The O’Neill Raiders began their season on a high note with a dominant 76-33 win over the SS Seward Spartans on Friday night. Raider Senior Sean Larkins took control of the game from the opening tip-off with his ability to both score in the paint efficiently and control the tempo of the game with his playmaking. Larkins led his team in scoring 19 points, but the Raiders’ success was a team effort as four of his teammates scored eight or more total points. This includes Keegan Arbogast, Paddy Morrow, Cooper Rose, and Hunter Palka.

Junior Keegan Arbogast shot beyond the arc with no hesitation in the first quarter. He knocked down two first quarter threes in the natural flow of the Raider offense. Ball movement and intelligent shot selection were themes for the Raiders offensively. The Raider forwards had a size and strength advantage over the Spartans. Pair this with their hustle on the offensive glass and the ability to play a deep rotation of bench players, and it becomes clear to see why the Raiders won in such a lopsided fashion.

“It was just electric,” Arbogast said, “When they were in that zone, I just shot the threes when they were open.”

The result was no surprise to him.

“I really knew we were going to do it all along. In practice, we are electric. You can ask Sean, we are competitive, and it was there from the start.”

Raider Head Coach Pete DeLeo’s philosophy on ball movement and unselfishness is exemplified by Arbogast who said, “If you are selfish, you just won’t get there. When we were all spreading the ball around, everybody contributed and had points. We all did our job.”

From their first offensive possession to the final buzzer, the Raiders moved the ball patiently in the halfcourt until they found the shot they wanted. Larkins’ assist numbers were in part thanks to his teammates cutting with urgency to the basket for easier paint opportunities. After two quick floaters by star Spartan guard Grey Whitmore the Raiders responded with a 12-2 run fueled by running in transition and eight straight points by Larkins in the paint.

Whitmore scored all the Spartans’ points in the first quarter and did a commendable job of playing hard and performing despite the score. Aside from the occasional traveling violation, the Raiders rarely turned the ball over.

Despite Whitmore playing with composure and rarely turning the ball over, the rest of the Spartans struggled to shoot the ball and were rushed to difficult shots by the intense Raider defense. O’Neill offense was humming to begin this game and rather quickly the Spartans were down 22-10 to end the opening quarter.

The Raiders offensive firepower was sparked by smart passing from their forwards in the post to cutting guards who finished through contact. Larkins’ performance was highlighted by fundamentally sound individual defense and his ability to rebound the ball for putbacks. The Spartan defenders struggled to match not only his height and intensity, but the rest of the Raiders as a team. A 13-2 Raider run to begin the second quarter essentially put the game out of reach for Seward because O’Neill was anchoring down the paint on defense.

The Raiders only allowed four Spartan points throughout the entire second quarter, outscoring them by 14 points. Emmett Timmer and Cooper Rose contributed five and four points respectively this quarter. This is an example of the Raiders’ depth as it was never just the Sean Larkins show, but a balanced scoring attack. The Raiders secured a commanding 40-14 lead at the end of the first half.

One of the reasons O’Neill kept such a massive lead throughout the game is that they never let their foot off the gas on both sides of the ball. From the top to bottom of this roster, they all played with the same intensity and urgency as if the score was 0-0 when they were up by 25 or more points for most of the second half. Senior Raider Guard Hoban Barretto led all scorers this quarter with seven points, which included a three-pointer that delighted the home crowd.

Seward’s Jeff Gandolfe powered through contact for a nice finish at the rim and completed the three-point play for one of the better plays for the Spartans during an otherwise forgettable night. The Raiders 19-point quarter was defined by efficient outside shooting, as they made a trio of three pointers and played some of their best defense of the game. These two factors led to them securing an insurmountable 59-24 advantage once this quarter ended.

“Offensively, I don’t think we had that many putback points, but we did an overall good job there,” he said. “I think offensively we still have to shoot from the perimeter better. I think defensively, when we’re playing man to man defense, we need to get into help defense a little better. Other than that, I think it was a really good effort by them.”

Coach DeLeo praised Sean Larkins’ impact on this game. He said, “Sean is an essential part of the team. He scores, rebounds, and defends. But I think the one good thing about this particular group is even if Sean has an off night offensively, I think we’re deep enough to make up for what we’re not getting from him. I’m very thankful that we have a good group of guys and a pretty deep bench this year.”

Larkins said, “I think playmaking is one thing I thrive on, really try to specialize in. I think tonight I found the open man a lot, and good him a good bucket. I feel like on defense overall our team became a way better help defense team. Number 2 (Grey Whitmore) we knew was their best player, so we had to get in help to shut him down.”

On becoming a vocal leader on defense, Larkins said, “I think there needs to be a voice, and sometimes people might just be a little shy. So, I like to be that voice, yell out screen right, hedge, that type of stuff. Communication is key.”

“I think last year I was kind of catapulted into a leadership role. I think this year I just want to continue that and continue to make sure my teammates know I will support them,” said Larkins about his growth as a leader from his junior season to now.

The Raiders will look to build on their strong start in Beacon on Monday at 6:30 against the 1-0 Bulldogs, who defeated Burke Catholic 86-43 on Wednesday.