St. Vincent-St. Mary outlasts Canton McKinley for tough road win
CANTON, Ohio - Nothing has come easy this season for St. Vincent-St. Mary boys basketball and head coach Dru Joyce II. While Friday night was no different, it at least ended in a win for the Fighting Irish, who went on the road and defeated Canton McKinley 61-54.
STVM (2-5) got off to a fast start, as the Fighting Irish led 14-8 after the first quarter and took a 29-18 lead into the half, led by their defense and energy, which was something Joyce II thought had been lacking at times this season.
"That's what's been hurting us," Joyce II said. "We just haven't been as principled defensively as we should and we've been giving guys shots that they shouldn't have gotten and guys not being in the correct spot."
One of the catalysts on the defensive end early on for the Fighting Irish was sophomore Rayshawn Hamilton, who had a blocked shot and contested a pair of shots in the paint in a four-possession span, which kept the Bulldogs off the board. Two of those defensive plays came with McKinley having numbers on a fast break opportunity.
"He’s only a sophomore and once he gets his skill set together, I think he can do a lot of great things," Joyce II said.
Offensively, the Fighting Irish were led by junior John Whorton, who scored 12 of his team-high 16 points in the first half, including multiple baskets on put backs after he grabbed the rebound.
"He's getting more time and he's one that if he gets the ball he can get always score it, but we just got to get him to be stronger with it," Joyce II said. "And we have to be a little more creative in getting it to him. (those put backs) were big for us."
After STVM took its largest lead of the game at 41-24 with a quick 8-0 run midway through the third quarter, McKinley started to chip away and had trimmed the lead to just 11 after three quarters and then trailed by just seven with 3:34 left.
"We knew that they were not going to lay down and just let us walk out of here with a victory," Joyce II said. "(We knew) they were going to come after us."
STVM responded on a driving layup by Noah Chambers in which he was fouled. But after the play, there was jawing back and forth between the two teams and STVM ended up with a pair of technical fouls, while McKinley was called for one of its own. With the technical free throws, McKinley was able to lose just one point on the possession and keep the game close.
It looked like STVM might have iced the game on a steal by Chambers, who tossed it ahead to SirCharles Gordon for a one-handed dunk late in the fourth quarter to take a 54-45 lead, but McKinley kept clawing back and a a dunk by Reed Sims, Jr. with 37 seconds left drew the Bulldogs to within two. The dunk accounted for two of Sims, Jr.'s game-high 20 points.
"We're young and inexperienced and we have to be able to understand to be more disciplined when the pressure gets on us," Joyce II said. "I thought that it showed in our youthfulness, we’ll say, at the end."
After a pair of free throws by Jayson Walker for STVM, McKinley had a look at a 3-pointer that would have cut the lead to one with 13 seconds left, but it bounced off the rim and STVM grabbed the rebound. A free throw by Nehemiah Heckworth and a layup by DeCarlo Prince sealed the win for the Fighting Irish.
This kind of game was nothing new to STVM, as three of their five losses have come in close games - by five points to Pickerington Central, in double overtime to Reynoldsburg and by five to Archbishop Moeller.
"We've been in these games and we lost them," Joyce II said. "So for us to finally finish one is big. It is something we can grow on."
The Fighting Irish had lost five games coming into Friday night's contest with those opponents having a combined record of 23-6. And then McKinley came into Friday at 5-1.
Asked if he felt like his team had turned the corner now after winning two of its last three games, the STVM head coach smiled.
"We're at the corner," Joyce II said. "But I can't see down the street yet."
But Joyce II also expressed his excitement in seeing what his sophomore class can do, and expects it to be the cornerstone of another great STVM run.
Along with Hamilton, who scored six points and played great defense all game, the sophomore class includes DeCarlo Prince who had 11 points Friday night, and Leigh Cotton who scored two points and was big in spelling Whorton off the bench.
"This sophomore class, we want to build around it," Joyce II said. "I think some good things happen down the road. Not down the road next year, I think even down the road this year."
-- Ryan Isley | ryan@scorebooklive.com | @sbliveoh
(Feature photo of St. Vincent-St. Mary head backetball coach Dru Joyce II by Mike Cook, SBLive Sports)
