by Tadi Abedje
On February 22nd, the Maret Frogs (19-8) were defeated by the St. Andrew’s Episcopal Lions (17-8), 57-52 in the first round of the Mid-Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAC) tournament. The game played on a neutral site at Georgetown Day School, and was competitive for the majority of the contest.
In the first quarter, the Lions started off with a layup by Colin Smalls. EJ Jarvis followed with a bucket in the paint off a pass by Raphe Ayres for the Frogs. Spencer Hayes made Episcopal’s first three point shot. Then, Heru Bligen would spin in the paint and finish with a two pointer. EJ Jarvis got a tip in off a missed shot by Quincy Allen and would later also make Maret’s first two free throws of the game.
Spencer Hayes made one of the first two foul shots for the Lions. EJ Jarvis had a great block on Benny Williams while driving to the basket. Chace Davis made a jump shot at the foul line. Raphe Ayres made the Frogs first three pointer from the top of the key. And the Lions would lead 12-11 at the end of a competitive first period.
In the following quarter, Benny Williams started off with a bucket off a pass from Colin Smalls. Raphe Ayres made a foul line jumper off the pick set by EJ Jarvis. Heru Bligen got fouled on the fast break layup, and made both of his free throws. A couple of possessions later, Ayres made another off the EJ Jarvis screen, which led to St. Andrew’s calling their first timeout of the contest.
Off the timeout, Heru Bligen drove for a layup while breaking Maret’s zone defense. Ayres made a three off a pass by Mateo Rice. However, Ridge Parks airballed a desperation three as the shot clock buzzer sounded, which led to a violation. Mateo Rice would have a shot clock violation of his own. EJ Jarvis drove down the baseline and made the layup. It would be another tight quarter, but the Lions led at the intermission 22-20.
At the start of the second half, EJ Jarvis made a left handed shot in the paint over multiple defenders. Heru Bligen stole the inbound pass and passed down court to Chace Davis as he was fouled and made one of two foul shots. Jarvis put back a bucket off a miss by Quincy Allen. Jarvis would make one of two free throws after being fouled while attacking the paint.
Later on, he would draw an offensive foul while Kamari Williams drove in the paint. Colin Smalls drove to the paint and knocked down a jump shot. Spencer Hayes drove and made a layup over Jarvis’ outstretched arms. Then Quincy Allen made a stepback three pointer. But on the other end, Colin Smalls made a driving layup before the third quarter buzzer sounded. St. Andrew’s continued to stay in front 34-30 after three.
In the final quarter, Quincy Allen made both free throws after being fouled on the jump shot. Kamari Williams made an impossible three pointer at the shot clock buzzer. Then, he would make one of two from the charity stripe while being fouled on the shot attempt. Benny Williams stole the ball from EJ Jarvis and finished with a layup on the other end. Quincy Allen answered with a three pointer from the right wing that led to Maret calling a timeout to set up their defense.
Then, Colin Smalls answered back with a three of his own for the Lions. Heru Bligen had a putback make off a miss by Chace Davis. Then, Spencer Hayes drew a charge by EJ Jarvis while going for a bucket in the paint. Hayes would make both free throws for St. Andrew’s first double digit lead of the game. Kamari Williams added to his highlight reel, stealing the ball and going up for a dunk. EJ Jarvis would have a bucket and a foul to cut Maret’s deficit to seven points with a minute remaining. He made one of two foul shots after being fouled on the dunk attempt. But the Lions would make five of their last 10 free throws to put the game away.
“We could never get in the flow offensively. I don’t know what we shot from the field tonight but I don’t think it was near the 30 percentile,” said Maret head coach Chuck Driesell. “I thought our defense was good enough to give us a chance to win but offensively, we just couldn’t get anything going.”
Colin Smalls and Heru Bligen led the Lions in scoring with 17 and 14 points respectively. EJ Jarvis led the Frogs with 27 points and Raphe Ayres had 10.
St. Andrew’s Episcopal played Flint Hill School in the second round of the MAC tournament the following day. Meanwhile, Maret prepared for the District of Columbia State Athletic Association (DCSAA) state tournament.
