Luke Boyd might have been nervous two years ago.
But whenever the now senior on the Archbishop Ryan High School basketball team started to get wide eyed during a game, he had guys to tell him to calm down.
Take it easy.
It will be OK.
Those guys were the seniors on the team, and when Boyd was a sharpshooting sophomore, he admits there were times he got a little nervous. And he knows how valuable a calming word or two can be.
He remembered that very well on Wednesday night at the Palestra when the Raiders were playing West Catholic in the Catholic League semifinals.
“We got down seven, but we weren’t nervous because we were there before,” Boyd said. “Me, Jalen (Snead), Dave (Wise), we told the other guys to be calm, and they were. Nobody was nervous. We were down before, we were down (in the quarterfinals) against Wood. We just have to play our game and stay focused.”
The Raiders had no trouble staying focused, and because of that, they’re still dancing.
Archbishop Ryan 59, West Catholic 55.
The Raiders are headed back to the Catholic League championship for the first time since 2008 when they lost to North Catholic in the championship.
On Monday, also at the Palestra, the Raiders will meet Neumann-Goretti, which knocked off Roman Catholic in the first half of the doubleheader.
Boyd, who is a bomber, hit three 3’s and added a foul shot to finish with 10 points. He also did all the dirty work he could to help Ryan knock off the No. 2 seed four days after it knocked off the No. 3 seed, Archbishop Wood, in the quarterfinals.
Neumann, a four seed, upset Roman, the top seed, on Monday.
For the seniors on this year’s team, it’s just the next step. They led the Raiders to the Catholic League semifinals in each of the last two seasons, and last year marched to the Class 5A state championship game.
“Before tonight, I don’t know what was the biggest game I played in, but after tonight, nothing compares to this,” Boyd said. “This was the biggest game I ever played in. The Catholic League means so much to us. This is what we fight for.”
Boyd wasn’t the only hero. In fact, Raiders who stood tall were aplenty.
Snead, always a tough defender, handled the point guard duties for much of the game and contributed 10 points, including four clutch free throws in the fourth quarter. Big man Thomas Sorber led the Raiders with 17 points despite constant attention from the Burrs bigs. Michael Paris, a reserve guard, scored 13.
It was your typical Ryan game where everyone did their part. And now they’ll attempt to bring the school its first ever Catholic League championship.
“This team is so close, I’m not surprised at all that we’re doing this,” said Boyd, who scored seven of his points in the final stanza on a three and a four-point play. “It’s everyone. The seniors have been together for a while, so we’re close, but the younger guys are such a huge part of this team. It means a lot to all of us.”
Boyd gives a lot of credit to his teammates. He also gives a lot of credit to his older brothers Gavin and Colin. Gavin played soccer at Philadelphia Academy Charter, Colin was a football player at Ryan.
“They taught me a lot, they always helped me,” Boyd said. “We have a real close family. I’m very family oriented, we’re always there for each other. When I’m not playing basketball, I’m either hanging out with them at home or hanging out with my girlfriend. She’s a cheerleader here.”
Boyd plans on playing college basketball next year, though he’s not sure where. He has had lots of interest, and he’ll figure that out after the season ends. He wants to major in some type of business.
“I want to make money, do something and help people,” Boyd said. “I think studying business, you can do a lot of things.”
But before he majors in business, he and his teammates have to take care of business against the Saints at the Palestra.
“They’re good, we watched them in the first half of their game,” Boyd said. “It’s special, coming back to the Palestra, it’s a great place to play, but we’re coming to win a championship. That’s our goal. First we had to get there. Now we can win it.”
