Patterson scores 19 as BW opens season with 83-52 win
Dec. 1—CUMBERLAND, Md. — For the Bishop Walsh boys basketball team, Tuesday night wasn't so much about a win or loss as much as it was about finally getting back out on the court.
But the Spartans got a win to boot, as William Patterson scored 17 of his 19 points in the first half to lead Bishop Walsh in its home- and season-opener with an 83-52 rout over National Christian.
"I think it was exciting for them to do something, again, that they like to do and that they haven't done in about a year and a half," said Bishop Walsh head coach Dan Prete. "I was happy for them for doing that. At the same time, I have to hold them accountable because of the schedule we play. You're happy that you can win, but at the same time I know how tough it's going to be and I have to get that across to them."
BW came out strong out of the gates, forcing three turnovers in the opening two minutes with Patterson scoring six of the Spartans' first seven points before National Christian called a timeout at 6:03.
The timeout did little to help the Eagles, as Daniel Dormu swiped the inbound pass and sent BW on the break, with Patterson grabbing a pair of offensive boards before getting his second shot to fall.
An emphatic tomahawk slam by Travis Roberts sent the lead into double digits at 11-0 and the rout appeared to be on, with Bishop Walsh's run to open the game going to 16-0 after a three-pointer by Maor Nekrashevich at 1:50 in the first quarter.
The Eagles stopped the run at 1:33 with a foul shot and got its first bucket with 45 ticks left in the first. BW led 22-6 at the end of one.
National Christian wasn't going down without a fight, however, as the three-pointers started to rain in the second quarter, getting within eight, 29-21. Local product Mikey Allen answered with a three-pointer at 4:44 to send BW's lead back to double digits.
"I think once we got the big early lead, we got lazy on defense," Prete said, "thinking we could go for a steal rather than position. It was eye-opening for them to see, 'Hey, they're trying to score on us too.' But we got it back together and were able to push forward."
After Allen's three-ball, the fans in attendance were shown a glimpse of how fun this Spartans team might be in 2021-22, as Patterson snagged yet another offensive board and slammed it home with two hands on the way down, drawing the foul and making the free throw.
"It felt great," Patterson said. "I felt very energized, especially during warmups. I have to summon an inner beast within me. I definitely did that today.
"I try and use my anger out on other people, on the court and within reason, obviously. But I use that to my advantage, making smart moves."
"He's a young man that has got a chance, if he continues to develop, to be really good," Prete said of Patterson, a junior. "I think you can see he's got a little bit of a touch. He knows how to post up. He knows that he's a post player and not a perimeter player. And that's the biggest step with bigs, that they don't want to be guards, and he knows that.
"I thought he was very good at the beginning of the game when he was in there establishing position in the paint. Our next three games, he's going to face bigger guys and will go through some growing pains. But he's making big steps every week."
Patterson's putback slam sparked a 15-5 run that gave the Spartans a 47-29 advantage at halftime.
Bishop Walsh pushed its lead to 28 at the end of three, 68-40, thanks in large part to the play of TJ Robinson, a sophomore guard who tallied nine points in the frame.
"He's a very talented kid, does a lot of things very well," Prete said of Robinson, who finished with 13 points. "He reminds me of one of our former players, Justin Robinson, a left-handed kid. He's one kid that I'm going to continue to push, push, push and be hard on, and I'm never going to let up on him because he's got such a chance to be such a good player. He can handle, he can run the team, he can shoot.
"But the best thing about him is he can be coached. That's his biggest asset. He's OK when I get mad at him or get upset with him. He can take it and move on to the next play."
When all was said and done, the Spartans' starting five of Patterson, Allen, Robinson, Dormu and Travis Roberts combined for 49 points. They got two double-digit performers off the bench, with Jason Rivera tallying 13 and Myles Hosten getting 13, eight of which came in the fourth quarter.
"It was great to get back out there," Rivera said. "It was a great feeling to be back on the court with my guys. We put in a lot of work this offseason.
"I think I played an overall performance. I'm not a guy that really cares about points. I like creating for others and just having energy for the team."
Bishop Walsh plays three nationally-ranked teams to close out the week in the Bob Kirk Invitational Showcase from at Allegany College of Maryland. The Spartans open their BKIS play on Thursday, 9 p.m., against La Lumiere, then play Friday, 9 p.m., against Legacy Early before closing out on Saturday, 3 p.m., with Wasatch.
Kyle Bennett is a sports reporter for the Cumberland Times-News. Follow him on Twitter @KyleBennettCTN.
