After trailing for most of the first three quarters, St. Raymond put up 27 points in the fourth and topped Monsignor Scanlan 73-69 in the Bronx on Sunday, extending the Ravens' winning streak to nine games. St. Raymond has not lost a game since falling to Long Island Lutheran, the top-ranked team in New York State, on December 22nd.
Malachi Smith, Luis Kortright and Gary Grant led the offensive spurt for the Ravens in the final frame, combining for 24 of the 27 point output.
Koby Brea paced Scanlan's offense in the first half, putting up 13 points on 5-6 shooting (3-4 from beyond the arc) and carrying the Crusaders to a 28-27 halftime lead.
Halftime: Monsignor Scanlan 28 St. Raymond 27 pic.twitter.com/iUcUpUqQLR
— HS Box Scores NYC (@hsboxscoresnyc) January 20, 2019
Brea went to the bench after picking up his third foul early in the third, but Matthew Mayers went to work for the Crusaders in the paint, scoring 12 of Scanlan's 22 third quarter points and muscling the Crusaders to a 50-46 lead heading into the fourth.
End of 3rd Q: Monsignor Scanlan 50 St. Raymond 46 pic.twitter.com/bvxUTifBBg
— HS Box Scores NYC (@hsboxscoresnyc) January 20, 2019
Brea was pulled again after picking up his fourth personal with 6:00 left, and St. Raymond's started to heat up from the perimeter. Kortright's 3-pointer off an assist from Grant knotted the score at 56, and another 3-ball, this one by Smith, gave the Ravens the lead at 59-56 with 4:27 left. The margin swelled to eight at 66-58 on Kortright's driving score with 3:15 left, but Scanlan made a valiant run of their own after a timeout, with Joe Munden providing the spark.
After Chris Stone converted a tip pass from Munden in the lane to make it 66-60, Munden brought Scanlan within four at 66-62 on a pretty double-clutch on the break, and then within three at 68-65 after hustling downcourt, scooping up a fumbled hand-off and laying it in with 1:43 left. A borderline blocking foul near midcourt on the next possession put Smith on the stripe, and he made one of two to give the Ravens a two possession lead at 69-65.
Scanlan still came back to tie the score at 69 after a follow-up by Brea and a Munden bucket off an assist by Rodney Bailey, but Jalen Reneau dribbled the length of the court on the ensuing possession and went right to Grant, who powered his way inside and tipped in his own miss, giving the Ravens the lead back at 71-69. Scanlan came up empty on the next trip, putting them in a must-foul scenario. Reneau iced it for the Ravens by making a pair of freebies with just 6.1 ticks left, putting St. Raymond ahead 73-69.
Final score: St. Raymond 73 Monsignor Scanlan 69. After trailing for most of the first 3 quarters, Ravens rally in the 4th to keep their winning streak alive. Nine straight wins since a loss to top-ranked LuHi on 12/22. pic.twitter.com/CELMbHrJO1
— HS Box Scores NYC (@hsboxscoresnyc) January 20, 2019
Grant led St. Raymond with 21 points, while Smith finished with 17 and Kortright 14 for the Ravens. Mayers scored 21 points, Munden finished with 18 and Brea had 16 for Scanlan.
St. Raymond is now 10-2 in CHSAA league play, a half-game ahead of Cardinal Hayes, which is 10-3. The Ravens are 14-4 overall and have won 14 of 15 games since opening the season 0-3. Scanlan is 7-4 in CHSAA league play and 8-8 overall. The next league game for St. Raymond is at Iona Prep on Friday, while Scanlan will not play another league game until January 29th, when they will host Mount Saint Michael.