Advertisement
football Edit

Benedictine Reaches TDIT Final

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Benedictine College Prep stayed undefeated on Friday
Advertisement
night, improving its record to 10-0 overall with its second head-to-head win
this season of the St. Christopher's Saints, 76-52 in the semifinals of the 18th
Annual Times-Dispatch Invitational Tournament at Randolph-Macon.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>The Cadets trailed by four midway through the opening
quarter before closing the period strong to take an 18-16 lead into the second
quarter. St. Chris controlled the tempo
and stayed close thanks to their efficient shooting, 10-of-18 from the field in
the first half. But Benedictine still
class=GramE>led, 36-29 at the break and knew they were only one surge
away from putting the Saints away.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"We came out in the first half slow with not a lot of
energy or discipline. In the locker room,
the coaches said we've got to talk, play disciplined and get back on D' with
better energy and intensity. We were
able to get them to turn the ball over and put up a big lead," said Benedictine's
Raymon
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'> Minor, a two-sport athlete that also
excels in football.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Minor, a 6-foot-3 junior swingman who transferred from
Patrick Henry-Ashland and re-classified, had 11 points in the first half.
style=> He finished with 20 points, sharing game-high
honors with Rodney Williams
style='font-weight:normal'>, the 6-foot-8 forward for St.
Christopher's signed to play his College Basketball at Drexel.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Interestingly enough, Minor did his work coming off the
pine, shooting 8-of-11 from the field and 3-for-5 from there-point land.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"We've got like seven or eight guys on our
class=GramE>team that are D-1 type players.
style=> Some nights, I'm coming off the bench and
class=GramE>I kind of like coming off the bench and being the sixth man,"
said Minor, getting used to his new school.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"It's different with the military life, no girls and I
stay focused. I get my schoolwork, am
around good coaches for football and basketball, and I'm learning more about
the game."
style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Robert
Johnson
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>, a 6-foot-2 junior guard that transferred to
Benedictine from L.C. Bird, scored 18 points on 7-of-14 shooting to go with
seven rebounds and three steals. Also
scoring in double-figures was 6-foot-7 forward
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>Khris
normal'> Lane, who had been under the weather this week.
style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Nick
Gorski
line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'> and
normal'>Nick Coppola, a couple of players that transferred to Benedictine
from Cosby before last season, gave Benedictine a lift as well.
style=> Gorski scored eight
points and Coppola was steady at the point, handing out nine assists.
style=> L.G.
Gill, a 6-foot-6 senior, chipped in eight points.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>One major difference for Benedictine was its defensive
intensity in the second half. In the
first half, freshman Nick
class=SpellE>Sherod of St. Chris scored 12 points.
style=> The Cadets held him scoreless over the final
two quarters. Benedictine also scored 32
points off 19 turnovers by St. Chris.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"It's all about playing defense and coming out with the
right energy. We all want to become
elite players and get better every day in practice and the games," commented
Minor.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Minor has seen his recruiting interest pick up
considerably, but he's still not sure which sport he will play at the next
level.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"I don't know yet," Minor said.
style=> "I've talked to Western Kentucky for basketball.
style=> I'll be going there in the spring.
style=> I've got a visit with West Virginia in
February for football and UNC for football, too.
style=> I've talked to UVA, Virginia Tech and VCU for
basketball, and Georgia is real hard on me."
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Next up for Benedictine is Henrico, another unbeaten
who topped John Marshall 84-66 in the other semifinal.
style=> The winner grabs bragging rights in the city.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"We just came from D.C. and won a tournament
there. We're trying to get another one
and we're undefeated right now," Minor said.
'We have to show Richmond what we're about by winning this Championship."
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>
Stats:
style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Benedictine
76:
style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>
Raymon Minor - - 20Pts. 8-11FG, 3-5 3's, 3Reb. 3Stl
class=GramE>.
Robert Johnson - - 18Pts. 7-14FG, 2-5 3's, 7Reb. 3Stl.
Khris Lane - - 13Pts. 6-10FG, 5Reb. 2Ast
class=GramE>.
Nick Gorski - - 9Pts. 4-8FG, 4Reb.
L.G. Gill - - 8Pts. 3-6FG, 2-2FT, 4Reb. 2Stl.
style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>St.
Christopher's 52:
normal'>
Rodney Williams - - 20Pts. 7-10FG, 6-16FT, 4Reb. 2Stl.
Nick Sherod - - 12Pts. 5-10FG, 2-4 3's, 4Reb.
Doug West - - 8Pts. 2-5FG, 3-4Ft, 4Reb.
Giles Thompson - - 6Pts. 3-4FG, 2Ast.
line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>
"Verdana","sans-serif"'> 
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>
115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";text-decoration:none;text-underline:
none'>Matthew Hatfield
style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>
serves as State Basketball Analyst for
href="http://www.virginiapreps.com">
style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
text-decoration:none;text-underline:none'>VirginiaPreps.com
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>
115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>, part of the Rivals.com
Network. Check out
href="http://www.twitter.com/hatfieldsports">
normal'>
text-decoration:none;text-underline:none'>Hatfield's Twitter page
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>
115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'> for more sports related info and
updates. To contact Matthew, please
e-mail
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>
115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";text-decoration:none;text-underline:
none'>hatfieldsports2k4@yahoo.com
normal'>,
and don't forget to listen to him on High School Sports Talk from 10AM to Noon
every Saturday on
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>
115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";text-decoration:none;text-underline:
none'>ESPN Radio 94.1
style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>,
plus watch him on the
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>
115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";text-decoration:none;text-underline:
none'>Cox 11 Sports Report
style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>.
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>
115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>
Sign up for premium access to VirginiaPreps.com with a 7-day free trial!
Check out our FREE top prospect listings:
Class of 2012 |
Class of 2013 |
Class of 2014  | 
Class of 2015 (Premium)
Follow all the hoops commitments via
our
Basketball Commitments Tracker (FREE!)
The
VIP Board provides the latest in recruiting updates plus in-depth top
prospects lists for football, basketball and baseball!
Advertisement