DePaul Prep Handles St. Ignatius 59-38

St. Ignatius has a good team. I have seen them a couple times this year and they have a good young team. Kolby Giles is a beast.

Let me tell you something. Tom Kleinschmidt’s DePaul Prep Rams handled them 59-38 last Friday (Feb. 19). The Rams jumped out to an early lead with tremendous defense and points off the break.

There was plenty of fight in the Wolfpack. Matt Monroe has his team playing well and playing as a team. After opening the game with an 18-6 run, the Rams went a little cold. When asked what happened, Kleinschmidt said, “Well Ignatius happened. They’re a good team. They spread us a little bit. We went to our bench. We haven’t played in eleven days. They’re a good team. That’s what happened to us.”

Nevertheless, the Rams just seemed too quick and too athletic. TY Johnson and Rasheed Bello are the best front court I have seen this year.

Mind you this is not expert analysis here. These are my impressions as a photographer. But man-o-man the Rams look good—fierce even.

In this COVID world, I don’t know how they stack up. I have seen other ranked teams in person and streaming. They are close to the best. If there was a normal playoff, this Rams team would be a 3A finalist. Do they beat Notre Dame to get to the title game? I don’t know. Notre Dame is loaded. I understand that match up is being planned so we might get to find out.

I hope you like the photos.

Notre Dame Defeats DePaul Prep 65-60 to 2019 Win Battle of the Bridge

In the first big game of the year for Notre Dame and DePaul Prep, the Dons edged the Rams 65-60 to win the Battle of the Bridge Friday evening. A full house at DePaul’s Tom Winiecki Gym hosted this rematch from of last year’s semi-final.

The first half was mostly even. The Dons got out to small lead in the first quarter but gave up points in transition off missed shots. The Rams drew even at the end of the second quarter. It was tie at 24 at the half.

In the third quarter, Notre Dame’s shooting improved and the Dons opened an eight point lead. The Rams came charging back early in the fourth Quarter, but three consecutive three point shots extended the Don’s lead. The Rams could not make up the difference in the time allotted. Perhaps a playoff rematch in March is in our future.

The Dons are every bit as good as expected. Louis Lesmond shined scoring 22 points including a couple monster dunks. Sayles, D’Amico, Murphy and Bergstrom also played well. The Dons will win many games this year. Benet and Marian Catholic will have their hands full in the ESCC.

Four games into the 2019/2020 basketball season, I am not the least bit disappointed. Tom Kleinschmidt has his Rams prepared to play. They are quick and confident. Junior Tyler Johnson has stepped up as the leader and scorer. Lance Mosley is hitting threes and playing fabulous defense. Brian Matthews is manning the boards and scoring inside. Rasheed Bello is as good as advertised. Cam Lewis contributes in all phases. JD Shower is solid and a great contributor off the bench. The Rams move the ball around the floor almost too fast to follow. It’s going to be fun to watch these kid Rams.