The Eaglets of Orchard Lake St Mary’s traveled to take on the Warriors of Brother Rice in a matchup of top Catholic High School League teams. With two top teams in the league, you know it’s going to be a back-and-forth game, and that’s what we got. The Warriors needed a buzzer-beater to beat the Eaglets 66-64.
Orchard Lake St Mary’s Eaglets
Man Down
The Eaglets of Orchard Lake St. Mary’s were down two stars in the loss to the Warriors, and the biggest among them was Trey McKenney. The other missing player per se was freshman Mateen Cleaves Jr. While Cleaves played, he didn’t play much as he was dealing with an illness. Both McKenney and Cleaves could have helped the Eaglets walk away with a win. It’s a game of ifsif’s, and it wasn’t a foregone conclusion that they would have won even with both of them as they would have taken shots away from Isaiah Hines or Sharod Barnes, who combined for 39 points with Barnes going off for 23. While they were two men down they still showed that they are the team to beat in the state.
Brother Rice Warriors
Heart of a Warrior
The Brother Rice Warriors went all out in the game against Orchard Lake St Mary’s. Even though the Eaglets of Orchard Lake were down two stars, the Warriors didn’t care, and when they were in tough spots, they battled back and did what they needed. That was evident in the fourth quarter when the Eaglets started to take flight, but the Warriors never backed down from the challenge. It was a tied game late in the fourth, and in the final seconds, it would be junior Jacob Lamb who would hit a putback layup to win the game as time expired, showing that heart of the Warrior.
Gray Zone
Junior Greg Grays had a day against the Eaglets. Grays scored 21 points in the win, but it was his second quarter that showed that he was locked in, as he was flying around and making plays. Not only did Grays finish the game with 21 points, but he also had four rebounds, two steals, and two assists in the win over Orchard Lake.