Bonner ousts Ryan in playoff opener

There's been plenty of excitement surrounding basketball games between Archbishop Ryan and Monsignor Bonner.

Who can forget Andrew Rogers' converting a one-on-one with 0.8 seconds remaining to beat Bonner in last season's Philadelphia Catholic League semifinals?

Folks still are talking about the Friars' double-overtime victory over the Raiders on Friday.

Thanks to that recent history, last night's matchup had a lot of pregame hype. But it didn't quite live up to expectations.

Bonner defeated Ryan, 45-32, in a first-round Catholic League playoff game at Cardinal Dougherty.

The victory sent the Friars (10-12) into Saturday's quarterfinals. Bonner will face North Catholic at a neutral site.

Ryan finished the season at 10-13.

"I'm kind of shocked," Bonner point guard Jamal Melvin said of last night's margin of victory. "We thought it was going to be a close game. . . . But to get it like this is enjoyable."

The game was decided in the second half, where the Friars held a 32-10 scoring advantage.

Bad shooting and an inability to contain Melvin, Bill Scanlan and Keefer Francis cost the Raiders after intermission.

Ryan made just three of 14 field-goal attempts in the second half, while the Bonner trio stood out.

Melvin, a junior who is listed at 5-foot-7, finished with 13 points, five assists and two rebounds. Eight of his points came after halftime.

Scanlan, a senior forward, scored eight of his 10 points in the second half. And Francis, a junior forward, scored seven of his nine points after halftime.

"Coming out of the locker room in the third, we just knew that we had to get at it," Scanlan said. "We had to come out strong."

But early on, the game had all the signs of another close contest.

Running their half-court sets, both squads took a lot of time off the clock. As a result, the Raiders led, 9-7, after one quarter.

Ryan - not Bonner - appeared capable of putting the game out of reach in the second quarter. The Raiders built an 18-7 lead with 3 minutes, 37 seconds to play in the half.

But Ryan's success ended after intermission.

That's when Bonner's big three took over, while the Raiders had a hard time making baskets.

Archbishop Ryan 9 13 6 4 - 32

Monsignor Bonner 7 6 20 12 - 45

AR: Eric Flemming 11, Anthony Keiter 8, Anthony Magallanes 7, Colin O'Malley 2, Gerry Smith 4.

MB: Jerry Colvin 7, Keefer Francis 9, Jamal Melvin 13, Bill Scanlan 10, Henry Smith 6.