The pieces to the puzzle are finally falling into place for the Raiders.
Facing a tough 7-3 Beechwood team, Ryle demonstrated their growing depth and resilience, securing a thrilling 58-54 victory in Union.
Between adding players throughout the season due to the football team’s state championship run and dealing with injuries, it’s taken some time to complete the puzzle. The most recent piece was sophomore Holden Smith, who had been sidelined since October with an injury. Making his season debut, Smith quickly brought a spark to the lineup, sinking a 3-pointer in the opening minutes.
“We got to go ahead and start him, and he was super happy about it,” Ryle coach Nicholas Dorning said. “I was happy to see him hit a three right out the gate. He had a phenomenal summer and had been really good all offseason. It absolutely killed that kid to be out that long, but he’s been grinding everyday.”
While the process of molding the team back together piece-by-piece hasn’t been easy, it has created valuable depth.
“We feel like we have nine, 10, 11 guys that can be put in a game,” Dorning said. “It becomes about trust. We need players we can trust, but they also have to trust their teammates. I think that’s the hardest part of getting guys to gel, is the trust factor.”
It took some time for the Raiders to find that trust, and Beechwood took full advantage.
Trailing 19-15 at the end of the first eight minutes, the Tigers responded with a 14-3 run in the second quarter, taking a 29-22 lead into halftime.
The same issue that has hurt Beechwood in their other close games, continued to linger…turnovers.
“We have to learn how to take care of the ball,” Tiger coach Ross Hart said. “It’s the same story every single loss it seems like. From our starting five all the way down our bench.”
Ryle responded with a near-identical run of their own in the third quarter, outscoring Beechwood 15-7, which allowed them to take a 37-36 lead.
“Toughness,” Dorning said. “You’re never going to beat a team because you’re better or more talented. You’re going to do it because you’re tougher. We got tougher in the second half, getting on the floor, diving for loose balls, blocking out. That toughness factor really helped us out tonight.”
As the Raiders piled on 21 points in the fourth quarter and the fouls continued to add up, one of the bright spots from the Tiger sideline kept them in the game, providing a spark.
“Our bench had 17 points tonight and that was a major positive for us,” Hart said. “We got some guys that were able to step in. We had one guy foul out, three others with four fouls so I think that played a difference in the second half as well, but kudos to our bench for keeping us in the game.”
Ryle’s advantage at the free throw line proved crucial, as they went 15-for-26 compared to Beechwood’s 7-for-9.
Jack Sullivan led Beechwood in scoring with 20 points, while Landon Lorms paced the Raiders with 27 points. His teammate, Jonathan DeGroff, contributed 13 points to the effort.
Dropping to 7-4, the Tigers will look to bounce back when they hit the road to face Newport Central Catholic on Monday at 7:30 p.m.
Continuing to mold the team together, Ryle (4-5) faces a tough stretch ahead with five straight road games, starting with a matchup at Highlands on Saturday.
RAIDERS 58, TIGERS 54
RYLE — 19-3-15-21— 58
BEECHWOOD — 15-14-7-18— 54
Scoring
RYLE (58) — Lorms 27, DeGroff 13, Davis 8, Coppola 4, Haygood 3, Smith 3
BEECHWOOD (54)— Sullivan 20, Coppage 8, Blackburn 7, Popham 6, McCormack 5, Way 5, Hammons 3
Game Stats
3-Pointers: Ryle 6, Beechwood 7
Free Throws: Ryle 15/26, Beechwood 7/9
Fouls: Ryle 14, Beechwood 20
Records: Ryle 4-5, Beechwood 7-4