Right before the holiday break, SCH delivered their fans the perfect present – a 64-41 victory over Conwell-Egan Academy. That game marked another dominant victory for the Devils, who moved to 11-1 on the season.
In front of a white-out crowd, SCH went to work with their patented quick offense, swiftly moving the ball and taking quick shots and as the backcourt guards of senior Keni Williams and junior Jules Sanders controlled the offense.
The team moved both sides of the ball fluidly, putting Conwell-Egan on their heels early with a rapid flurry of threes and attacks to the basket.
When asked about the backcourt, junior forward Owen Kelly said: “Our guardplay is great. Obviously Keni is great, Kam was great for us, and then Jules, he didn’t play much for [SCH] last year, but he’s been running the show for us at point guard.”
Sanders picked up two early steals, and his aggressive play style helped to bring SCH out to a 16-8 lead into the second quarter. Kelly elaborated on his impact on the court, “It gives everyone easier shots, gets them going, and I think [Jules] has done a great job at that.”
Despite SCH’s dominating offense early , Conwell-Egan refused to quit, keeping themselves in the game by picking away at SCH’s zone defense to come back from down 8 to take a 1-point lead midway through the second quarter.
But things went downhill from there for the Eagles as Williams stole the ball and moved down court to drop the hammer on a powerful dunk and put SCH back in the lead.
On the next offensive possession, Williams found senior forward Kam Waters running baseline, giving him a nice pass. Waters then reached up, rattling the rim with his own one-hand jam. The score pushed the Devils lead to 11 with under 2 minutes in the half.
Despite coming off a minor leg injury, Waters didn’t seem to be impacted,, showing a willingness to aggressively attack the basket and play his typically active defense.
Conwell-Egan came out the break with a plan to pick away at SCH’s zone defense but the Devils shifted their scheme, adjusting themselves into a man defense against the Eagle’s three point shooting.
“We struggled in the zone today, to be honest,” said SCH head coach Julian McFadden. Referencing the team’s ability to get more stops, McFadden said, “Once we got [back] into our man-to-man, guys just kinda locked back into their man, and into their help defense.”
After improving their defense, SCH was able to put the game away, taking down Conwell-Egan 64-41. Though the team collectively played well, Owen Kelly had himself a big night.
When asked about his performance, Kelly replied, “I wasn’t scoring the ball a ton and didn’t have the greatest shooting night, I feel like I impacted the game on the boards, in the press, and passing the ball.”
Rounding out Kelly’s balanced performance were a series of strong plays by the SCH team, including work from the veterans and varsity newcomers. .
It’s clear that this new lineup has meshed well together, forming a well balanced team that has talent at every level.
Coach McFadden spoke on that, detailing how the new guys have gelled so well, saying, “They’ve been around this program for a while. They’ve practiced with me for years. They were 22-1 as a JV team last year, they were really really good.”
McFadden continued his praise of the younger players, elaborating as he states, “They were a group of kids who I think nobody really knew who they were because their impact wasn’t being made on the AAU circuits. They’re used to winning, they’re used to doing things the right way. I think they’re just getting the opportunity to show everyone else what they can do.”
The Devils will continue to show the state what they can do as they approach the Inter-Ac season. For now, they’ll enjoy the slight break through the holiday season.
