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Butler, House step up for Carroll; Ryan, Bonner win at WCU

12/10/2017, 10:45pm EST
By Josh Verlin

Keyon Butler (above) stepped up in the fourth quarter to help Carroll beat Coatesville in the third of three games at WCU on Sunday. (Photo: Tommy Smith/CoBL)

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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WEST CHESTER, Pa. -- Archbishop Carroll head coach Paul Romanczuk has been waiting all offseason to see who will step up in the scoring column for his Patriots alongside impressive sophomore A.J. Hoggard.

With his Patriots locked in a dead-even matchup with Coatesville at West Chester University’s Hollinger Fieldhouse on Sunday afternoon, Hoggard needed some help.

Keyon Butler, Luke House and Devon Ferrero answered the call.

Though Hoggard led the way with 19 points, it was 21 fourth-quarter points from Butler, House and Ferrero that proved to be the difference-maker in a 70-55 Carroll win.

“We knew coming into the game that they were going to put a lot of pressure on (Hoggard), as far as defensively, packing in, things like that,” said Butler, a 6-4 senior forward. “So we had to be there for him.”

The game was the third of three that made up the Performance Refinement West Chester Showdown.

Playing against Coatesville certainly meant something different for Hoggard than the rest of his teammates. A Coatesville native, Hoggard was going head-to-head against a Raiders squad he knew all-too-well; in middle school, before coming to Carroll, he was teammates with the Coatesville all-sophomore backcourt of Jhamir Brickus and DaPree Bryant.


A.J. Hoggard (above), a Coatesville native, said he tried to separate the emotions from playing his hometown team. (Photo: Tommy Smith/CoBL)

Brickus and Hoggard spent part of Saturday night together, with Brickus giving Hoggard a ride home from Carroll’s season-opening win over Malvern Prep.

“We didn’t really speak about the game, we just knew what it is,” Hoggard said. “It was a little awkward because I know I have to play him tomorrow, but I’m hanging out with him the night before.”

It was the second game in a row Hoggard has come up against longtime friends. Malvern’s backcourt of Rahdir Hicks and Deuce Turner are two other Coatesville natives; they were all AAU teammates together growing up as well.

Despite the personal connections and the large crowd at Hollinger that was very much pro-Coatesville, Hoggard said he tried his best not to let the emotions behind the game get to him.

Romanczuk admitted that his budding star was generally successful in that approach.

“There was probably some times where he kind of ran off and did his own thing and I would have liked him to settle down and run offense or whatever,” Romanczuk said, “but you have to let a guy run sometimes, let him play and let him make some mistakes every now and then.

“I know there was a lot of guys here from Coatesville in the entire gym, and some of them were rooting for A.J, I think a lot of them probably rooting against him, but he did such a great job of not having it be him versus Brickus or him versus the city of Coatesville,” he continued. “It was Carroll vs. Coatesville to him, and I think he did such a great job this whole weekend and I’m proud of how he focused in on that.”

The 6-foot-3 combo guard with offers from Seton Hall, UConn and Rutgers already in his pocket carried Carroll early, scoring 15 points through the first three quarters, but it was just a 44-42 lead heading into the final eight minutes.

Brickus, a dynamic 5-9 guard, had 20 of his game-high 22 by that point; he also finished with six rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Nowhere near as success to that point was House, a 6-5 junior wing and usual sharpshooter, who was scoreless and had missed the only four shots he’d taken up to that point. The night before, he had been limited to six points due to foul issues.

“I so badly -- and the team so badly -- wanted (House) to come out and play great,” Romanczuk said. “And he didn’t. He stunk the joint up at halftime. But we were all positive with him at halftime...I just think him hitting that one shot just lifted the team.”

That one shot, a mid-range jumper, certainly wasn’t the backbreaker type, as all it did was put Carroll up 53-50 with five minutes left -- not exactly a safe lead.

But it did seem to open the floodgates.

Butler followed with a put-back, plus the foul. House picked up the missed freebie and popped it back in before knocking down another mid-range jumper the next time down.

Suddenly, the lead was 59-50. When Coatesville senior center and Eastern Kentucky commit Tyrel Bladen fouled out a minute later, with 2:45 to play, it was clear who was coming away with the victory.

“Coach just told us to keep playing, play smart, go out there and pull out a tough one, everybody be tough,” Butler said. “It felt good, coming into an atmosphere like this and pulling out a tough one in front of a lot of people.”

House finished with eight points, all of which came in the fourth quarter, to go along with 10 rebounds. Ferrero, who had 10 points, had six of his in the final stanza, including 4-for-4 from the foul line.

Butler finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds, including four on the offensive end. That came after a night where he put up 20 in Carroll’s win over Malvern Prep.

The 6-4 forward had three different and-one opportunities, converting two of them. Though he and the 6-5 Ferrero are the most size Carroll has on the roster, they were able to limit the effectiveness of the 6-9 Bladen, who still finished with 10 points and eight rebounds.

“Keyon’s an energy guy, he keeps after it, even if we’re not running stuff for him, he’s getting offensive rebounds, put-backs, and he’s going to out-work you,” Romanczuk said. “He’s going to provide us with toughness and energy -- he did it last night, he did it again tonight.”

~~~


Isaiah Wong (above) and Bonner-Prendergast took care of Malvern Prep in a battle of Friars. (Photo: Tommy Smith/CoBL)

In the second game, the Bonner-Prendergast “Big 3” of Isaiah Wong, Ajiri Johnson and Tariq Ingraham proved to be too much for Malvern Prep, combining for 61 points in an 83-65 win in a battle of Friars.

Wong, a junior guard and transfer from Notre Dame (N.J.), went for 27 points on 11-of-22 shooting, including 4-of-7 from 3-point range. The high-major target with an offer from Villanova among many others in his pocket also chipped in five rebounds, four assists, three steals and three blocks in a terrific all-around performance that included a 30-foot triple at the third quarter buzzer.

Bonner (2-0) got plenty of production as well from Johnson, a 6-8 senior and Rider commit, who had 24 points and 10 rebounds, as well as two blocks and two assists. Ingraham, a 6-8 junior, had 10 points and eight rebounds, plus three assists and two blocks.

The effort of those three alone was nearly enough to outscore Malvern Prep (4-2), whose regulars went 0-for-16 from 3-point range before the benches took over for the game’s final few minutes.

Three early 3-pointers by Wong gave Bonner a 19-12 lead after one quarter, and it was 42-23 by half as the B-P frontcourt asserted itself with 10 points in the second quarter. Malvern was never able to seriously threaten from that point forward, though the second half went in favor of Malvern, 42-41.

Malvern was paced by 17 points from sophomore guard Deuce Turner, who also had six rebounds. Senior forward Billy Corcoran added 10 points.

~~~

Archbishop Ryan’s defense was too much for Harriton to handle, as the Raiders ran away to a 66-52 win over the Rams in the opening game.

Freshman forward Taleeq Robbins led Ryan with 16 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, as well as four rebounds. Sophomore guard Jaquill Stone and senior guard Devon Vargas chipped in 10 each for the Raiders (1-1).

Joe Zelingski’s squad forced 23 turnovers, getting five steals apiece from Stone and senior guard Anthony Woodard; five other players had at least two thefts.

Harriton got 12 points from senior wing Griffin Leyden and 11 from senior guard Charlie Veasey, who hit three 3-pointers.


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