By Jose Negron
Entering Friday’s Section 1-5A matchup with Albert Gallatin, Ringgold head coach Eugene Wilson knew his team was going to face an obvious size mismatch.
The Rams have just two players standing over 6-0, while the Colonials feature a roster in which all but two players are over 6-0.
Knowing AG’s size would present a problem, Wilson has, in past practice sessions, placed an emphasis on boxing out and playing with toughness.
Despite the extra work, the Colonials used their size to their advantage and walked away with a 73-32 win on the Rams’ home floor.
“The energy was there but for some reason, the challenge in boys basketball is boxing out,” Wilson said. “You have to understand, common sense plays a big part in this game. These guys are more athletic than us and we’re outsized at each position by about four inches or so. Something we work on is boxing out and we have to apply it in the game, we have to implement it.”
Albert Gallatin (8-4, 6-3) was led by the play of 6-3 senior forward Dylan Shea, who scored 13 of his game-high 22 points in the first half of the win. AJ Blyden, a 6-7 senior forward, added 10 points, while senior guard Nate English was held scoreless in the first half before pouring in all 10 of his points in the second.
Along with senior starters Ja’Shir Kean, a 6-4 forward, and Hunter Sexton, a 6-2 forward, the Colonials imposed their will early and often as they held a 22-8 lead after one quarter.
Four of AG’s starters scored during the frame, as Sexton knocked down a pair of threes and Shea netted five points.
Deondre Dotson had four first-quarter points for the Rams, who were limited to a bucket from Nick Peccon and a pair of free throws from Demetrius Butler in the final four minutes of the frame.
Ringgold (2-7, 0-5) tightened up its defense in the second quarter, forcing three early turnovers and cutting its deficit to 22-13 two minutes in.
Shea hit AG’s first bucket of the quarter with 5:46 on the clock as he kickstarted an 11-0 run that pushed the Colonials’ lead to 33-13. Shea scored six points during the spurt.
Ringgold narrowly outscored AG by an 8-7 margin in the final 3:49, but the Colonials still held a comfortable 40-21 lead at halftime.
“We were trying to get the guys to push the ball up because we felt like there was a moment (in that second quarter) where they got a little fatigued and we could have probably cut into that lead a little bit more,” Wilson said. “It just never happened for us.”
AG scored the first eight points of the second half behind a pair of 3-pointers from Nate English before Butler scored two of his 10 points on a jumper to cut the deficit to 48-23.
After Shea completed a three-point play on the other end, Ringgold was dealt a huge blow when Butler fouled out with 4:41 to go in the third quarter.
“That hurt us a lot,” Wilson said. “With how this team is built, if one guy goes down it hurts the whole scheme. At that point, it was to the point where we wanted to get the young guys in and see what they got.”
AG took a 59-28 lead into the fourth before outscoring Ringgold by a 14-4 margin in the final 16 minutes.
Both teams emptied their benches in the fourth and Wilson was pleased by the effort put on display by some of his younger contributors, especially considering they didn’t have the opportunity to play in a junior varsity game.
“I really wanted to see who was going to man up and take the challenge,” Wilson said. “I thought all of our younger kids came in and did pretty well.
“The younger guys don’t show any fear or anything like that, so that helps us as a coaching staff to feel confident going into the upcoming years.”
While Butler was the lone Ringgold player to finish in double figures, Peccon added eight points in the loss.
The Rams travel to West Mifflin Monday.