Archbishop Carroll’s Josh Sharkey (3) drives to the hoop past Penn Wood’s Kairi Jones Thursday evening. Sharkey scored 11 points to go with six steals and six assists as Carroll shellacked Penn Wood, 80-39. (Times Staff/Tom Kelly IV)
By Matt De George
The conventional thinking for most teams, seeing a lead spiral up to the 20s, to the 30s and beyond, is to relax, take a little of the sting out of the game, maybe be a little more deliberate.
But for Archbishop Carroll, in that position Thursday evening?
“No,” the small forward Rigsby says with a scoff. “We like to pile it on. We like to pick it up and always keep the intensity up from the first minute to the last minute.”
From start to finish, that was the motive in Thursday’s 80-39 demolition of Penn Wood — suffocating, incessant and clinical.
The relentless desire was exhibited at the most crucial juncture. Carroll led by 13, 35-22 at halftime. But instead of being content with nursing that cushion, the best avenue of defense was to go on the attack. The directive from coach Paul Romanczuk was to work the first four minutes.