SALISBURY — John Carroll coach John Zito doesn’t have any reasons to fret in toughluck moments.
Though it’s his first year at the helm after spending eight seasons as an assitant at UMBC, and with the youngest roster in the MIAA, all Zito has to do is hand the keys to Immanuel Quickley, the top rated point guard recruit in the Class of 2018, according to ESPN.
So, when the banged up Patriots trekked three hours to thw Wicomico Youth and Civic Center for a 1:30 pm meeting with D.C. power Sidwell Friends, Zito just let Quickley go to work.
The blueprint worked out well enough for No. 6 John Carroll to escape Salisbury with a 48-42 win, with Quickley accounting for 16 points on a pedestrian shooting day (5-for-13).
“I’ve seen a lot of basketball, so I know what it’s like to be in those situations, Quickley said. “I try to use that, incorporate it into my game and my teammates and get wins.”
John Carroll bolsers a lineup that features freshman 6-foot-7 forward Cameron Byers, sophomore guard Nigel Haught, junior 6-foot-7 forward Qadir Ismail, junior guard Montez Mathis, and Quickley, who won a FIBA gold medal in Spain over the summer as a member of Team USA U17.
When John Carroll trailing at the end of the first quarter, 10-6, Quickley opened the second with a quick layup and then darted a pass in transition Ismail for an easy two points to tie it at 10-10.
Right before the half ended, Quickley pulled up on the left wing to drill his only 3-pointer of the day, which gave the Patriots a 24-20 lead after two quarters.
“He makes things a lot easier,” Zitto said of Quickley. “He can do a lot of thinking for you in the moment.”
Quickley swiped a steal in the opening two minutes of the third and finished a layup in transition to push John Carroll’s lead to 33-22.
When Sidwell Friends drew to within six, 35-29, Quickley roped an outlet pass to Mathis who padded the lead to eight with one minute left in the third.
Quickley’s four free throws in the final two minutes and 58 seconds iced John Carroll’s ninth win of the season.
Zito only played one game at the Governor’s Challenge to “plug the gap in the calender,” or else the Patriots would have gone 12 days without a game.
Last week, Dec. 21-23, the Patriots played in the Chic-Fil-A Classic in Columbia, South Carolina, where they went 2-1 in three days.
Next up for John Carroll (9-3, 4-0 MIAA) is Archbishop Spalding on January 4.
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