Centaurs pg 9 11-14-19
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It took a little while for the Woodstock Academy Gold postgraduate basketball team to get into the emotion of the game against Upper Room Christian School Nov. 9.
“A lot of coaches don’t like games during the week. I love games during the week. I don’t love weekend games. (The players) are in the dorms and participate in weekend activities – I’m happy to see them be involved in the community – but it’s tough to wait until 5 p.m. on a Saturday to play,” said Centaurs’ Gold coach Jacque Rivera.
Thus, a less than fantastic start.
Not that Woodstock Academy really had to worry as it still led by 18 at the end of the half, came out of the locker room fired up, and strolled to a 116-75 win.
The victory raised the Gold team’s record to 3-0.
One thing Rivera was pleased with in the first half was the play of Ronnie DeGray.
The 6-foot-7 post missed the first weekend of play after he suffered a concussion in practice.
“I was itching to play, be out there with my guys and working hard,” DeGray said.
The Parker, Colo., native scored nine of his 15 points in the first half. He also contributed eight rebounds in the game.
“Ronnie is getting healthy and we’re excited that he’s back. He adds an element. He’s been through this before and it was good to see him clear the backboard the way he did,” Rivera said.
That element is the fact that DeGray is the lone holdover from last year’s team.
“We all get along together,” DeGray said when asked what is the biggest difference between the two teams. “Not saying we didn’t last year, but everyone is willing to sacrifice with charges and make the extra pass. We all want to see each other win and that’s a difference from last year.”
DeGray said he’s also more comfortable with the prep game now and how physical it is compared to high school play.
“Getting used to that and getting my body stronger and faster really helped for this year for me to be better,” DeGray said.
The Centaurs also got strong inside play from 6-10 Brooklyn, N.Y, native Chad Venning who finished with nine points and eight rebounds, six of those boards came on the offensive side.
“Chad finished over both shoulders,” Rivera said with a smile. “He’s a work in progress. He is a young man who is a wide load and can score from both shoulders. He has a soft touch around the rim, sometimes, too soft. The ball sits on the back side of the rim. He has come a long way in a short amount of time. I think he has to continue to get into shape and we’ve just him starting to develop.”
The Centaurs took Rivera’s halftime speech about being excited and motivated to play to heart in the second half and pounced on the Lions.
After Upper Room Christian scored six of the first 10 points in the second half, the Centaurs responded with a 10-3 run of their own to go up, 59-36.
After a Lions’ basket, the Gold squad put down 13 of the next 15 points with Venning and Joe Moon (9 points) each getting four.
It put the Centaurs up by 30.
Noel Scott added 14 points and Quinton McElroy 12 in a balanced scoring attack for the Centaurs.
The Gold squad returns to the floor on Friday when it plays Rock Top in the Power-5 Conference Tip-Off tournament at the Alumni Fieldhouse at Woodstock Academy.
“Let’s chalk it up to strategically scheduling. You want to be well rested,” Rivera said of the week off between games, quickly adding that he was just kidding.
“It’s the way it happened. Most New England prep schools are just getting started (Saturday). Fortunate for us, it’s what makes The Academy different. We can start a little earlier. That’s a huge tournament this weekend. I think we have some great teams coming and we will be tested. Rock Top Academy out of Philadelphia is really good,” Rivera said.
The Gold team will also play Spire Academy out of Ohio on Saturday afternoon.
Blue team
The Woodstock Academy Blue postgraduate basketball team trailed by five at the half and by 11 after Upper Room Christian School after the Lions scored the first six points of the second half.
The Centaurs challenged, reduced the deficit to as little as two, but fell short, 87-81, Nov. 9.
Down by 10 with 3 minutes, 1 second left, the Centaurs began a comeback.
Darryl Mackey, who led the team with 16 points, hit a 3-pointer and after a turnover by the Lions, Jaylin Palmer (13 points) added a trey of his own and Vondre Chase hit a pair of free throws to put the Centaurs within two, 83-81.
“A couple more winning plays would have changed the outcome of the game for sure,” said Blue coach Denzel Washington.
The Centaurs had a chance to tie when Chase forced a Lions’ turnover on the sideline.
But a Woodstock Academy foul gave Upper Room a pair of free throws and Jean Aranguren hit both to give the Lions a four-point cushion with 1:07 left.
The Centaurs turned the ball over twice, missed two shots and two free throws to allow the Lions to stay in command.
Andres Marrero hit the final two free throws with 19 seconds left to account for the final.
It was the third straight loss for the Blue squad (1-3) who also fell on the road at Navy Prep in Newport, R.I., 74-60.
Chase led the Centaurs with 15 points; Nahshon Battle added 13 points and Mackey tossed in 12 in the midweek defeat.
“I think our losses are all learning experiences. We’re right there. We started out with the win over (New York International Academy) but we’ve played three tough teams in a row,” Washington said.
The Blue squad plays in the Power 5 Conference Tip-Off tournament this weekend at Woodstock Academy.
It opens up against Notre Dame-West Haven, coached by former Centaurs coach Nick DeFeo, Nov. 8.
“That’s my brother. He’s my best friend. I love that guy. We talk daily. I was just telling the team that he used to coach here and this is a personal one. It’s going to be fun. A new rivalry,” Washington said.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy
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