Durand Scott doesn’t want to leave Rice without a CHSAA title this season. Although some expected the senior to lead the Raiders to one almost single-handedly, the team knew better.
“We’re not a one-man team,” Jermaine Sanders said after leading the Raiders to a come-from-behind 67-58 win over All Hallows in the city semifinals last night at St. John’s to advance to Sunday’s title game at Fordham against Christ the King, 77-69 winners over Loughlin.
“Coming into the season, that’s what people thought we were, but we showed we don’t need Durand to win all the games for us.”
Rice cut it pretty close against a game All Hallows squad that had won three straight and had a chance of pulling off a huge upset.
All Hallows, paced by Rashawn Stores’ 18 points, was up 52-44 before the Raiders rattled off a dozen consecutive points to take the lead for good.
Scott chipped in on the spurt with a dunk off of a steal, but it was Sanders, James Stukes and Scott Arias who did the bulk of the damage.
“They saw that their season could be over,” head coach Moe Hicks said.
“And they responded.”
After losing in the semis a year ago, the Raiders avoided a similar fate this time.
“There’s a lot of pressure being the team to beat,” Sanders said. “And they almost had us beat.”
But Scott, the Miami-bound guard, wasn’t concerned.
“I was never worried about us losing,” said Scott, who had 11 points.
“You have to be strong mentally on the court.”
Sean Johnson led CTK in the other semi with 28 points. The Royals pulled away late.
“He’s so much better than last year,” first-year coach Joe Arbitello of Johnson. “He can score so many ways.”
Loughlin was led by Jayvaughn Pinkston’s 30 points.
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Bishop Ford standout guard Chaz Williams, who had to go to the hospital after injuring his left shoulder in the Falcons’ loss to Iona Prep in the CHSAA A title game on Saturday, was diagnosed with a Grade 2 sprain and hopes to be playing again next month.