Kelly's 23 lead Ravens

Duke signee helps stop Rams, Wall

RALEIGH -- RALEIGH -- This was a game Ryan Kelly and his Ravenscroft basketball teammates really wanted. They got what they wanted, too, a 68-59 win over host Word of God.

Kelly, a future Duke Blue Devil, led the Ravens (14-3) with 23 points, and his partner in the post, Matt Wilson, scored 18. They also had help from Madison Jones (10 points) and leadership from junior point guard Luke Davis (eight).

"This was a big game, a win over a very talented team," Kelly said. "It's the first time we've beaten them in my high school career. It was good to get a win also because we're going into a tough stretch of games."

For Word of God (7-7), C.J. Leslie, the 6-foot-9 junior who has committed to N.C. State, got off to a strong start, scoring his team's first nine points, and he finished with 20. Senior point guard John Wall, the center of national recruiting attention, scored 17, followed by Dezmine Wells with 10 and Bishop Daniels with nine.

But this game belonged to the Ravens, who trailed 15-12 after the first quarter. The half ended, though, with Davis banking in a shot from just short of half-court to tie the score at 31.

Ravenscroft led most of the third quarter, taking the lead for good at 45-42 when Michael Ehilegbu put in a 3-pointer late in the third period.

"We had a lot of guys make big plays, score big baskets in this game," Ravenscroft coach Kevin Billerman said. "I challenged Luke, telling him he was going against the best point guard in the country. John Wall is extremely quick, extremely explosive, but Luke had a very good game.

"Obviously the big difference in the game was Ryan Kelly played like an All-American. I don't know how many points he had, but every basket was big."

For Word of God coach Levi Beckwith, the game was the type he warned his team about.

"I tell these guys we're going to get everybody's best shot," Beckwith said. "If we think we can just roll the ball out there, then we're going to come out on the short end. Ravenscroft is a very good team, and we have to play hard the whole game."

Ravenscroft 68, Word of God 59

Points: RAV--S. Billerman 2, L. Davis 8, M. Ehilegbu 5, M. Jones 10, R. Kelly 23, H. Story, S. Stoyanovich, M. Wilson 18. WOG--B. Daniels 9, S. Drane 2, C. Leslie 20, D. McDonald, J. Wall 17, D. Wells 10.