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HIGH SCHOOL BOYS BASKETBALL#2 ST. EDWARD 83TOLEDO ST. JOHN'S 60

Eagles too deep, too tough, too fast; crush Titans

Sunday, December 10, 2006 Eddie Dwyer

Plain Dealer Reporter

Deep and athletic, with a commitment to defense and team play.
Those are just some of the facets that make St. Edward an exceptional basketball team.
The Eagles, unleashing their athleticism and defensive pressure from the get-go Saturday night, dominated a highly regarded Toledo St. John's program, 83-60, in a boys basketball nonleague headliner that at tracted a standing- room-only crowd to St. Edward.
Among the attendance of 1,580 were Michigan coach Tommy Amaker and Michigan State coach Tom Izzo. They took in a 30-point performance by the player they came to see - Eagles gifted 6-8 junior forward / post Delvon Roe.
"It's great, it's great, it shows me how hard I worked this summer," said Roe of Amaker and Izzo being on hand for St. Edward's season opener. "They want to come and see our team play. They know we have a great program here at St. Edward, and they want to see some good basketball played. And, I think that's what they saw tonight."
Roe, who has trimmed his long recruiting list to a fab five of Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Kansas and North Carolina, kept putting the emphasis on team. He couldn't have been more astute when it came to the Eagles' performance.
With Roe drawing fouls inside and he and 6-5 senior forward Kyle Hubbard passing unselfishly, 6-8 junior post Tom Pritchard controlling the defensive glass and 6-4 senior guard Matt Salay scoring from long-range, St. Edward stormed to a 46-20 halftime lead.
About the only thing the Eagles didn't do well in the early going was hit free throws. They were 13-of-27 from the line in the first half, with Roe connecting on 9-of-16 in the first 16 minutes.
"He is a tremendous all-around talent - athletic, skilled, unselfish and he plays hard, " said St. John's coach Ed Heintschel of Roe. "He's the whole package. We just did not respond well to them all night, in any phase of the game."
The Titans (2-1), Division I state semifinalists last season, never got back in the game after halftime.
Salay's fourth 3-pointer made the score 50-20 and other third-quarter highlights included a Hubbard transition layup off a Salay assist and a two-handed dunk by Roe off a steal and assist by Hubbard.
The two-handed monster was one of four dunks by Roe, who also contributed five assists and four blocks.
"Delvon's a great player, but in order to be successful you have to have a great team," said Eagles coach Eric Flannery. "And with the different combinations we can use this year, we have the potential to be a great team."
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:
edwyer@plaind.com, 216-999-5169