Wright Leads St. John’s In Bounce-Back Bid

Ron Bailey, Publisher

December 23, 2006 – Following a one point Washington Catholic Athletic Conference loss to Paul VI Tuesday, an eager group of St. John’s College High School (WDC) Cadets faced the daunting task of not only rebounding from their first defeat of the season, but having to do so in Bishop O’Connell’s packed, Arlington, VA gym.

If the game were a test, St. John’s passed it admirably with a 63-49 win last night, and senior Chris Wright (36 points) set the grading curve with his play.

Wright effectively distanced the Cadets early, as he started the game’s scoring with a three pointer, followed by another from NBA range, a fade away, plus a layup, another three pointer and a rainbow floater – which was 15 of the Cadet’s 18 first quarter points. The barrage propelled St. John’s to an 18-9 lead after one period.

Wright continued to score in the second stanza, including several buckets created off plays designed to get him going toward the basket, but he was not alone, as other Cadets including senior Vlad Molodoveanu (14 points) also repeatedly got good looks from the perimeter – good looks that St. John’s coach, Paul DeStefano, attributed to unselfishness.

Vlad Molodoveanu, a senior headed to George Mason University, showed he commands a deft outside touch, particularly for a 6'7" player.

“We shared the ball very well” said the school’s head coach afterward. Later he responded, when asked if his staff expected to get that kind of production from the outside, “Yes. We are a perimeter team. We go inside out, but it’s back out”.

The second half was much like the first, with Wright continuing his attack and helping to expand the Cadet's 32-19 intermission lead. St. John’s later got a scare with 1:57 left in the third quarter: After a layup Wright went to the floor in a heap, with severe calf cramps in both legs. He left the game under his own power.

Soon thereafter, O’Connell employed a full court zone press that, coupled with junior Jason Clark’s (20 points) offensive aggressiveness and sophomore Frank Ben-Eze’s (9 points) work on the boards and in the paint, led to a 11-5 run, narrowing their deficit to 56-42.

Frank Ben-Eze (14) and Jason Clark (in white, facing), position for a rebound. Clark will be a G'Town Hoya in '08.

A re-inserted Wright, still obviously feeling the effects of his injury, ended the Knight's comeback bid with a nice change of pace move on the baseline. O’Connell, led by Clark, continued to battle, but the Cadet’s lead was insurmountable, allowing them to run out the clock and leave victorious, 63-49.

Still moving gingerly after dressing, Wright was pleased with the victory. “It’s a big win” he said. “Especially coming back from Paul VI”.

St. John’s assistant coach, Ron Winbush agreed, and returned to DeStefano’s theme regarding the reason why the Cadet's won. “We moved the ball…It just opened up the floor” stated Winbush. “We kept attacking, and sharing the ball”.

Next on tap for both teams is South Carolina’s Beach Ball Classic.