Flowers Is Helping The Knights Bloom

John Flowers knew it was a gutsy move to transfer from Thomas Stone to St. Mary's Ryken last summer. The Knights had won six games the three previous seasons, and none in their two full seasons in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference. He said several people told him he was headed for a season's worth of drubbings.

By the end of the season, Flowers and Ryken might be giving out those beatings. The Knights won their eighth straight game and fourth in a row in the WCAC, 52-48, last night at Bishop McNamara behind 21 points, 12 rebounds and 4 blocks from the smooth, 6-foot-7 junior forward.

"This has been a lot of fun," said Flowers, who became eligible last week after sitting out until the start of the second semester because of the WCAC's transfer rules. "We want respect in this league and I don't think a lot of teams respect us.

"But am I kind of surprised? Yeah."

After losing its conference opener to O'Connell last month, St. Mary's Ryken has reeled off victories over Bishop Ireton, Good Counsel and Gonzaga before last night and trails second-place St. John's by a half-game in the WCAC.

Everything is a first for many of the Knights, and they host No. 6 Paul VI Catholic tonight, attempting to prove that no longer are they simply two automatic victories for conference foes.

"The tradition is that we haven't been a good basketball team, but these guys don't know that," said second-year coach Danny Sancomb, noting that, with the exception of senior guard Greg Brown, Ryken's entire roster is different from last year's 1-19 team. "This year, we have a good basketball team."

The Knights (10-1, 4-1) looked to be coming back down to earth in the first half. After senior forward Srdjan Boskovic hit a three-pointer eight seconds into the game, Ryken went the next 13 minutes 4 seconds without a field goal. The Knights were a step slower than McNamara and could not break the Mustangs' zone, instead settling for rushed jumpers.

But McNamara (7-10, 2-6) could not pull away, and only held a 22-15 halftime lead.

Then, behind a jump-hook and a dunk from Flowers, Ryken scored on its first four second-half possessions to take a 23-22 lead, and it remained close the rest of the way.

Flowers -- who scored 15 of his 21 points in the second half -- made the second of two free throws with 11 seconds left to secure the victory.

St. Mary's Ryken 52, Bishop McNamara 48 A New Identity: St. Mary's Ryken, which had won six games overall and none in the WCAC over the past three seasons, is 10-1 overall after its fourth straight conference victory. Settling In: Junior forward John Flowers is averaging 19 points in three games since gaining his eligibility following his transfer from Thomas Stone last summer.