After blowing several huge leads but controlling throughout the game, the second-ranked Serra Padres (18-3, 9-2 WCAL) claimed a 62-52 win over the host Bellarmine Bells (15-6, 5-6) Friday night. Serra’s Princeton-bound forward Henry Caruso had what might be his best game of the year, scoring 35 points off easy layups and dunks.
“It’s always tough to play down here and it’s a good rivalry. I was pumped up for that and it was a good game for us," Caruso said. "We wanted to stay focus and play for the guys on our team, play hard and try to go out and get a win.”
The Padres caught fire early in the game, driving up the score 21-9 early in the second quarter, with Caruso accounting for 13. Six-foot-five powerforward Matt Jajeh was largely responsible for preventing the third-ranked Bells from achieving anything offensively. Though he finished with only two points, Jajeh had a few blocks and out-muscled Bellarmine’s post players to nab rebound after rebound.
“I feel like I came out good and played strong on defense. That’s really my main role on the team. I’m not really much of an offensive threat,” said Jajeh. “I score when I can but my job is to get blocks and rebounds and that’s exactly what I did tonight. It’s a competitive league so it’s like that every night. There’s always some hostility, but we just had to keep some composure, and luckily we pulled out with a win.”
But the Bells fought back to pull to within 26-24 at halftime, thanks to several key shots from forward Jackson Gion and center Jack O’Hara. Navy-bound guard Grant Vermeer also had a sweet layup after rolling past Jajeh. Vermeer had a relatively quiet game but still led the Bells with 14 points, seven rebounds and two steals.
Guard Danny Schatzman had an exceptional game, putting up eight points, four rebounds, five assists and five steals. The Bells did have one edge over Serra in that eight of their players put points on the board, as opposed to Serra’s five.
“We were really proud of how the team kept battling back. They were down nine or 10 three times," Bellarmine coach Patrick Schneider said. "We really clawed our way back in and made it a two-point game (on several occasions)."
Although Schneider was generally pleased with his team's effort, he felt the Bells could have done a better job on the defensive end.
“We need to work on ball toughness, defensive rebounding and taking responsibility for the play," Schneider said. "We had too many palms up, wondering where the referee’s call was. Caruso had his hands facing downward, grabbing the ball or dunking it. Our palms were up wondering where the referee’s calls were. The team that complains the most loses.”
After the Bells brought it back to 53-48 late in the fourth, Serra guard Jacqui Biggins took the ball up, maneuvered past three defenders and sank a difficult layup. From there, Serra dominated the rest of the game. A powerful dunk by Caruso sent the Serra crowd wild in a game primarily marked by chants from the Bellarmine side. Desperate fouls allowed the Padres a few more free throws to extend their lead at the end.
Biggins and guard Andre Miller each had nine points for the Padres. Guard Sean Watkins finished with seven.
Both teams immediately jump into more league play with games Saturday night. Serra takes on No. 1 Mitty (17-4, 11-0) while the Bells travel to Archbishop Riordan (13-8, 4-7). Both games start at 7:30.
Caruso feels confident the win against Bellarmine gave his team momentum going into tonight’s game.
“I think tonight’s game was good. Bellarmine made a run and we answered in the second-half. Got a good lead and got some good pressure," he said. "Our defense led to our offense, and that was a good way to get rolling into Mitty tomorrow night.”
