The562’s coverage of St. Anthony athletics is sponsored by Jane & B.I. Mais, Class of 1948.
The St. Anthony boys’ basketball team has a variety of scorers to look to on any given night — but Wednesday night’s matchup against Bishop Montgomery belonged to Amon Haynes. The 6-foot-6 senior had a dominant showing against the visiting Knights, racking up a game-high 26 points in the Saints’ 80-66 win.
“I just tried to step up and do whatever my team needs to help get a win,” Haynes said. “I was just getting inside my head and knew I could do what I needed to do so I just pushed through and did what I do.”
“He’s a great kid and he’s the epitome of St. Anthony basketball,” said St. Anthony coach Alan Mitchell. “Tonight was his night. Sometimes it’s his night, sometimes it’s Donovan Pitts, Jayshawn Kimble, sometimes it’s Darius Williams. But the ‘Train’ is the one we want to jump on. That’s why his name is the ‘A-Train’.”
Bishop Montgomery stayed neck-and-neck with the Saints in the first quarter and opened the game in a 2-3 zone coverage, one that Mitchell claims they rarely use. Mitchell says that it was a defense that his team hadn’t expected based on the Knight’s film, and said it took some time to adjust in the first half.
“They don’t normally zone. They haven’t run a zone in three years and it’s hard to even find league film so I think that threw the boys off. But in the last 4-5 minutes of the second half they settled in and started to make some open shots.”
On the other hand, the Saints full-court press had an immediate impact on their defensive side of the ball including a steal and score from senior Donovan Pitts in the opening quarter. Haynes also showed up on the defensive side in the paint where he held his own against Bishop Montgomery’s 6-foot-9 Kyle Sanders and 6-foot-7 Josiah James.
Haynes also got going on offense towards the end of the second quarter with a six point run to end the first half. The senior then found 18 of his 26 points in the second half including a 14-point solo scoring run for the Saints midway through the game.
“Our defense gives us all the motivation on offense. When we play good defense we play good offense,” said Haynes. “My mindset was just to be physical tonight on both sides of the ball tonight and play through the contact. That’s what the colleges are looking for.”
Mitchell also commented on the Saints defense, calling it the best communication his team has had on defense all year.
“We communicated a whole lot on defense. They set a lot of flairs so our boys were talking. That was probably our best game as far as communicating. Plus I’m losing my voice, so it made them talk,” he joked.
The Saints led by as much as 18 points in the third quarter and fought through a Bishop Montgomery run in the fourth. The Knights came within single-digits in the final period and cut the lead to just eight points after four free throws as a result from a pair of technical fouls to the St. Anthony coaching staff. Tempers would only flash for the moment, and the Saints regrew a 14-point lead thanks to another five-point run from Haynes.
“We can’t ease up. We did the same thing on Monday and eased up with four or five minutes left,” Mitchell said of giving up a late run. “Every team is different but we’re not that team. Last year our team could finish by slowing down the offense, but this team has to finish better and keep the petal to the metal.”
St. Anthony now sits more comfortably at the second spot in the Del Ray league as it looks ahead to its matchup against first place St. Bernard. The Saints fell to the Vikings in their first matchup but will host the second game on Friday at 7pm.
