In the 2008-2009 season, Sacred Heart Cathedral won all three meetings with Archbishop Mitty. Since then, the Monarchs have reeled off 17 straight wins over their league counterpart with a 55-50 win on Tuesday.

The game started out offensively stagnant for both teams but the Monarchs converted in the paint and limited turnovers to take a 15-7 first quarter advantage. The Irish continued their turnover ways in the second quarter but timely 3-point shooting narrowed the halftime deficit to 28-24.

The Monarchs inability to convert on turnovers and free throws allowed Sacred Heart to take an early 29-28 third quarter lead. Alfred Hollins picked up his fourth foul and Mitty took a 39-35 lead at the end of the quarter. The Irish would get as close as 46-44 with less than three minutes left in the game but faltered in the end to lose 55-50. Both teams entered the game around the .500 level as Mitty moves to 6-5 while the Irish drop to 5-5.

Mitty’s forwards and center accounted for 44 of the 55 total points. Guard play and free throw shooting (9-of-23) will be the wildcards in terms of how successful the Monarchs are in league play. Ben Kone and Riley Grigsby form an effective and efficient one-two punch.

Sacred Heart’s offense runs through Hollins as his fourth foul was at a critical juncture of the game. The Irish have athletes on the floor but committed too many careless turnovers. Sacred Heart needs to find other scorers and take care of the ball better to challenge for league.

Players of Note:
Riley Grigsby 6-foot-5 SF Archbishop Mitty (2018): The sophomore played efficiently as he scored 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting. Grigsby lets the game come to him but would benefit from being more aggressive in looking for his offense. According to him, Utah is the lone school that has made contact with him.

Ben Kone 6-foot-8 PF Archbishop Mitty (2016): The Oregon State commit had 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting and was effective on defense in the paint. His mid-range game was not working but he was effective when he went strong to the basket.

Alfred Hollins 6-foot-6 SF Sacred Heart Cathedral (2017): Hollins led all scores with 19 points. He smoothly steps into his 3-point shooting motion as he hit back-to-back shots in the second quarter. The junior is aggressive in his offense and is an active body on defense.

Ramzi Carter 6-foot-6 PF Sacred Heart Cathedral (2017): The junior had six points and was the main defensive presence in the post. Carter had a nice left-handed move in the paint to score but he will need to develop his perimeter offense more. Carter currently does not have enough height or size to be an effective post player on the next level.

Romello Dunbar 5-foot-8 PG Sacred Heart Cathedral (2017): The undersized guard had nine points as he could create his own space and offense. Dunbar played frenetically on both sides and could be disruptive when pressing the opposing guards.