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Wilmington PBP Classic: Roman figuring out identity; Carroll wins

12/21/2022, 11:00pm EST
By Josh Verlin

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)

WILMINGTON — Roman Catholic’s at a strange point in the season. 

On one hand, the Cahillites are only six games into a semi-rebuilding year, with three new starters and three members of the top seven who weren’t at the school a year ago, not nearly enough time to be playing their best basketball. And yet, the Catholic League starts in less than two weeks, when suddenly the intensity and meaning in every game goes through the roof. 


St. Joe's commit Xzayvier Brown (above) is adjusting to a new role and new teammates in his final year at Roman. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

“Finding our identity” is a phrase that both coach Chris McNesby and senior guard Xzayvier Brown both used, but it seems to be one they’re starting to figure out.

“I think our identity is going to be a defensive team who gets stops,” Brown said. “I kinda knew that in the summer, we’re not going to win games by out-scoring everybody, we’re not all all-stars. Defensively, if we get stops, it will help our offense.”

They got the stops they needed on Wednesday, holding off a scrappy Salesianum (Del.) for a 59-48 win in the third of five games in the Wilmington Scholastic Play-By-Play Classic at Chase Fieldhouse.

It’s not that Roman doesn’t have a rotation of talented hoopers; Brown, a 6-foot-3 guard, is committed to St. Joe’s, as is his 6-7 classmate, Anthony Finkley; sophomore Shareef Jackson, who had 13 points and eight rebounds in the win, is a promising sophomore forward; senior Jermai Stewart-Herring, who had 12 points against Salesianum, gives them a good scoring punch on the wing. 

But it’s not the same as it was last year, when Brown had a pair of 20-point scorers to rely on in Daniel Skillings (Cincinnati) and Khalil Farmer (Hofstra), two high-level outlets who could get a bucket whenever needed, Brown a high-quality third option. Now he’s gotta be the guy, a new role for the fourth-year starter, who’s been the primary point guard since his freshman year.

“I think I can score, I just know how to play with players,” he said. “So last year you may have seen me just know how to be a better playmaker and score whenever’s needed, but this year’s probably going to be even more [scoring].

It helps that he also doesn’t have to be the primary distributor. Finkley, a point-forward whose best known for his playmaking skills at his size, made several nice passes and collected three assets in the win, plus three rebounds and four points; McNesby wants him to be more aggressive and look for his shot, as well.

It’s the three newcomers who will play a big role in shaping how successful Roman’s season is this year.


Jermai Stewart-Herring finishes off Roman's win with a slam dunk. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Stewart-Herring, who was 5-of-9 from the floor (2-4 3PT) against Salesianum, was at St. Elizabeth (Del.) last year; Erik Oliver-Bush, a 6-4 wing, was at Trenton Catholic (N.J.); Bob Cotrell, a 5-9 junior, was at Simon Gratz. Stewart-Herring and Oliver-Bush, who didn’t score but had six rebounds, two blocks, two steals and two assists, are in the starting lineup; Cotrell, who had 7 points against Salesianum, comes off the bench and gives them another ball-handler and shooter.

“It’s a nice little adjustment for me, just getting to play with different players, because that’s how life goes, nothing is ever just going to be catered to you,” Brown said. “I’m just getting used to that, getting used to playing with new players is a fun challenge, I enjoy it daily in practice.”

“I feel like we’re coming along well,” Stewart-Herring said. “They said just be prepared — the crowds, the people, the players, the great players out there. I just feel like we’ve got to do the same thing we did here, be aggressive on defense, rebound, take charges.”

Roman certainly didn’t handle Salesianum easily, even though the Sallies were without junior guard Isaiah Hynson, the Division I recruit out with an illness; freshman point guard Anthony Smith stepped up and chipped in 13 points off the bench, while six others chipped in as they knocked down eight 3-pointers. 

Salesianum led 8-2 out of the gate but a 12-2 Roman run gave them a lead they didn’t give back, extending the advantage to 34-28 at halftime and 47-39 after three quarters. The Roman defense tightened up a bit somewhat as the game went on, but there was no one specific run or burst to point to as a true game-changer, just a team grinding out a win.

“When we’re showing them film [...] you’re starting to see progress,” McNesby said. “It’s slow, and it’s finding our identity, we can play a couple different ways, which is good, but we’ve got to get good at both. Sometimes we play a little bigger, sometimes we play a little smaller, so we’ve got to, in both, stay efficient.”

Though Roman’s PCL schedule starts in less than two weeks — and it doesn’t start easy, with games against Wood (at Holy Family), at Cardinal O’Hara and then against Bonner and Ryan — McNesby isn’t thinking his team needs to be a finished product in two weeks. He’s only concerned about finishing in the top 10 of the 14-team league, to get a spot in the league playoffs, knowing there’s so much parity amongst the league’s top 10 that giving his team a shot is all it takes, as long as they’re playing good ball by then.

“I don’t feel the pressure for January 3,” he said. “It’s just really just getting better each game, and I think with this group, that’s a fair way of approaching it. Because if they feel the pressure too much early, like every game has to have this certain type of level, they’re not ready for that.”

By Quarter
Roman Catholic: 14  |  20  |  13  |  12  ||  59
Salesianum:        13  |  15  |  11  |   9   ||  48

Shooting
Roman Catholic: 24-44 FG (5-17 3PT), 6-8 FT
Salesianum: 19-45 FG (8-22 3PT), 2-3 FT

Scoring
Roman Catholic: Brown 17, Jackson 13, Stewart-Herring 12, Cotrell 7, Felder 6, Finkley 4
Salesianum: Smith 13, Baffone 9

~~~

Martin Somerville (1) led Bishop McNamara with 18 points in its win over Westtown School. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Game Two: Bishop McNamara (Md.) 60, Westtown School 44
A guard-heavy McNamara group was clicking from the outset, jumping out to a 7-0 lead and never looking back. The advantage was 26-9 after the first quarter before Westtown finally found its footing, but the Moose (7-4) never were able to make a significant push into the single digits.

The Mustangs (7-1)  were led early by junior guard Martin Somerville, who scored all seven of those first points and finished with 18, plus six rebounds and four assists. Prince-Alexander Moody, an impressive 6-3 freshman guard, came off the bench and finished with 13 points as the only other member of the team in double figures, though they got quality production from junior Chase Lawton (9 points, 5 rebounds), sophomore Jaren Curstin (8 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists) and freshman Qayden Samuels (6 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists), all guards/wings.

Westtown’s most productive day came out of its frontcourt, as 6-10 junior Matt Gilhool took advantage of his status as the biggest body on the court to roll to an 18-point, 14-rebound double-double, including a couple drives from the top of the key and a late-game 3-pointer. Sophomore guard Cam Wallace came off the bench and hit a couple 3s to get to 11 points, adding seven rebounds.

By Quarter

McNamara: 26  |  11  |  11  |  12  ||  60
Westtown:    9   |  15  |   7   |  13  ||  44

Shooting

McNamara: 23-59 FG (10-25 3PT), 4-5 FT
Westtown: 15-55 FG (5-25 3PT), 9-10 FT

Scoring

McNamara: Somerville 18, Moody 13, Lawton 9, Curtis 8, Samuels 6, Edokpayi 4, Griffin 2
Westtown: Gilhool 18, Wallace 11, Kelsey 7, Mayock 3, Forsythe 3, Triplett 2

~~~

Game One: Archbishop Carroll 65, Conrad (Del.) 48


Ian Williams (above) led Carroll with 19 points, including two fourth-quarter 3-pointers. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Archbishop Carroll’s been hot from the perimeter the last few games, knocking down 12 3-pointers against Caravel (Del.) last week and another 11 on Sunday against Bishop McNamara (Md.), but the Patriots couldn’t buy a triple for most of the opener — luckily for them, neither could Conrad. It was clear that the NBA line on the court at the Wilmington Blue Coats’ facility proved too tempting, as the teams went 1-of-25 in the first half from deep, many of those attempts coming from deeper than necessary.

Carroll (5-1) missed its first 21 3-pointers overall before senior guard Dean Coleman-Newsome finally knocked one down with 5:30 left in the fourth quarter — and it was a big shot, putting the Patriots up 47-40. Freshman guard Ian Williams followed with two of his own, making it a 10-point game with under four to play, and Conrad’s push was over. 

Williams finished with a team-high 19 points (5-11 FG, 2-7 3PT), adding seven rebounds and five assists in another string of great performances to start his first year of high school hoops; Coleman-Newsome finished with 18 points, 13 rebounds (four offensive), three assists, two steals and a block, going 6-of-11 from the floor (1-4 3PT).

They were joined in double figures by sophomore guard Jake West, who went 6-of-6 from the line to help him get to 14 points, adding five rebounds, three steals and two assists.

The Red Wolves (2-2) were led by an outstanding effort from junior Jaylin Horsey, who went for 32 points, all after a scoreless first quarter. The 6-3 wing was 12-of-28 from the floor and 4-of-13 from deep but missed his first five and last four shots; in between, he was lights’ out, hitting pull-up 3-pointers, getting to the rim, and hitting his free throws. 

By Quarter
Carroll:   8   |  18  |  17  |  22  ||  65
Conrad:  8   |  11  |  11  |  18  ||  48

Shooting
Carroll: 19-55 FG (3-26 3PT), 24-30 FT
Conrad: 17-57 FG (6-24 3PT), 8-9 FT

Scoring
Carroll: Williams 19, Coleman-Newsome 18, West 14, Alleyne 6, Ralls 5, Rogers 2, Dixon 1

Conrad: Horsey 32, Russell 5, Epps 4, Starr 3, Pirrung 2, Wright 2


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