 7rebs) more often. And he must be able to do something with the rock when given the opportunity.
- The win pulls the Cavaliers within one game of the Rockets for first in the GCL Co-Ed. Can you imagine the atmosphere at McNicholas when they host Purcell for the final game of the season February 16th? A lot could be on the line that final Friday night of the season. Speaking of atmospheres….
- You could tell that this game meant a lot to both teams. While not quite a sell-out, the energy from the teams, coaches and the crowd made it feel as such.
- The Cavaliers are built to succeed for a long time. They have one senior and 4 juniors in their starting five. You add that with some solid young talent on the JV level, Purcell should be a high-level team for a long time.