Missed Opportunities and Turnovers Give Roman Victory

After coming off a very tough loss to Archbishop Ryan on Friday night, the Bonner basketball team desperately needed a win to halt a two game skid, and to get back into any playoff discussion. Coming into the game Bonner was 2-7 in the Catholic League Red, two games behind Father Judge and North Catholic for the fourth and final playoff spot. A win would inch them one game closer in the standing. Bonner's opponent was the always formidable Roman Catholic. The perennial city power came into the match-up in second place in the division at 7-2 in the league, and 11-6 overall. A win for them would help them keep pace with the first place LaSalle Explorers.
The first quarter started off well for the Friars. Scott Slade scored the first points in the game. The speedy and elusive Jamal Melvin was able to penetrate the Roman 2-3 zone defense and make a couple early buckets to give Bonner a 10-9 lead at the end of the quarter.
The second quarter was filled with golden opportunities for Bonner. Unfortunately, they could not take advantage. The Friars played great defense, leading to scoring opportunities, but they could not finish their shots. They also turned the ball over too many times, which is something that can't be done if there are any hopes of beating a team like Roman. The worst of these was off a Roman missed shot. A Bonner defender rebounded the ball, but Rakeem Brookins from Roman stripped the ball back for the Cahillites, leading to two points for the bad guys. After having a strong first quarter, Roman's coach decided to double team Bonner's Melvin. It paid off, as Melvin did not have a great game when the double team took effect. When he had his opportunities, the tall Roman defenders were there to swat the attempts away. Roman took their first lead of the game with 4:39 left in the second. They started to run the floor, and Bonner couldn't keep up. Coach Tom Meakim called a time out to let the Friars regroup. It worked. Layups by Keefer Francis and Karron Davis cut Roman's lead to 24-23 at the half.
After coming out of the locker room, it seemed as if Roman turned their game on. They started to pull away, taking advantage of the Bonner turnovers and missed opportunities, while cashing in on their own. A one point lead quickly turned to nine. This came off a block by Roman's Anthony Mayo, leading to a Roman layup. It extended to 11 right after a Bonner miss. Roman missed four shots in a row, but were able to secure each offensive rebound, and on the fifth opportunity they converted, giving Roman a 38-27 lead. At the end of the third, Roman was up 40-29.
The Cahillites appeared to have the game wrapped up early. They had a lead of 16 at one point, and it looked all but over. But Bonner was able to cut the lead down to 7 at 48-41 with two minutes left off strong efforts from Dan Vanderslice and Slade. Everything was going Bonner's way at this point. With 1:32 left, Bonner's fortunes continued. Roman had a 1 and 1 at the foul line. The shooter made the first, but it was waved off as a Roman player stepped in the lane too early, giving Bonner the ball. The Friars luck ran out here. On the ensuing inbound pass, the Bonner player passed it to point guard Joe McGinn. He passed it back to the inbounder, who's foot was still on the end line. This gave Roman the ball, and all but ended the game. Bonner had to foul, and Roman hit both free throws to make it a 50-41 lead. McGinn raced down the court and hit a layup to cut the lead back to seven. Bonner had to foul on Roman's possessions, and the Cahillites hit all of their free throws, icing the game. McGinn hit another layup with three seconds left, but it only changed Bonner's total. Roman defeated Bonner by a final score of 58-48.
Bonner just could not cash in on their opportunities. Turnovers, and missed layups spelled doom for the now 5-12 (2-8) Friars. It certainly did not help that Roman, 12-6 (8-2), dominated the boards, earning rebound after rebound. Rakeem Brookins led all scorers with 19 points on the night. Kevin Regan, also a football star, pitched in thirteen of his own to pace the Roman win. For Bonner, Scott Slade had 14 points. Keefer Francis scored 8, Jamal Melvin had 7, and Vanderslice pitched in 5. Bonner takes on Father Judge in a critical game for the Friars. This game will be played on Friday, February 5th, at 7:30 at Father Judge.

Elsewhere in the Catholic League Red: Archbishop Ryan defeated Cardinal O'Hara 50-36. North Catholic beat Father Judge 63-54. LaSalle will play St. Joe's Prep tomorrow night at LaSalle.
In the Blue Division: Defending state champion Archbishop Caroll beat Lansdale Catholic 59-36. Conwell-Egan crushed Kennedy-Kenrick 59-32. Neumann-Goretti, ranked number 10 in the nation by USA Today, annihilated West Catholic 93-61. Cardinal Dougherty beat Bishop McDevitt 65-50.