The St. Mary’s boys basketball team came out on fire to start the season, rolling to a 58-43 win over Catholic Central League foe Cathedral on the road Monday evening. The Spartans were all over the Panthers from the jump, leading 21-2 after the first quarter and 34-8 at the half.
“It’s been a long time since we’ve played in a real game, and the guys came out with a ton of energy to start things off,” said St. Mary’s coach Dave Brown. “We did a lot of good things out there, we shared the ball well and knocked down some shots. It was a nice effort to start off the season.
Senior Sammy Batista led the way for the Spartans with 16 points, while junior Ali Barry had 11 points and four rebounds. Sophomore David Brown played well at the point guard position, notching 11 points, seven assists and five rebounds.
St. Mary’s (1-0) is back in action Wednesday evening (6) for its home opener against Bishop Stang at Tony Conigliaro Gymnasium.
“We’re going to get back in the gym Tuesday and keep working,” said Brown. “We’ve got some guys who haven’t played a ton of varsity minutes, so it’s helpful to get them out on the practice floor as often as we can. We’re going to watch some film, fix some things and come out ready to go again on Wednesday.”
BOYS BASKETBALL
Bishop Fenwick 82, Bishop Stang 76
Fenwick opened its 2020-2021 season on a high note, with three players finishing in double figures to pace the offense. Che Hanks led the way for the Crusaders with 23 points in the win, while Max Grenert notched a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Alex Gonzalez added 19 points, while Jason Romans just missed a double-double at the point guard spot with nine points and eight assists.
Fenwick (1-0) plays on the road at Archbishop Williams Wednesday afternoon (3).
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Bishop Fenwick 59, Bishop Stang 41
Behind 19 points from junior transfer student Olivia Found, the Crusaders rolled to a convincing win at home Monday.
“Even with all of the modifications and the masks and everything, it really felt normal out there,” said Fenwick coach Adam DeBaggis. “It was a great matchup against a solid team and we did what we needed to do. It was just nice to be out there competing again.”
Senior captain Liz Gonzalez and junior Maria Orfanos each had nine points in the win, while three players notched seven points each.
Fenwick (1-0) had its game against Archbishop Williams Wednesday canceled due to COVID-19, so the Crusaders will next be in action on Friday (3) on the road at St. Mary’s.
“This season it’s going to be all about adjusting and rolling with the punches, and that’s what we have to do here,” said DeBaggis. “It would’ve been nice to play Wednesday leading up to St. Mary’s to try to get into a little more of a groove, but we’ve just got to control what we can control and come out with some energy Friday.”