Jesuit 58, Central Catholic 45: Top Performers
One thing you can always count on from the “Holy War” between Jesuit and Central Catholic – it will be a spirited game. That certainly was the case on Friday night at the home of the Crusaders. It wasn’t necessarily…
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Continue ReadingOne thing you can always count on from the “Holy War” between Jesuit and Central Catholic – it will be a spirited game. That certainly was the case on Friday night at the home of the Crusaders. It wasn’t necessarily the prettiest game, but it was hard fought as Jesuit consistently held a lead from the beginning and then pulled away at the end for a 58-45 victory in their home opener.
Central Catholic played without star sophomore wing Darius Gakwasi, who was held out related to illness, but you got the sense that his presence wouldn’t have made too much difference as Jesuit seemed to be in control, running their motion offense effectively and knocking down open shots (21-for-40 field goals, .525).
“I think we’re getting better and playing as well as we can at this point in the season,” said Jesuit head coach Gene Potter. “We’re obviously undersized, but the guys are spacing the floor well and it comes down to making decisions and us keep on getting better at making them.”
Here are the top performers from Friday’s game:
Aidan Williams (2019 Jesuit) – Stats: 18 pts, 3 reb, 1 ast, 7-9 fg, 4-6 3pt, 0-1 ft. Williams was simply put, dialed in on Friday night. He found himself open for perimeter shots and when given a few inches of space, he simply knocked them down. When Jesuit runs their motion offense well, their players are able to get open looks and Williams certainly benefitted from that against Central Catholic. Williams had to create a little against Jefferson in the season opener; there was no need to do that versus the Rams.
Justin Bieker (2019 Jesuit) – Stats: 12 pts, 7 reb, 3 ast, 2 blk, 5-11 fg, 1-3 3pt, 1-5 ft. Bieker didn’t have a scorching shooting night but he certainly stuffed the stat sheet on both ends of the floor. Yes, the 6-foot-5 senior is Jesuit’s tallest player but the reason he led the team in rebounding can be attributed to his energy level as much as his length. While Bieker certainly benefitted from some open looks in Jesuit’s offense, the lefty also created for himself off the dribble for a couple of finishes near the bucket.
Matthew Levis (2020 Jesuit) – Stats: 12 pts, 3 reb, 3 ast, 3-5 fg, 2-3 3pt, 4-4 ft. The last time we saw Levis, he was forcing the action against Jefferson and launched a lot of shots. Against Central Catholic, he took more of what the defense gave him – although at the same time you didn’t get the feeling he was being passive. Levis simply went with the flow of the offense and knocked down all the open shots he got.
Roy Bunn (2020 Jesuit) – Stats: 6 pts, 1 reb, 1 stl, 2-4 fg, 1-1 3pt, 1-2 ft. It doesn’t appear as if Jesuit is going to go very deep on their bench this season, but Bunn will certainly be one of the main guys that will get counted on for support. What the sophomore provides is a level of quickness off the dribble that doesn’t otherwise exist on the team. Bunn took care of the ball, hit an open three, and gave the Crusaders some good minutes of defense while in the ball game.
Isaiah Amato (2020 Central Catholic) – Stats: 14 pts, 3 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 6-14 fg, 2-7 3pt, 0-0 ft. Even though he came off of the bench, with Gakwasi not playing Amato became Central Catholic’s top offensive player. An athletic player who can really get to the basket, the junior seemed to settle for perimeter shots which had mixed results. Amato did throw a couple of nice dishes to teammates for baskets but probably could have tried to penetrate a little more like he usually does.
Tyson Parker (2019 Central Catholic) – Stats: 12 pts, 2 reb, 3 ast, 5-8 fg, 1-1 3pt, 1-4 ft. Parker had one of the better games we’ve seen him play in a Rams uniform. He gave good effort on both ends of the floor, hit his only three-point attempt, and in many ways was the spark that kept Central Catholic competitive for most of the game. The main senior on the team, the Rams will continue to count on him for leadership this season.
Sataivior Ayilola (2020 Central Catholic) – Stats: 9 pts, 5 reb, 4-11 fg, 1-2 ft. Ayilola continues to slowly come along as a player. Always a physical presence, the academic junior used his size and strength to make some strong drives to the basket and also grab some tough boards. There sometimes seems to be a sense that he could be doing more but at this point it’s probably best to focus on what he does provide on the basketball as opposed to what could be, because he’s still capable of being a very productive player for the Rams.