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Green's hot shooting propels Neumann-Goretti to victory over Philly Electric

12/06/2014, 10:00pm EST

By Tom Reifsnyder

Quade Green led all scorers with 18 points in a 55-45 victory over Philadelphia Electric and Technology on Saturday. (Photo: Josh Verlin)

Tom Reifsnyder (@tom_reifsnyder)
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Quade Green had never heard his name called during the announcement of the starting lineups in a high school game before Saturday night.

It didn’t seem to bother him.

The Neumann-Goretti sophomore guard scored a game-high 18 points in the Saints’ 55-45 opening night victory over Philadelphia Electric and Technology Charter at Philadelphia University.

Green was the only Neumann-Goretti starter that displayed any consistent offensive rhythm throughout the game. Although he was the clear catalyst tonight, Green wasn’t overly satisfied with his performance.

“I played okay,” Green said. “I could have done a lot of things better…like defense, looking for my teammates, and getting them in scoring position.”

Green claims to have been a bit anxious early on, but that certainly didn’t last long.

“I was nervous for the first few minutes, but then my shot started to fall and I started getting in my groove,” Green said.

After scoring the game’s first basket, the sophomore knocked down two big threes to keep the Saints within one point as Philly Electric led 23-22 at the half.

Coming into the game, it was clear that this year’s Neumann-Goretti bunch had big shoes to fill. The only question was how they would handle the pressure.

Senior point guard Lamarr Kimble is the only returning starter from an experienced group led by Ja’Quan Newton (Miami) that won a sixth consecutive Catholic League championship last season.

Kimble had a slow start offensively against Philly Electric, but credits Green for picking up his slack.

“I think [Green] had a real good performance; he basically carried us today,” Kimble said. “He’s a real good shooter, you know, a knockdown shooter.

“He spaces the floor out and if he’s open he really can shoot, so that’s kind of his role. I know he probably hit a few threes today from what I remember…and then he’s also a nasty defender and presses guys full court so once he just puts it all together he’s going to be really good.”

Green’s hot shooting in the first half was a positive for the Saints, but it wasn’t good enough to give them the lead.

However, Philly Electric’s lead wouldn’t hold for much longer.

Early in the third quarter, Philly Electric senior guard Jihad Barnes was sent to the bench with his fourth foul; just one away from being sidelined for good.

The Chargers’ loss was the Saints’ gain as Neumann-Goretti escaped another tightly contested quarter with a 35-33 lead at the end of the third.

With Barnes sidelined for much of the second half, the Saints outscored the Philly Electric 20-12 in the fourth quarter en route to a 55-45 victory.

Although the last few minutes weren’t particularly competitive, the final score doesn’t quite capture the intensity of the opening night matchup.

If not for a big three-pointer from Kimble that gave the Saints an eight-point lead (43-35) with 4:30 remaining, the game might have gone down to the wire.

Kimble, who finished with 10 points and three rebounds, played the role of closer for the Saints as Green filled up the stat sheet.

The senior’s performance against Philly Electric is a testament to the fact that being a leader isn’t just about putting numbers on the scoreboard.

“I think of myself as a team person,” he said. “I don’t think I have to go out there and try to score 25 or something like that for us to win.

“I’ll do whatever it takes for us to get the win if that’s rebounding, if that’s giving assists…if that one day it’s me having to score, you know, it’s just whatever it takes for us to win. That’s just the type of person I am.”

Aside from Green and Kimble, Neumann-Goretti junior wing Zane Martin added 14 points and 3 rebounds while junior guard Vaughn Covington scored just two points, largely due to foul trouble.

Senior forward Mike Cooper led Philly Electric in scoring with 12 points and also added three rebounds in a losing effort. Barnes, who spent more time on the bench than he probably would have liked, finished with eight points as he fouled out with 2:08 remaining in the fourth quarter.

This wasn’t the type of blowout victory that head coach Carl Arrigale has grown accustomed to during his time at Neumann-Goretti, but it was a victory nonetheless.

That being said, Arrigale still wasn’t particularly satisfied with his team’s performance tonight.

“We’ve been playing better than that; I’m a little disappointed in the way we played to be honest,” Arrigale said. “But it’s good to learn a lesson winning.

“I mean, we played a scrimmage like a week ago and we were like in mid-season form: We were playing great, ball was moving, we we’re sharing the ball… But then again, it was a lot of guys first starts tonight.”

Green, Covington, Martin, and sophomore Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree each made their first career start tonight.

Tonight’s victory may not have been perfect, but it’s hard to believe that the Saints won’t get back to winning in dominating fashion once their four new starters get a chance to ease into their roles a little bit.

Up next for Neumann-Goretti (1-0) is a matchup with Susquehanna Township on Saturday, Dec. 13, at 6 p.m.