Preview: DeMatha Stags vs. St. Mary's Ryken Knights
DeMatha is 10-0 against St. Mary's Ryken since December of 2018, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The DeMatha Stags will head out on the road to take on the St. Mary's Ryken Knights at 7:30 p.m. DeMatha has been dominant on offense recently, as they've racked up an incredible 314 points over their last five matchups.
On Tuesday, DeMatha faced Bishop McNamara in a battle between two of the state's top teams. DeMatha fell to Bishop McNamara 82-78. Despite running the score up even higher than they did in their prior game on Friday (63), DeMatha still had to take the loss.
The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Malcolm Thomas, who scored 18 points. Ashton (ace) Meeks was another key contributor, scoring 17 points.
St. Mary's Ryken lost a heartbreaker when they last took the court, but unfortunately for them the loss they were handed on on Tuesday was a bit more commanding. They were beaten by Paul VI 101-58. While losing is never fun, St. Mary's Ryken can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps's basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 57th in Maryland, while Paul VI is ranked first in Virginia).
DeMatha's defeat was their third straight at home, which dropped their record down to 15-9. As for St. Mary's Ryken, they have not been sharp recently as the team's lost eight of their last nine matchups, which put a noticeable dent in their 10-15 record this season.
DeMatha strolled past St. Mary's Ryken when the teams last played back in January by a score of 70-54. The rematch might be a little tougher for DeMatha since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
