Basketball Recap: St. Raymond Boys Comes Up Short in High-Profile Matchup with Archbishop Stepinac

On Friday, St. Raymond Boys faced Archbishop Stepinac in a battle between two of the state's top teams. The St. Raymond Boys Ravens fell 89-80 to the Archbishop Stepinac Crusaders. The Ravens have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Despite the loss, St. Raymond Boys still got an impressive performance from Brandon Stores, Jr., who went 10 of 20 en route to 33 points. Stores, Jr. has been hot for a while, having posted 16 or more points the last nine times he's played. Tai Turnage was another key player, putting up 16 points.

Archbishop Stepinac's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Adonis Ratliff led the charge by going 6 for 14 on his way to 19 points in addition to six boards and three steals. Those 19 points gave Ratliff a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Jasiah Jervis, who went 8 of 14 en route to 17 points and six rebounds.

St. Raymond Boys' defeat dropped their record down to 8-7. As for Archbishop Stepinac, they pushed their record up to 12-3 with the victory, which was their fourth straight at home.

St. Raymond Boys has already played their next match (against Eagle Academy), but no score has been uploaded at the time of writing. Archbishop Stepinac wasted no time getting back out on the court and has already played their next contest, a 66-56 win against Richmond Heights on the 19th.