Win as a team, lose as a team.
That’s exactly what Ryle is doing…but not so much the losing.
The Raiders hosted Simon Kenton and were on the winning end once again, 67-55, their eighth straight victory.
“It’s all about our guys. They’re connected. They’re friends. They come into practice
and work their tails off. They’ve been working their tails off since last April. That’s an
extension of my coaching staff,” Ryle head coach Nicholas Dorning said. “My
coaching staff does a great job scouting opponents and knowing what they do best.
When you’ve got a great coaching staff and a group of connected players, you feel
like you can overcome anything.”
It didn’t come easy. The Pioneers came in winning three of their last four games and
featured sharpshooter and Thomas More commit, Travis Krohman.
It was a tale of two halves. In the first half, it was back-and-forth, but Simon Kenton
had the upper hand, 33-30, going to the locker room. Their pressure caused
problems for the Raiders and Krohman was on fire, scoring 19 points with four
three-pointers.
The second half, especially the third quarter, the Raiders took over. They outscored
the Pioneers 22-5.
“We told our kids to keep their poise at halftime,” Dorning said. “Credit to Coach
Steiner and Simon Kenton, they played so well. They stymied us there in the first
half and Travis Krohman was phenomenal. We had to get our wits together, make a
couple adjustments defensively, and on offense we needed to get by the pressure.”
Simon Kenton’s offense took a hit with Ryle’s adjustment on Krohman, held scoreless the game’s final 16 minutes.
“We were trying to hunt him, and he was trying to hunt, and it wasn’t a good mix,”
Simon Kenton head coach,Trent Steiner said. “When he caught it, he had three guys
on him, and they weren’t three little guys. They’re long and athletic. We just got to get better. The rest of us have to get better when they start doing that stuff. We’ve
got to be able to counter some of that action.”
By the end of the third quarter, Ryle had a 52-38 lead.
The Pioneers were able to cut it to single digits in the final eight minutes by causing
some turnovers and putting together some solid offensive possessions.
Even with the last effort by Simon Kenton, Ryle never let their foot off the gas,
getting the win to move to 14-6.
It was a physical game that led to 38 fouls and 51 free throws.
The Raiders had balanced scoring, four players hitting double-digits. Logan Verax led
with 19, Landon Lorms had 15, Grady Reynolds added 11 and Jonathan DeGroff chipped in 10. Seven Raiders made it in the scoring column.
“We talk about it all the time.” Dorning said. “We’ve got five or six guys that can step
up and make shots. It’s huge because when it’s not one guy’s night maybe it’s
another. Our players do a phenomenal job of seeing and recognizing who’s playing
well and trying to get them the ball. It’s a symbol of our connectedness.”
Ryle will be back in action Thursday at 7:30 p.m. against Highlands in Union.
After Krohman’s 19, Jay Bilton added 14 and Bode Stone finished with 10.
The Pioneers drop to 8-13 and head back home where they will look to bounce back
against Oldham County Friday at 7:30 p.m.
RAIDERS 67, PIONEERS 55
RYLE — 17-13-22-15 — 67
SIMON KENTON — 16-17-5-17 — 55
Scoring
RYLE (67) — L. Verax 19, Lorms 16, Reynolds 11, DeGroff 10, E. Smith 6, Coppola 4,
Davis 1
SIMON KENTON (55) — Krohman 19, Bilton 14, Stone 10, Brown 3, Polly 3,
Taylor 3, Weaver 3
Game Stats
3-Pointers: Ryle 2, Simon Kenton 4
Free Throws: Ryle 23/29, Simon Kenton 13/22
Fouls: Ryle 16, Simon Kenton 22
Records: Simon Kenton 8-13, Ryle 14-6