LAWRENCE — The No. 5 St. John’s Prep basketball team was able to hang with No. 2 Lawrence for a half, but a massive third quarter by the Lancers was too much for the Eagles to overcome as the Prep fell, 80-64, in the quarterfinal round of the Division 1 North tournament on Saturday. Most of the Lawrence damage was done by junior Luis Reynoso, who put up an impressive double-double with 33 points and 11 rebounds.
“Obviously, (Reynoso) is a very talented player, and he was able to really do it all tonight,” said St. John’s coach John Dullea. “When you cram in to keep him out of the paint, he’d hit shots from the outside. If you challenged him at the arc, he’d get into the paint. Plus he was playing really good defense, and the whole team just made more winning plays than we did.”
The Prep was led by senior Tommy O’Neil, who had 19 points and 10 rebounds. Sophomore Jarnel Snow-Guzman added 16 points and three rebounds, while senior Nate Hobbs also had 16 points. Senior Matt Relihan had a tough time getting his offense going, finishing with three points and nine rebounds.
One of the positives that Dullea was able to take away from the loss was the play of Snow-Guzman, a sophomore who started at point guard and did a good job running the offense and playing solid defense before fouling out in the fourth quarter.
“He did well out there for the most part, which was good to see, and obviously you like to see your young guys doing well out there,” Dullea said. “It should give them all some good experience to take into next year.”
The game started off fairly well for the Eagles, as Snow-Guzman scored a couple of early points to try to get St. John’s in a groove. But the Lawrence defense was suffocating, and senior Juan Felix Rodriguez (16 points) scored seven points in the opening quarter to help lead the Lancers to a 20-15 lead at the first break.
The second quarter was an up and down one for the Prep. The Eagles were able to pull to within one point about halfway through the quarter, but then fell behind by as many as eight points just a few minutes later. By the end of the first half St. John’s still trailed by five points, 36-31.
Then it all fell apart in the third quarter. The Lawrence offense exploded for 31 points, mainly behind the combined efforts of Reynoso and Rodriguez. Reynoso scored 11 of his 33 points in the third, while Rodriguez hit some big shots and made some big defensive plays. Junior Chris Ruiz (18 points, seven rebounds) also had a big quarter, hitting three three-pointers to help continue to extend the lead. By the end of the quarter, the Lancers held a commanding 67-47 lead.
The lead proved to be too much for the Eagles to overcome. Lawrence stretched the lead to as many as 24 points before settling for a 16-point victory.
Now that the season is over for the Eagles, Dullea has to say goodbye to a group of seniors that have meant a great deal to the program. The group of six consists of O’Neil, a four-year varsity player, Hobbs and Relihan, both three-year varsity players, and Patrick Sweetnam, Kairo Ovalle and Christian Lamers.
St. John’s Prep closes out its season with a 16-6 record.
