Breaking Down Ryan Mela's 42-Point Performance Against St. Thomas More
Ryan Mela put on a show last week against an elite prep team, scoring 26 of his 42 points in a second half comeback.
About an hour before Providence was set to tip off against DePaul on Wednesday night, I received a text message that simply said “42 points for Mela tonight.”
Ryan Mela, class of 2024 Providence commit, has put up big numbers across the board on a nightly basis this year, but this 42-point explosion was an eye-opener — and it came on the road against one of the best prep teams in the country in St. Thomas More.
Mela and his Newman team have had quite the two-week stretch after falling to superstar guard Joson Sanon and Vermont Academy. Sanon was electric against Newman, making his first six shots from the field (five of which were threes) in finishing with 46 points and 11 boards. Since then, Newman has gone 4-0 against four tough opponents.
They enjoyed a 2-0 weekend at the Hoop Hall Prep Showcase last week, with Mela scoring 26 points (3-4 from three) to go along with ten rebounds and three assists against New Hampton in a tightly contested game (Newman pulled away in the final three minutes for a 95-86 win). They then closed the weekend by taking down Combine Prep out of North Carolina, a team that entered the weekend with a 15-1 record. Mela finished with 13 points (5-9 shooting), 11 rebounds, and seven assists in an 86-64 victory.
Two days later, Mela exploded for 42 points against a St. Thomas More team headlined by 6’8 Tyler Betsey, a top-40 wing headed to Cincinnati next year, and another 6’8 wing with considerable upside in class of 2025 prospect London Jemison. I watched a replay of this one on Thursday, and it was a terrific game.
Early on, Newman looked to be in trouble with Betsey catching absolute fire from deep. Betsey buried four early 3-pointers to give St. Thomas More a 24-13 advantage. Newman chipped away at that lead, with Mela as the focal point.
Mela had 16 points by halftime and did virtually all of his damage at the rim. Here is his first-half scoring breakdown:
A drive and layup to make it 11-9
A tough finish over 7’0, 265-pound Boston University commit (and Germany native) Ben Defty
A transition layup to cut the lead to single digits
A pair of free throws (upon returning to the game after picking up his second foul) after a drive at the 11:27 mark to make it a 30-15 game
Mela came up with a steal on the next possession and split a pair of free throws
After Newman later trailed by 13, Mela hit a step-back 3-pointer from the top of the key to slice the lead to eight.
At the 3-minute mark, Mela grabbed a rebound and went end-to-end for a layup (44-36) and then scored after a nasty spin move on the ensuing possession (46-38 STM lead).
Newman trailed, 49-40, at the break. Already knowing Mela finished with 42, I figured fireworks were in store in the second half, and that’s just what we got.