St. Joe’s Cruises Past Timon For Fifth Straight Win

In an early season matchup between two of the better teams in the Monsignor Martin league, it was the St. Joseph’s Marauders that had the number of host Bishop Timon, topping the Tigers 104-70 on Monday night.

The win pushed St. Joseph’s to 9-3 (3-0) on the season while the Tigers fell to 10-5 (1-2), ending a three-game win streak.

For the Marauders, it was all about capitalizing on open opportunities from beyond the arc as they finished with 13 three pointers compared to just five for Timon.

“You know, we felt good,” said guard Jaden Slaughter, who led his team with 27 points, said. “Once you get the first one to go and then the second one goes in, you just know you’re going to have a good night.”

The stat sheet may look like it was a dominant performance for the visiting Marauders, but it didn’t start out that way. For most of the opening quarter, both teams struggled to find any rhythm as there were more turnovers than made baskets through the first six minutes of the game.

“I think just the game settled them down,” St. Joseph’s coach Gabe Michael said. “We were really excited to play in this game. Last year we were in a triple overtime game here; they were just excited about it. I think we were just a little antsy.”

Slaughter added that the team knew what it was capable of, and that it was only a matter of time before the they found a groove. And found a groove they did.

After seeing their lead cut to 19-16 in the second quarter, the Marauders went on an 18-6 run to make the game 37-22. By the end of the second, it was a 45-28 St. Joe’s lead, the closest the game would be for the rest of the night.

And while Slaughter, along with Daesean Ashley’s 15 points, led the way for St. Joseph’s, it was the depth of the Marauders’ bench that kept the team out in front during the second half as they outscored the Tigers reserves 29-11.

“That’s what we expect from our guys,” Michael said of the team. “Our practices are so competitive because of our depth.”

For the Tigers, the bright spot of the night was the play of Jamyier Patton who finished the game with 27 points as well as Kevin Thompson and his 14 points

“He’s a fighter,” Tigers coach Jason Rowe said of Patton. “Goudelock’s a fighter. Thompson’s a fighter. They all fought. I just think at times we got our heads down.”

The Tigers won’t be able to keep their heads down for long as they face Nichols on Friday night. For the Marauders, they face that same Nichols squad on Wednesday night as they look to extend their winning streak to six.