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Conway, Riverview Capture Crown to Give Ward 400th
























SARASOTA, FL-- Only one day after moving into the #1 spot on SWFL Hoops' top ten team rankings, Sarasota Riverview took home the 2008 Ram Jam Classic title, defeating Miami Carol City 57-34 on Tuesday evening.  In doing so, Riverview head coach Jim Ward, in his 20th season at the school, grabbed his 400th career win in less than 600 games as a head man with the Rams. 

Riverview came out of the gate riding the hot shooting of senior forward, Matt Conway, who tallied 8 first quarter points on 4 of 4 shooting, including a crowd pleasing slam dunk.  Carol City (9-3) did their best to hang around in the first half, but a late second quarter spurt by Riverview gave them some breathing room heading in the half. 

In the third quarter, Riverview (12-2) continued to gradually increase their advantage behind hot shooting, getting their lead to 41-25 heading into the final period.

In the fourth, nothing changed, as Carol City could not get anything going on the offensive end, usually settling for shots from beyond 20 plus feet out. 

Carol City standout forward, 6'7 Cederick Johnson, was hoping to duplicate his effort from the semifinals, where he poured in 25 points against Sarasota Christian, however Riverview did a great job of making sure they had an extra hand or two around the ball whenever he touched it in the second half.  Johnson was forced many times to give the ball up, and in doing so, the Carol City offense was forced to look for other options that did not seem to be present all night. Johnson managed to still score a team-high 13, however those all came in the first half.

The lead ballooned to 55-32 with 2:32 remaining in the game, when the Riverview starters went to the bench with a standing ovation from the crowd. 

Conway, who was named the tournament MVP, scored 18 of his game-high 26 points in the second half, and finished the night making 13 of his 20 shot attempts, to go along with 13 rebounds.  Senior forward Robert Dickens chipped in 8 points, and John Bowers added another 7 for the Rams. 

"Matt was on fire." said coach Ward of Conway's performance after the game.  "I know for everybody else it was kind of like (Wow).  But we've seen him not miss shots.  Thats the incredible thing. We've seen him go through periods where the whole practice he might not miss a shot.  It's kind of incredible."

We also talked with coach Ward about the milestone victory and his time with Riverview High School,  "I've been a part of Riverview since I went to school here some 30-odd years ago.  When I see those kids get off the bus in the morning, I think back to when I did the same.  In the past, when jobs opened up, I thought about applying, but this is home.  When I took the job, people said 'He's a football coach, what does he know about basketball?' But those people did not know me as a person.  Coach Sprague (also the Athletic Director) knew me as a person when he hired me and had faith in me to get the job done.  I love these guys, I love being around them, and have for the past 20 years. Every team I've had. I love teaching here. I love coaching here.  This is home."

Ward has gotten as far as the state finals with his home-town team, back in mid-90s, and still keeps in contact with past players.  The sign of a truly great head coach, is when their former players also take on a passion for coaching as well.  Ward has this. Former players such as Phil Helmuth, head coach of Sarasota Christian and B.J. Ivey, head coach of the Riverview girls' team, are shining examples that Ward not only produces quality basketball players, but also quality people and members of the basketball society. 



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2008 Ram Jam Classic
at Sarasota Riverview High School Dec. 27-30
2008 Ram Jam Classic Championship Game Recap
*Game-by-game schedule
*Home team (white uniforms) is team on left
*All games at Sarasota Riverview High School

SATURDAY, December 27 (4 games)
  • Game 1 - South Broward 67, Tampa Middleton 39
  • Game 2 - Miami Carol City 67, Booker 42
  • Game 3 - Riverview 56, Hialeah Senior 32
  • Game 4 - Sarasota Christian 58, Dixie Hollins 23

MONDAY, December 29 (4 games)
  • 4:30 p.m. (Game 5): Sarasota Booker 51, Dixie Hollins 29
  • 6:00 p.m (Game 6): Hialeah Senior 64, Tampa Middleton 50
  • 7:30 p.m. (Game 7): Semifinal: Miami Carol City 65, Sarasota Christan 45
  • 9:00 p.m. (Game 8): Semifinal: Sarasota Riverview 57, South Broward 48

TUESDAY, December 30 (4 games)

  • 4:30 p.m. (Game 9): 7th Place Final: Hialeah Senior 72, Dixie Hollins 36 **Hialeah and Middleton switched games to accomodate travel plans
  • 6:00 p.m (Game 10): 5th-place Final: Tampa Middleton 51, Sarasota Booker 46
  • 7:30 p.m. (Game 11): 3rd-place Final: South Broward 59, Sarasota Christan 57
  • 9:00 p.m. (Game 12): Championship: Sarasota Riverview 57, Miami Carol City 34