The nation's No. 1 team did nothing to call that honor into question in its season opener Tuesday night, picking up a quality double-digit win on the road with a 98-82 defeat of St. Petersburg.
The Patriots (1-0) were paced by a predictably brilliant night from All-American Ricardo Ratliffe, who scored 29 points. CF will need consistent performances like that from Ratliffe if it is to make good on its stratospheric preseason expectations.
But the team will also need help from a lot of other sources, which brings us to the even more encouraging news of the night.
Justin Cecil, a sophomore transfer from the University of North Florida, scored 25 points off the bench, including four 3-pointers. That outside stroke, coupled with the 6-8 forward's solid all-around skills, will keep defenses from sagging into the paint and smothering Ratliffe. The combination is going to be a puzzle for opponents all season - leave Cecil and he burns you from deep; cover him and Ratliffe goes wild inside.
And the onslaught doesn't stop there. The backcourt, returning intact from last year, turned in an outstanding game as Travis Johnson and Rahshon Tabb combined for 29 points.
"It's hard to single out guys," said head coach Tim Ryan. "It was a total team effort."
That effort paid dividends on the defensive end, as well, a facet of the game Ryan said he was particularly proud of. The Patriots gave up just 34 points after halftime to pull away from the Titans, and a chunk of those second-half points came in a barrage of late St. Pete 3-pointers well after the game was in hand.
CF continues its season-opening road trip a little further from home this weekend, participating in a tournament in Aiken, S.C., Friday and Saturday. After that it's the long-awaited home opener, Tuesday, Nov. 10 at 7:30 p.m. against Hillsborough. Admission is free for that game.
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