Basketball season at McCaskey officially ended on the 16th when the district playoff rankings were finalized, the top twelve teams qualify for the Class 6A bracket and JPM finished 13th in the field of twenty-six. The club finished 11-11 in Freddy Ramos' fifth year at the helm, his overall record at JPM is 57-51 (.527 winning percentage). Three players averaged in double figures: Deshaun McFadden led with 13.3, Eric Centeno was at 12.3 and Jonathan Byrd averaged 11.1. Jon should be individually recognized as a four-year varsity player, he appeared in all eighty-six games the program played and scored 695 career points for an average of 8.1. The club was 7-5 at home at 4-6 on the road (including neutral-floor games), they scored 1330 points (60.5 per game) and surrendered 1354 (61.5). In mid-January the mark was 9-6 but five losses in the last seven (including the last two at home within the division) drew a premature end to the season. The roster had four underclassmen and there was some nice talent on the JV squad, we'll see how it all comes together when training camp starts again in November. On Saturday the Royals returned home from a very difficult 1-2-1 road trip, the division-leading Newfoundland Growlers were the opponent for the first of their four regular-season visits. The last time we saw the Growlers on Penn Street was the last game of the second playoff round in May, both clubs have had their share of roster turnover since but the rivalry itself is still there. In the first period Brendan Hoffmann hustled in a shorthanded goal to give the Royals a 1-0 lead, in the middle stanza Hoffmann struck again on the power play to make it 2-0. Newfoundland got on the board before the period ended but in the third the Royals broke it open on a Max Newton tally and two goals from Devon Paliani. The Growlers scored the game's final goal in the closing minutes but it was not enough as the Royals took it 5-2, Nolan Maier was the winner in net. It was a good win all the way around, it came before a spirited Arena crowd and at a time when the club's roster is somewhat depleted due to injury and illness. The record stands at 28-16-3 overall and 15-7 at home, the Royals host Newfoundland again for a 1:00 holiday game on Monday the 20th. Take care, thanks for reading.
