Five Takeaways: St. Frances vs St. Maria Goretti
Last night, a match-up between two of the top teams in the BCL faced off. The Panthers from St. Frances looked to avenge their loss to Paul IV over the weekend, while the Gaels looked to do the same after…
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Continue ReadingLast night, a match-up between two of the top teams in the BCL faced off. The Panthers from St. Frances looked to avenge their loss to Paul IV over the weekend, while the Gaels looked to do the same after losing to DeMatha. In the end, St. Frances was able to escape with a 57-52 victory to improve their record to 5-1. Goretti falls to 5-2 with the loss.
Here are five takeaways from the contest:
St. Frances uses a big second quarter run to separate themselves
After the first quarter, the Panthers trailed 15-8. They struggled mightily to execute much of anything in the half court and the fact that their shots were simply not falling didn’t help matters. In the second quarter, they started to play their style of basketball by pushing the tempo and getting transition opportunities. This led to them out-scoring Goretti 22-9 in the quarter, giving them a six-point advantage heading into halftime. Junior forward Jamal West and senior guard Chad Brown sparked their run. West was working hard on the offensive glass and finishing in the paint, while Brown came off the bench and immediately hit two-threes and a mid-range shot. Brown gave the Panthers and the gym the life that was needed as he and West combined for 15 of the 22 points scored in the frame.
Blakney brings his team back in the fourth
Despite falling behind by double-digits heading into the fourth quarter, RJ Blakney wouldn’t allow his team to go out easily. The 6-foot-5 senior scored 11 of his game-high 20 points in the final quarter to cut the St. Frances lead to three with less than two minutes to go. He wasn’t settling for jump shots, all of his shots came from the painted area and were strong takes. His aggressiveness forced the referees to make calls. Blakney cashed in on five of his six shots from the charity stripe in the fourth quarter. Some of his shots could be viewed as “forced,” but the Gaels were disgruntled in the half court from the second quarter on and couldn’t get much execution due to the St. Frances pressure, so Blakney taking it upon himself was their best option.
When Jamal West gets the ball, he wants to dunk on you
There are plenty of players who talk the talk of trying to posterize their defender, but West is a guy who will actually live up to it. Defenders who are his size are beginning to make business decisions by moving out his way when he’s near the rim, but others still test their fate. West added another poster two-handed dunk last night from a dump-off pass from Ace Baldwin that ignited the gym during the Panthers’ run. West drew multiple fouls on plays where he was again trying to rip the rim off and destroy anyone who tried to stop him from doing so. The anger and aggressiveness he displays when he plays is a major plus for his game and is something this team desperately needed. West finished with a team-high 13 points.
Abdou Tsimbila with another strong outing
Tsimbila and Blakney have been the most productive players for Goretti this season in terms of numbers. Tsimbila has quickly become one of the best shot blockers in the state with his athleticism and length. He was a force all night on the backboard and couldn’t be stopped when he got the ball on the block. It’s still clear that the Penn State commit has a ways to go with his overall development, but the energy and motor he displays on the nightly basis is a foundation that any coach would be willing to work with. Tsimbila finished the game with 14 points.
Things to watch going forward
A few things I’ll be tracking for both teams as they make their arguments for the top spot in the BCL:
St. Frances:
-Can they improve as a half court team in the offense?
-Can they shoot teams out of zone defense?
*Note: There aren’t many teams out there in the Baltimore area that can match-up the Panthers man-to-man. With that being the case, I expect to see a lot of zone thrown their way. They have guys who are capable at making shots, but can they do so on a consistent basis is the question.
Next three games: vs Riverdale Baptist @ Gonzaga, TBA (Whitney Young or St. Vincent Pallotti), TBA
Goretti:
-How will they react to two-straight losses. Will players get frustrated and point fingers, or will they come closer and get back on track?
Next three games: vs Archbishop Spalding, @ Rock Creek Christian, @ McDonogh