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by Peter Dalmasy
Last night at the Sherm Bristow Holiday Invitational held at the Gilman School, Loyola Blakefield, currently tied for first place in the MIAA A Conference with St. Frances, met with a surging Patterson High squad that has won four of its last five games, with its lone loss coming to Calvert Hall.
Loyola cooled off the Clippers, 44-37, to advance to Friday evening’s title game with host Gilman.
Patterson surprised the fans at Gilman, as the Clippers started the game on an 11-0 run and handed the Dons their first deficit of more than five points this season. The sticky zone defense that the Clipper Ship played on Loyola stymied the Dons’ typically high-scoring offense and created a conundrum for Loyola head coach Josh Davalli.
However, Loyola slowly found some solutions and cut Patterson’s lead to seven, by halftime. Still, the Dons shot just 26% in the opening half, as the Clippers led 26-19 at the break.
In the second half, the Dons would come out with more intensity, generated by its own defensive effort, and forced Patterson into a string of turnovers. In addition, junior sharpshooter Matt Rum put his team on his back, scoring 12 points in the second half and finishing with 19 for the game. The combination of Rum’s offense and the improve defense, helped Loyola come all the way back, forging a 31-31 tie at the end of three quarters.
The battle still was far from over and Loyola did not claim its first lead until senior point guard Steele Stanwick nailed a three-pointer with 5:42 remaining in the final. From there, the Dons seized the momentum and pulled away for the seven point win, improving to a perfect 6-0 on the season.
In addition to Stanwick and Rum, the Dons also received a solid inside performance from junior forward Brandon Floyd, a two-sport Varsity athlete, who tossed in nine-points.
Head coach Harry Martin’s Patterson squad received 10 points from senior center Coreise Bruce.
With Gilman’s defeat of Western Tech in last night’s second game, the Dons (3-0, 6-0) will face the host Greyhounds (1-1, 4-7) for the championship game, while Patterson will play Western Tech in the consolation game. The Dons are looking to capture the title for a third straight year.
Bristow Holiday Invitational
at Gilman School
First round
Loyola-Blakefield 44, Patterson 37
Loyola 8 11 12 13-44
Patterson 15 11 5 6-37
Loyola: Rum 18, Stanwick 7, Schittino 3, Davenport 7, Floyd 9.
Patterson: Taylor 5, Carroll 8, Lewis 6, Howze 8, Bruce 10.
Halftime: Patterson 26, Loyola 19.
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