A back and forth first few possessions highlighted by stellar defense remained the game scoreless for the first three minutes. Joey Romaine would notch the games first bucket with a floater, allowing St. Raphael’s to take the first lead. More back and forth basketball would ensue with St. Raphael’s holding a 5-2 lead six minutes in.

Capped off by a Sam Mace three pointer, St. Raphael’s would go on a 9-0 run extending the lead to 14-2.

Holy Trinity would then respond with a 7-0 run of their own thanks to transition baskets off of forced turnovers. With 8:19to go in the first half, the Eagles trailed 14-9.

With teams trading buckets of their own down the stretch, St. Raphael would find themselves with their biggest lead of the afternoon with 2:35 remaining, up 31-18 thanks to back to back triples.

Holy Trinity would finish out the first half scoring thanks to points by Gio Parente and Bennet Adkins.

At the break, St. Raphael led 33-20.

Possession opened up with St. Raphael’s to start the second half, and following a stop on defense, Holy Trinity’s Bennet Adkins opened up the scoring with a nice post move.

A quarter of the way into the second half, Joey Romaine would continue to impress for St. Raphael. With 15:26 remaining, he’d tally his 18th point to the night with an and one layup, finishing through tough contact.

Midway through the final half, St. Raphael’s continued to add to their lead, winning 49-28, just ten minutes away from a tournament victory.

Desperate for a run, Holy Trinity switched to a full court press. Thanks to back to back steals Noah Doher took advantage with two fast real layups of his own.

With momentum on their side, Holy Trinity trailed 52-40 with three minutes remaining.

Looking to seal the victory for St. Raphael’s, Patrick McGreal would knock down the dagger with 46 seconds remaining.

Led by a tremendous performance from Joey Romaine, St. Raphael’s would secure the Morrissey Classic 8th Grade boys Championship with a 54-40 victory.