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Ridgewood Dominates At Ram Classic

Ridgewood 75, Freedom 37

Eric Horchy/SUNCOAST NEWS

Franklin Agholor of Freedom, red, skies over Ridgewood's Alvin Satram, blocking the attempted layup against the glass.

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By Eric Horchy | The Suncoast News

Published: January 4, 2008

NEW PORT RICHEY - NEW PORT RICHEY - Hosting the 19th Annual William G. Hulton Jr. Ram Classic Thursday night, Ridgewood cruised to a 75-37 victory over their Hillsborough County competitors from Freedom High School.

The Rams (11-4) have been arguably the busiest North Suncoast boy's basketball team this past month, now playing in their third winter-break tournament.

After recently placing sixth in the prestigious Tampa Bay Classic at the University of South Florida against schools from all over the country, Ridgewood head coach Gary Anders said his team can use the Ram Classic to fine-tune its game heading back into district play next week.

"Last week in Tampa was just a matter of survival," he said, commenting on the talent that converges on the USF campus this time every year. "Tonight we were able to get specific and say, 'Look, I don't think our defense is very good, let's tighten it up.'"

That is exactly what Anders and the Rams focused on Thursday night against Freedom, limiting the Patriot offense to nearly 30 points below their season average.

"We only gave up 10 points in the second half, so we did a better job defensively," Anders said. "That's the only thing we talked about in halftime – defense."

Not one Freedom player reached double-figures, whereas four Rams hit that mark.

Multi-tooled talent Alvin Satram led the way for Ridgewood with 22 points, mixing an array of swift cuts into the lane with accurate shooting from outside.

Senior point guard Mike Lawrence – battling a nagging wrist injury since Thanksgiving – added 12 points to give the typically balanced Ridgewood attack another perimeter threat alongside Satram.

Juniors Bryan Jones and Lukas Poderis provided the offensive presence down low, combining for 27 points.

The closest Thursday night's contest got was midway through the second quarter, when Freedom was able to take advantage of some lackadaisical Ridgewood ball handling.

Using an 8-0 scoring run, the Patriots cut Ridgewood's lead to 24-20.

The Rams quickly composed themselves though. Led by consecutive Satram baskets following the comeback. Ridgewood then went on spurts of their own – 6-2 and 7-0 – to regain control.

The Rams kept the pressure up entering the third quarter, starting the second half on a 12-0 surge. Freedom (8-6) did not score until 5:15 elapsed in the period.

For only the second time in the Ram Classic's 19-year history, this season's version will be played in shootout format. That means there will be no champion crowned of the twelve participating teams, just mixed head-to-head match ups.

Ridgewood plays their second and final game Friday at 6:00 pm against Miami-Archbishop Carroll.

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