The Knights of St Mary’s Ryken suffocating second quarter defense held Bishop Ireton to only 4 points, and that important quarter allowed the visitors to hang on in the second half for a 58-47 WCAC win in Alexandria Friday.
After a competitive first stanza, where the green-jerseyed Knights began to open some space at 19-11, the Leonardtown squad outscored the Cardinals 15-4 in the second frame to build a 34-15 halftime margin.
The third quarter was a struggle for both clubs, each tallying 9 points, but clearly putting the Cardinals in a predictament down 43-24 with 8 minutes to work. But the Cardinals went after it and, with Nick Schmelzer finding the range from beyond the three-point arc, the home team found themselves closing to 48-40 with 3:05 left in the contest.
It was, however, too much of a deficit with too little time to catch up, and Ryken outscored Bishop Ireton 10-7 down the stretch to secure the win. The Cardinals fell to 4-11, 0-5 in WCAC play with non conference St Mary’s of Annapolis visiting Alexandria on Saturday afternoon.