Special Ed Basketball 2009-10 Return to TedSilary.com Home Page   Ed "Special Ed" Morrone, a Penn Charter/Hofstra grad and former website legend, is back to file reports. Ed graduated from Hofstra in May '08 with a degree in print journalism and has written for USA Today, the Phila. Daily News and Phila. Metro. Ed welcomes freelance ideas/opportunities and will cover your child's t-ball game if the price is right (smile). He can be reached at edward.morrone@gmail.com.

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FEB. 20
CATHOLIC LEAGUE QUARTERFINAL
La Salle 54, North Catholic 43
  If this indeed was the very last team to ever suit up for North Catholic, they’ll REALLY wish to have the first half of this quarterfinal game back. Despite playing in front of a nearly packed Ryan gymnasium full of Northeast Philly supporters hoping to help prolong this improbable season, the Falcons had one of the worst 16 minutes of offensive basketball I’ve seen all year. If this game didn’t start roughly two and a half hours after the Wood-Carroll game, I would be wondering if North was sitting in the stands during the Vikings’ horrific third quarter taking notes on how NOT to score a basket. The Falcons shot a brutal 1-for-14 in the first quarter and a not-so-much-better 3-for-16 in the second frame, equating to a unprecedented 4-for-30 (13.3 percent) mark—for all the math experts out there. North was shooting at the same basket as Wood during their fateful knockout stretch against Carroll, so maybe the rims were just being unkind to the underdogs today. I can’t really explain it, because North had no problem scoring in an upset win over La Salle six days prior to this one and probably had more fans in attendance at this game than the triumph over the Explorers at The Pit. The Explorers took advantage, of course, although not as much as they likely could have. Considering La Salle is not an offensive juggernaut, Coach of the Year Joe Dempsey’s club uses a more methodical approach and gets by with smart, hustle plays. As a result, La Salle led just 24-15 at halftime instead of burying North early following its New Jersey Nets like performance in the first half. La Salle sr. G Troy Hockaday led the way with nine first half points and jr. backup C Steve Collins contributed six points in the second quarter while starter Brennan Woods was hampered with foul trouble. While sitting and waiting for the second half, I kind of got a hunch that North was going to make a run out of the gate. I’d seen the Falcons play three times this season coming in (two regular season wins against Judge and the upset of La Salle), and I knew their offense tended to be streaky. When it’s on, it’s tough to stop but when it’s off it can be painful on the eyes, as was the case in the first half. Fittingly, they proved me right. Sr. G Mike Terry opened the half with four straight points to pull North within 24-19. After a try by La Salle jr. G Mike Poncia, North responded with a 6-0 spurt to shrink the deficit to two. A Terry and-one got the Falcons to within 29-28, and a pullup by sr. PG Woody Redding made it 31-30, but North just couldn’t get over the hump. I figured if they were able to take the lead that there was no way they’d lose the game, especially with the support of a crowd ready to explode in their favor. But it never happened, as La Salle jrs. Eddie Mitchell and Joe Brown responded with buckets to push the lead back to five, and Hockaday concluded the period with a driving layup to give the Explorers a 37-32 advantage. The fourth quarter again proved that whenever North made a push, La Salle was there to respond which is exactly what first place teams are supposed to do in the face of adversity. When North sr. F David Williams followed his own miss to make it 39-37, Hockaday scored on a slash to the rim and Brown converted a scoop shot on the following possession. Falcons sr. G Jaleel Mack cut it to four on one of his two field goals, but La Salle shut the door thereafter when Brown scored on a terrific pass by Hockaday to make it 45-39. On the other end, Hockaday emphatically rejected North sr. F Bob Makor and Poncia fed Mitchell for a layup in which Mitchell was fouled. When the sequence was done, La Salle held a 48-39 lead and that was all she wrote. North coach Guy Moore made sure to empty his bench toward the end of the fourth so that all the players could say they saw action if this was indeed North’s final basketball game (some suspect the school will find a way to stay open, but I’m not one of them). Now that Dougherty has also been eliminated, there are no Cinderella stories to root for down at the Palestra starting on Wednesday. Makor told me afterward that the Falcons just ran out of gas during their comeback attempt but that no one was hanging their heads. On a team with eight seniors that dealt with tons of turmoil, the Falcons were a pleasure to watch this year. I did four stories on them for the Northeast Times, and Moore, Terry, Redding and Makor were all tremendous to talk to. Terry led the way in this game with 16 points and he’ll continue his career next year at Boston University, as BU head coach and former Villanova assistant Pat Chambers is loading his roster with talented Philly players. Redding finished with 12 points and four steals, while Makor notched five points and eight rebounds. The real headliner was Mack, although not for his on the court contributions, which were minimal in this one. Rather, Mack, a guard who often scored at will for the Falcons this year, was a spectator on North’s bench until 5:04 remained in the second quarter. Ted asked Moore if the move had disciplinary ramifications and Moore denied it, later saying that Mack had tweaked his ankle in the playoff opening round win against Judge and the team wanted to take it slow with him. I’m not sure if I buy this at all, but either way, think North could have used Mack during those first 11 floundering minutes? Yep, I do too. As for La Salle, they’re an interesting bunch. I’ve seen them play three times this season and nobody has scored above 15 points in any of them (Brown and Hockaday each had 15 today). Rather than relying on one dominant scorer, the Explorers stick to togetherness and offensive cohesion without making many costly mistakes. I’m excited to see how this balance stacks up against the likes of the taller, more explosive Carroll (who they will play Wednesday night) and Neumann-Goretti (should they advance to the championship game). In addition to their offensive contributions, Hockaday and Brown grabbed nine and 10 rebounds, respectively, and each were instrumental in closing North out in the fourth quarter. Mitchell was steady as usual with nine points, six rebounds and three assists, while Poncia chipped in with seven points. Collins finished with eight and a couple of blocks. Now that we’re down to the Final Four in the CL, I fully expect to see a Neumann-Carroll title game, but hey, I wouldn’t mind being surprised, either. Can’t wait to see how it all plays out.

FEB. 20
CATHOLIC LEAGUE QUARTERFINAL
Carroll 61, Wood 40
  I didn’t know what to make of this game heading in—for starters, it was a Saturday noon tipoff, which is much earlier than I prefer to be active on the weekend (smile). Lucky for me, Game 1 of a playoff double-dip took place at Ryan, which is a relative stone’s throw from where I live, so I didn’t mind rolling out of bed to head into a day full of postseason high school basketball. I had seen Wood play twice this season and the Vikings looked pretty good each time (home win against Dougherty, blowout road triumph at Egan). Add that with the fact that Wood had won six in a row coming in, I thought the underdog Vikes had a legitimate upset shot. It must also be stated that I had not seen Carroll yet this year (the top two CL Blue teams were the only notable teams I’d yet to cross off my list), so all I had to go on heading into this one was the Patriots’ record, which was very strong at 19-3—two of the three losses were to division for Neumann-Goretti. I found out right away why Carroll is so good: they are unselfishly balanced. They swing the ball around the court like a hot potato, with each guy trying to set up the next teammate for an easy score. They totaled 15 assists in the game, eight of which came from dynamic jr. G Juan’ya Green, who despite taking just four shots managed eight points, eight assists and five rebounds. Two of Green’s assists came in the first quarter, as he set up teammates DJ Irving (BU signee) and Ben Mingledough (or “Mistletoe” as Ted referred to him when we were comparing stats after the game—smile) for wide open treys, helping Carroll to an 11-7 lead after one. In addition to their balanced play, the Patriots looked good on defense. While they didn’t stop Wood jr. PG Joe Getz from deftly slicing and dicing his way into the lane, they tried to limit his acrobatics and also prevented Wood from getting into any kind of rhythm from beyond the arc, which is one of the team’s main strengths. While limiting the Vikings on offense, Carroll steadily began to build on their lead, which started small before ballooning to 24-12. The Vikings seemed completely deflated at this point, which was the first half of the second quarter. Then, all of a sudden, Wood woke up (try saying that five times fast). Getz drew the Vikings to within 10 on a pair of free throws, then got a wild scoop shot to fall following a steal. Sr. G Doug Macrone converted on a wide-open left corner trey and sr. G/F Brian O’Grady followed with one of his own, with this one coming off a nice dish from sr. WG Fran Dolan to make it 24-22. When Carroll needed a response, Irving was there to offer his services. First, he buried a trey directly off an inbounds pass and then picked off a pass at midcourt and went coast-to-coast for an easy layup. O’Grady added another three-pointer to bring Wood within 29-25 at halftime, but you kind of got the sense that Carroll had taken the Vikings’ best punch and would be able to weather the storm in the second half. If you thought that, you’d be right, as Wood endured one of the worst eight minutes of basketball I’ve ever seen in the third quarter. It wasn’t that the looks they took were bad; actually, several of them were decent shots that just clanged around the rim before spinning out. Before they knew it, the Vikings were down 41-25 after missing 10 consecutive field goal attempts and committing five turnovers after only having three the entire first half. Wood jr. sixth man Jack Walsh was so frustrated after he butterfingered an easy pass for a turnover that he gave his team’s bench a nice whack with his foot. O’Grady scored on a putback with 32 seconds left for Wood’s only field goal on the quarter, as the Patriots won the frame 12-2. It was pretty much over from there. At one point in the second half, I glanced at Wood’s bench and looked at injured Wood sr. Fran Dougherty and couldn’t help but wonder how the Vikes would have fared had Dougherty’s injured foot healed properly during the season. It might not have made a difference, but losing Dougherty was a killer because his absence made Wood play smaller and you have to think that maybe he could have helped limit Carroll’s many easy field goals around the basket. Still though, I really enjoyed watching Wood play this year, and the fact that they get Getz (a team-high 17 points in this one) back means they will still be entertaining next year. Seniors O’Grady (11 points, 12 rebounds), Macrone (8 points, 4 rebounds), Dolan (1 point, 2 steals, 2 rebounds) and sr. C Kevin Fenstermaker (1 point, 5 rebounds) finished out their Wood careers with a loss but all made incredibly valuable contributions throughout the year to get their team to this point. Carroll certainly looked imposing heading into Wednesday night’s semifinal matchup with La Salle. As mentioned, Green had a great all-around game and had plenty of help as well. Mingledough was all over the place en route to 17 points and 11 rebounds, and Irving chipped in with 15 points and four assists. Sr. G Vince Mostardi converted on three of his five trey attempts, and sr. F/sixth man Anthony Butler had seven each of points and rebounds. The game against La Salle should be very intriguing, because both teams like to play defense, and while Carroll might be a bit more explosive offensively, La Salle can match up in terms of pure athleticism.

FEB. 17
CATHOLIC FIRST-ROUND PLAYOFF
Dougherty 64, Conwell-Egan 53
  Well, if we learned anything from the first day/night of the Catholic League playoffs, it’s that the two schools that will soon be closing its doors will not be going away without a serious fight. Up in the Northeast, North Catholic survived Judge on Bob Makor’s buzzer-beating jumper that allowed the Falcons to breathe for a few more days. Over in Fairless Hills, the conclusion wasn’t nearly as exciting, but Dougherty got what they came to Egan for: a bit more life. It was an extremely emotional win for a team on a mission…well, that is until they collide with powerhouse Neumann-Goretti on Saturday afternoon, but that doesn’t matter now. On this night, the Cardinals did what they set out to do and they did it in pretty dominant fashion despite playing in enemy territory (and were the only one of the four road teams to win in the first round). Considering the Eagles haven’t won a playoff game since LBJ was in office, Dougherty had to feel pretty good going into this one. Their play early on suggested a loose team who has nothing to lose because hey, let’s face it, they don’t. One major storyline worth noting is that Dougherty did not shoot the ball well at all in this contest. Their best quarter was a 5-for-13 third period, and as a team they shot just a shade above 31 percent for the game as a team. So how did they win so decidedly? They played defense, owned the glass and turned in a mesmerizing performance at the foul line. Case in point: the Cardinals shot just 4-for-16 in the first quarter, but they grabbed 10 rebounds, goaded Egan into a 2-for-10 shooting effort, made a conscious decision to attack inside and get to the line and forced turnovers. Sr. F Brandon Brown led the charge for Dougherty with six in the first frame, while sr. F Art Comas and sr. G Dawan Earle chipped in with three-pointers. For Egan, sr. G Andrew Schaefer was 2-for-3 in the opening quarter, while the rest of the team was 0-for-7, which was pretty much how the rest of the night went fot the Eagles. The Cardinals took a 14-8 lead into the second and kept their foots on Egan’s throat early, not allowing a field goal for over three minutes. Meanwhile, the Cardinals scored the first seven of the quarter to make it 21-8, the crown jewel of which was when Brown blocked a shot, threw a gorgeous outlet pass up the court to streaking soph. Jamal Nwaniemeka, who laid it in for an easy two and was fouled in the process. Egan then made a slight push, scoring the next eight. It began when first-team All-Catholic sr. F Ike Robinson followed a Schaefer miss, then jr. F Sean McCarthy banked in a trey from the top of the key. Schafer followed with a trey of his own from the left wing to bring the Eagles within 21-16, and the crowd was legitimately into the game for the first time all night. But considering this was not Egan’s night, the spurt was short-lived. Soph. Laquan Coaxum missed a layup for Dougherty, but sr. G Brandyn Wims was right there for the follow to push the Cardinals lead back to seven. On the next Dougherty possession, Wims drove into the lane as if to shoot, then dished it out to a wide-open Brown as soon as the second defender bit. The result? Swish! Dougherty led 26-16 and went into the break with a 29-16 lead. At that point, the advantage seemed insurmountable. I don’t know what it is about Egan, but I’ve seen them play on their home court twice this season and they were thoroughly manhandled each time (the other was a late-season blowout against Wood). When they get down early, they just seem lethargic and things tend to snowball from there (missed shots, turnovers, etc.). Schaefer opened the third quarter with the first of his three third-quarter treys, and if not for this kid Dougherty may have won by 25. However, Egan only briefly got within 10 points in the period, and Dougherty’s standout was sr. F Ryan Colbert, who started tonight despite seeing little playing time during the season. I was skeptical when Ted chose to highlight Colbert (as well as Comas) in the DN on Monday, but he really showed his stuff in this one. All three of his field goals came down on the block—the first two on nice finds by Wims and Comas and the third on a third attempt in traffic (he had missed the first two tries and grabbed both of his own misses) right at the end of the quarter. The sequence was huge, because Egan had finally drawn to within eight and could have ridden the momentum into a fourth-quarter comeback. Instead, the Cardinals went into the fourth with a 43-33 advantage that seemed pretty safe. The fourth was pretty much a wash despite the fact that Egan drew within eight or nine points on several occasions. They never got closer though, because the most important quarter was when the Cardinals decided to put on their free throw display extravaganza. The Eagles began fouling often with about three minutes left, and Dougherty responded by posting a clutch 17-for-20 mark—just in the fourth quarter. Jr. G Christen Gibbs went 7-for-8 by himself, and nobody missed more than one attempt in the quarter—in fact, the only one to miss more than one attempt the entire game was Coaxum, who shot 6-for-8 at the stripe. The Cards finished 27-for-33 (82 percent) as a team…just an unbelievable display. As I said, you just got the sense early on that there was no way the Cardinals were losing this game. They played poised and together throughout and found many ways to compensate for a less than stellar shooting performance. It was a terrifically balanced effort as well, as Wims led the way with 12 points to go along with his five assists. Brown contributed yet another double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds, while Colbert erupted for 10 points and eight boards. Gibbs tallied nine points (all at the foul line) and youngsters Nwaniemeka (8 points, 6 rebounds) and Coaxum (8 points, 7 rebounds) were big-time contributors as well. For Egan, Robinson ended a stellar career on a down note. He filled the stat sheet by having 15 points, 13 rebounds, five blocks and four assists, but he shot just 5-for-16 from the field due to the fact that Dougherty was throwing double teams at him all night. Schaefer was the leader with 17 points, mostly on treys (5-for-13 in that department) and got a nice round of applause after fouling out late in the fourth. Soph. G Carlton Whitehead added 11, while sr. F Mike Payne tallied five rebounds and five blocks on a poor shooting night (1-for-7). A major, major factor in this one was the crowd. I’d say about 15-20 Dougherty students made the trip and sat at the top of the bleachers, but they were L-O-U-D. Egan’s student section was completely full, but the Cardinal faithful absolutely owned the home crowd (very, very weak effort on their part). Wims and Dougherty coach Bill Day gushed about the fan support after the game, and who can blame them? Here’s hoping they travel out to Radnor on Saturday afternoon, because the Cardinals are going to need all the help they can get against mighty Neumann-Goretti. Still though, it was really nice to see Dougherty rally together to keep their season alive for at least a few more days. Seriously, how can you not root for a team that won’t exist this time next year? And I know it’s almost next to impossible, but how cool would it be to see Dougherty and North battle it out for the CL title on March 1 at the Palestra? If I had a wish between now and then, that’d be it—well, that and a million dollars (smile). Two other notes: 1) Got to chat with Randy Miller of the Bucks County Courier Times before the game, as Randy was in the house covering the game. I asked him why he wasn’t down in Clearwater, because I’m familiar with his work as the Phillies beat writer for that paper. He told me the dying newspaper business has affected him too, as he isn’t traveling to Spring Training for the first time in seven years and when I told him I was scuffling to find my place in the business, he quipped that I should “find another business.” I might consider that if I didn’t love this so much; 2) Special thanks to Benita Brown, mother of Dougherty’s Brandon, who recognized me and came over to say hello after the game. Benita had emailed me a few weeks back after a Dougherty-McDevitt game and I got to know her a little bit for a story I was writing about her son. Just a very nice woman, and it’s always nice to see parents come out and support their children in their athletic endeavors.

FEB. 14
CATHOLIC RED
North Catholic 61, La Salle 46
  If you’re like me and can’t stand the NBA All-Star Game because the lack of defense is appalling, do yourself a favor and get to a North Catholic basketball game while you still can. The Falcons smothered first-place La Salle in this Valentine’s Day matinee, allowing just 19 points in the second half en route to their most impressive performance of the season. The win makes North look more and more like a serious postseason threat, as the Falcons have put a disastrous 2-7 start to the season in the distant past. What was even more impressive was that North methodically picked apart the Explorers in the final 16 minutes without one of the most important players on their team, sr. PG/floor general Woody Redding. Redding was injured following a steal and fast break layup attempt in the first quarter after absorbing contact from La Salle players Troy Hockaday and Michael Poncia. Woody slammed his head on the floor following the tangle-up (in a game with 29 foul calls, this surprisingly was not one of them) and remained face down on the hardwood for a minute or two as the athletic trainer and a concerned coach Guy Moore offered assistance. Redding got up and walked off on his own power and even returned briefly in the second to dish out two assists, but he remained a spectator during the second half (after the game, Moore told me that the move was mainly precautionary but that his point guard would undergo treatment/testing later in the day, so don’t rule out a concussion). Here’s to hoping Redding is OK, because an extended absence on his part would be a devastating blow to the resurgent Falcons. So how did North overwhelm the first-place Explorers without their point guard and an off night for co-leading scorer Jaleel Mack (who was blanketed all day by the defensively superb Hockaday)? Well, like any good team, a few guys stepped up in the wake of Redding’s injury with the headliner being sr. F Bob Makor. I started watching Makor more closely after the last North game I was at, mainly because Puck was whining that the 6-5 senior didn’t receive much exposure, most of which is directed at North’s “Big Three” of Redding, Mack and sr. Mike Terry (Boston U.). Well perhaps for the first time ever, Puck was onto something, as Makor exploded for 19 points (on 8-for-14 shooting), most of which came on layups and strong drives to the rim. To La Salle’s credit, things were still interesting through three quarters and they showed why they had only lost three times prior to this game. But on the last ever Senior Day at North, you kind of had a feeling that the Falcons weren’t losing this one. After La Salle opened the game with the first six points and North responded with the next nine, the game stayed relatively on the seesaw for the rest of the first half, with North taking a 31-27 lead into the break. Makor scored seven of his 19 in the second, with the crown jewel being a coast-to-coast drive, layup and foul with 0.4 seconds left to put his team up by four. Hockaday led the way for La Salle, depositing all 12 of his points in the first half. The Falcons immediately put the clamp on in the second half, holding La Salle without a field goal attempt for the first 2:55 of the third quarter. North built a 36-27 lead, but a 6-0 flurry brought the Explorers to within three. This was as close as they would get though, as North built a 43-37 lead after three and didn’t look back. All five field goals by the Falcons in the third quarter were layups or strong drives to the bucket, which was surprising since they aren’t the biggest team in the world. Makor stepped up with another huge quarter in the fourth, as his output (eight points) was one less than the entire La Salle team managed. On North’s first two possessions of the period, Makor put the ball on the floor and drove in tight for layups, allowing La Salle to get no closer than eight points the rest of the way. It really was a coming-out party for Makor, who added four rebounds to his 19 points. I had a chance to talk to Makor for a few minutes after the game, and he really is a nice kid. He and his family came to the U.S. from Liberia when he was four years old and he’s been contributing to the North basketball program since he was a freshman. Schools like West Chester and Arcadia are interested in the services of the self-proclaimed “Garbage Man,” a nickname Makor gave himself because his job is to do most of the dirty work down low that won’t show up in a box score. Terry also went for 19 points for North, which improved to 8-5 in the league and can finish tied for third in the standings with the reeling Prep if the Falcons win their regular season finale tomorrow against Bonner. Mack was held to just seven points, but to his credit he completely shut down Hockaday in the second half, holding the slashing guard scoreless on just four attempts. Backup jr. PG Benny Birch filled in nicely for the injured Redding, chipping in with four points, four rebounds and two steals. For La Salle (which has already clinched first place in the CL Red standings), Hockaday led the way with his dozen points and added seven boards and three blocks as well. Jr. PG Eddie Mitchell went for 11 points and six assists, while jr. F Joe Brown also added 11. The Explorers will likely be fine in the playoffs, but considering they aren’t offensively explosive these off days will happen every now and then if they aren’t defensively sharp. The number of games remaining at The Pit is down to two, tomorrow against Bonner and a first-round playoff game Wednesday night, so catch one while you still can. The Pit is hands down my favorite place to watch a high school basketball game in this city, as its unique features (wacky seating design, descending staircases into the gym that helped it earn its nickname, low-beam ceilings that can be a nightmare to opposing players as jr. Brennan Woods found out, etc.) have offered the Falcons a big-time homecourt advantage for decades. One thing I won’t miss about North once it closes is the dearth of available parking. The school’s lot has about seven parking spaces in it and the mounds of snow left over from the storms prevented anyone from parking on Torresdale Ave. in front of the school. As a result, I had to circle all the way around twice until I finally found a spot on Frankford Ave. behind the main building, and of course the back gate into the school was locked so I had to walk all the way around to the front into the gym. Lucky for me, the Senior Day festivities delayed the 2:30 p.m. tip and I wasn’t late. That being said, I’m glad I went to the game, as the Falcons look like a team on a mission, and as Makor told me after the game, “Our only goal is getting to the Palestra [where the CL semifinals and championship will take place].”

FEB. 12
CATHOLIC RED
Roman 54, Ryan 44
  Honestly, this game was not my first choice for the night, as I had originally planned a Penn Charter-Germantown Academy/Judge-Prep double-dip. But of course the snow had other ideas, postponing PC/GA until Tuesday afternoon and moving Judge-Prep up to 6:30. Since Ted was going to be at Judge, Roman/Ryan became a fallback option, and it wasn’t one I was tremendously excited about; instead, I was just using it as an excuse to emerge from the Winter Wonderland that is my house. After all, Roman had obliterated the Raiders by 31 back on Jan. 6, so I wasn’t expecting much. I had seen Ryan play once this year, and while they got clipped in an exciting game at Judge on Jan. 22, coach Bernie Rogers’ squad doesn’t run the most exciting offense in the world. As has been mentioned on this site before, Ryan runs the Princeton offense, which translates into lots of passing, tons of moving around, lengthy possessions and very few shots. Thus, it was hard to envision them hanging with the mighty Cahillites, who came into the contest with an 8-3 mark in the CL Red. Lucky for me, low expectations usually leave room for surprise, and while this game wasn’t a thriller by any means, it was at least relatively competitive almost to the end. It seemed that the Raiders took Roman by surprise early in the first, jumping out to an 8-4 lead strengthened by a pair of three pointers from soph. F Nick Aughenbaugh and sr. G Anthony Magallanes. Aughenbaugh was in the starting lineup for soph. Christian Rivera, who wasn’t at the game (not sure if it was illness, injury or snow-related). Taken aback by the early deficit, Roman quickly woke up and quickly embarked on a 15-0 run, including the final 11 of the first quarter. The early standout for Roman was 5-11 sr. G Rakeem Brookins, who is bound for Tulane University in New Orleans next year. Brookins scored eight of the 15 points during the run in a dizzying pace, with two long jumpers, a pull-up in the lane and a breakaway layup after a steal. Brookins came in as the second leading scorer in the Catholic League behind Conwell-Egan’s Ike Robinson, but tonight wasn’t necessarily his best night. He scored early on and then quieted down, as Ryan did a pretty nice job defensively to disrupt the speedy Brookins. Roman took a 23-11 advantage after jr. F Fortunat Kangudi put back a layup on his third try. One of Ryan’s biggest disadvantages in this game was its lack of size, as Roman used the 6-7 Kangudi and 6-8 sr. C Anthony Mayo (6 points, 7 rebounds) to clog the lane and disrupt Ryan’s smaller players, the tallest of which is sr. F Brendan Ostaszewski at 6-4. The Raiders crept to within 23-16, but sr. G/F Kevin Regan picked off a pass and went coast-to-coast for a layup and then grabbed an offensive rebound off a Brookins missed free throw for an easy putback. That gave Roman a 28-16 lead, and they went into the break up 29-19. Ryan used the third to gradually creep back into it, holding the Cahillites to just 3-for-12 shooting in the period. Magallanes scored on an and-one to get the Raiders back within nine, and Ostaszewski scored Ryan’s next six points (two putbacks and a pair of free throws) to cut the deficit to 36-31. The decent-sized crowd for these weather conditions started to sense the Raiders were back in it to stay and finally began to show some enthusiasm. However, the Cahillites used the edge on the offensive glass to bite Ryan at the third quarter horn, as Regan was fouled on a layup attempt following a Brookins miss. The free throws put Roman up by seven heading into the fourth, still a manageable-sized hill for Ryan to climb. Roman scored the first four of the fourth (a Kangudi steal and ferocious fast-break slam dunk and a Brookins follow on the offensive glass), but Ryan responded again on a right-corner trey by jr. sub Tyler Donnelly (6 points, 4 rebounds) followed by a strong drive to the basket for a right-block layin by Ostaszewski. But Roman’s next possession would prove to be the dagger as Ryan’s Achilles Heel did them in again. Brookins pulled up from about 15 feet and clanged the shot off the right rim, and Regan was there for two follow-up attempts. They both rimmed out, but Ryan couldn’t grab a defensive board. The ball ended up getting tapped out to Brookins, who connected on a foul line jumper to put Roman up 44-36. This was the beginning of a 10-0 Cahillites run that buried the Raiders, who fought hard but just couldn’t fully climb over the hump. As mentioned, Brookins wasn’t his usual explosive self in this one. After burning Ryan for 23 earlier in the year, Brookins managed just 13 points on 6-for-16 shooting (he also added four steals). Regan picked up the slack, connecting on 7 of 15 shots (most of them layups down low) and fighting his way down low for 10 rebounds. It was a pure display of athleticism from Regan, who is also Roman’s starting quarterback. His younger brother, jr. Dennis, is the team’s starting point guard (as well as its top football tailback) and made many hustle plays in this one despite not scoring any points. Kangudi used his length down low to score 10 points to go along with six rebounds, and soph. Montana Mayfield chipped in with six points. Ostaszewski paced Ryan with 14 points, while Magallanes was his usual solid self with a line of 12 points, seven assists and three boards. Jr. G Eric Fleming connected on 3 of 7 treys for nine points, four rebounds and four assists. Ryan is maybe a player or two away from being really competitive in the Catholic League. The main problem is they don’t take a ton of shots, so once the score passes the 30s and into the 40s it’s difficult for the Raiders to keep up, especially against an uber-talented team like Roman. The Raiders fight as hard as any team I’ve seen this season and they keep things interesting despite having little to no size. As for Roman, they improved to 9-3 with the win and moved into second place in the division thanks to Judge’s shocking upset of the Prep. This scenario sets up a Roman-Prep showdown on Sunday afternoon which will all but decide second place (and a first-round bye) in the playoffs, although Roman still has an extra game on the schedule against Judge for postseason maneuvering. Hopefully the worst of the snow is behind us, because the Catholic League postseason is my favorite time of the high school season and it would be a damn shame if anymore significant snow gets in the way of what should be a fantastic finish to an eventful year. 

FEB. 8
CATHOLIC BLUE
Wood 72, Conwell-Egan 46
  The only thing Wood forgot to bring to Conwell-Egan’s gym in this one was their smokin’ hot dance team. (Yes, I know, I’m a pervert…refer back to my Jan. 29 report for this reference or just get over it. How about we just move on? Smile.) Jeeze Louise, what a clinic the Vikings put on in this blowout, which will be remembered as a Senior Night to forget for the Egan faithful. The energy level was enthusiastic on the eve of another potential major snowstorm, although it was kind of hard to tell because Egan’s gym is one of the widest ones I’ve been in this season. The ceiling seems higher than most and it felt like there was a Grand Canyon separating the two sides of the gym. In fact, at one point Wood’s small throng of fans in attendance unsuccessfully started up a chant, to which the pretty good chunk of Egan students responded, “We can’t hear you!” which was said in a mocking fashion, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they meant it literally. Anyway, the cavernous Egan gym didn’t bother Wood one iota, as the Vikings looked so at home in the first quarter that you would have figured they practice in this building everyday. The visitors cracked the scoring column right away, as sr. F Brian O’Grady put back a miss by jr. PG Joe Getz. Getz then stole the next possession and found sr. G Fran Dolan for a wide-open look. Then, Dolan dished to wide open sr. G Doug Macrone, who buried a three from the left corner. Before the Eagles could blink, they were down 7-0. Sr. F Ike Robinson connected from long range to put Egan on the board, but Getz scored the next five and Macrone swished another trey to give Wood a 15-3 advantage. I know it was only the first quarter, but from the get-go it didn’t seem like Egan had a chance in this one, which was surprising because it was the seniors’ final home game. Add in the fact that the Eagles came in with a 10-4 mark in the CL Blue Division and had already won at Wood this season and you’ve got all the elements of a head-scratching equation, which is exactly what the first quarter turned out to be. The Vikings held a 19-5 lead after one as the Eagles stumbled to a 2-for-15 shooting performance, and most of their misses were not even close. A Getz pull-up and a left wing three-pointer by O’Grady gave Wood a 24-7 lead early in the second, but the Vikings encountered something they only had to face once in this game: a cold streak. Wood began playing relaxed and started missing shots and turning the ball over, which ignited a 9-0 Egan flurry capped off by a Robinson trey to pull the Eagles within 24-16. But that was as close as they would get, folks, as Dolan found jr. sixth man/coach’s son Jack Walsh IV for an open three in the left corner to put the Vikings in front 27-16 at halftime. It wasn’t necessarily an insurmountable deficit for the home team, but they needed a serious push on both sides of the ball to make a run at Wood, whose defense was just spectacular in the first half. As you can see by the score above, the necessary run by Egan never came. Instead, the opposite occurred in the second half, as the well-oiled machine also known as the Archbishop Wood struck with a third-quarter blitzkrieg that completely demoralized the Eagles. Getz continued his phenomenal play to start off the third, scoring his team’s first seven points (a strong drive to the hoop, a slick reverse layup and a three-pointer). Macrone knocked down a pair of three-pointers from the exact same spot in the left corner to push the lead to 40-23, and the assault was on. Wood used a pair of 7-0 runs in the quarter, which ended on a ferocious block of a Devon “Day Day” Thomas layup by O’Grady. When all was said and done in the third, Wood outscored Egan 26-12 in the period and led 53-28. The Eagles returned to the bench licking their wounds and looked mortified that they still had another quarter to play. The fourth wasn’t much better, as Wood won the quarter, 19-18, even though their subs played at least half of the final frame. This was the second time I had seen Wood play this season, and oh boy was it the most dominant 32 minutes of basketball I’ve seen all year. Relentless was the word I used when I turned to Wood’s student-manager in awe toward the end of the fourth quarter, and I think it describes the Vikings perfectly. They swarm you like a pack of angry bees on defense and they keep coming at you on offense, whether it’s from long range (9-for-15 from beyond the arc in this one) or attacking the bucket with reckless abandon. Most of that attacking is done by the fantastic Getz, who successfully gets to the rim unlike any kid of his size that I’ve ever seen. He never hesitates to put the ball on the floor and go toward the basket, and his Allen Iverson-like philosophy is surely paying off. Getz finished this one with a pretty 10-for-14 line in the box score, and 17 of his 24 points came after halftime. He also chipped in nine rebounds and seven assists…just a great, great performance for a team trying to prove it can hang with Carroll and Neumann-Goretti when the playoffs come around. Macrone was on fire from beyond, as he converted on 5 of 7 three-point attempts for 21 points. O’Grady added a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Walsh chipped in with seven points and three steals. Not only was Wood able to slice through Egan’s defense like a knife through warm butter, but the Viking defense was spectacular as well. They hounded the explosive Robinson all night, and the senior forward looked nothing like the Catholic League’s leading scorer in this game. With sr. F Fran Dougherty (Penn) likely done for the season with a stress fracture in his left foot, Wood only uses a six-man rotation, but it’s a highly-effective one. All six guys are in shape and all six can defend, so it’s hard to see the depth hurting them in the playoffs. It’s a shame that they don’t have Dougherty, because with him the Vikings are likely in the same breath as Neumann-Goretti when talking about the best teams in the Catholic League. The win moved Wood to 7-5 in league play, and should they win out (the Vikings still have Lansdale, McDevitt, K-K and West Catholic on the schedule) they can sneak all the way up to a tie for third place in the division with Egan, should Egan win its one remaining league game. I caution every team not to take Wood lightly, because when firing on all cylinders like they were tonight they will be hard to take down. For Egan, this drubbing was obviously a major downer as they were dominated on both sides of the ball. They’ll have to put this one in the rearview mirror quickly, as the Eagles finish the season at Dougherty and at 10-5 will likely need a win and some help to finish in third place outright. With only one game left to Wood’s four, the Eagles need to hope one of those above teams knocks off the Vikings. Should the two squads both finish at 11-5, there are certain tiebreaker situations to decide the winner, but since they split the regular season meetings (with both teams winning on the road) and both teams are 3A schools, the point system would be identical. Perhaps a coin flip to determine third place in the CL Blue? Only in the….Catholic League? Hmmm, that’s a new one, but we’ll cross that bridge if and when the times comes. Robinson wasn’t horrible in this one, finishing with 17 points and five rebounds, but a Wood defender was stuck to him like glue the entire night. Robinson finished just 6-for-16 from the field. Srs. Thomas (10 points) and Mike Payne (10 points, 5 steals, 4 rebounds) also contributed for Egan. Sr. G Andrew Schaefer in particular had a Senior Night to forget, going 0-for-9 from the field. The biggest cheer of the night from the Egan fans came on the team’s last play of the game, when undersized frosh G Ryan Pepito drove into the lane, flicked up an impossible shot and absorbed contact which knocked him on his butt. To everyone’s surprise, the shot fell and Pepito got to complete a three-point play, which was one more point than he had the entire season to that point. Two random notes: 1) I was originally going to attend the Bonner-North Catholic game tonight, but of course that was postponed because of the snow debacle. Considering my back still hurts from all the shoveling I did on Saturday, I was just happy to get out of the house and to a playable game, even if it was a blowout. 2) Jack “Jack-in-the-Box” Crouse brought this up in his La Salle-SJ Prep report from last week, and I feel compelled to do the same, because it’s a trend I’ve noticed since my first game of the season a month ago. Why is it during player introductions that each player goes over to shake the hand of the opposing coach, but the three referees only get fist bumps? Can a player reading this report please send me an email and explain this phenomenon to me? Every single player I’ve seen this year has given a fist bump to the refs, and using simple math, that’s 10 starting players multiplied by the number of games I’ve seen this year (10), multiplied by the number of officials (three), that’s an even 300 fist bumps! Let’s subtract a few players that maybe forgot to acknowledge the refs and we’re still looking at 290+ fist pounds, which is truly remarkable. And hey, please don’t get me wrong, I am a big proponent of bumping it, but I have one request to any player the rest of this season: when you bump it, make sure to blow it up too (smile).

FEB. 4
PUBLIC A
Lincoln 79, Overbrook 67
  Ahhhhh, my first Pub game of the season. I feel like someone should have adequately prepared me for this experience, as someone who has only seen Catholic and Inter-Ac games this year is in no way ready for one of these ball-hawking affairs. Don’t get me wrong, this was one of the more entertaining games I’ve seen this year, and that’s saying something considering it was never really close. But still, wow! There was so much action and so many field goals attempted that I thought I was going to come down with a case of carpal tunnel syndrome from flipping my scorebook over so many times. Anyway, this game was held on a Thursday afternoon at Lincoln’s brand new school building/gymnasium that I had heard so much about heading in. As someone that grew up five minutes from Lincoln and always looked at the school as a pit of despair because of the ragged physical condition the facility was in, it was really nice to see them dish some cash out to build a place worth smiling about. The new building is gorgeous too, I just hope the students have enough respect for the place to maintain its beauty over the years. Even though the school is now pristine, I still got to experience my first “Only in the Pub” moment on my way into the gym. That’s right, I had to pass through a metal detector to get in…nice! The new gym is really something to be proud of, as it could be mistaken for an Inter-Ac (they’re the ones with all the dough) facility if you were someone that didn’t know any better. The one downside? On each sideline wall in the gym, there are windows at the very top that probably extend two or three feet down from the ceiling. The ones behind the scorer’s table are tinted so the fans’ view of the game won’t be obstructed by bright sunlight, but the same cannot be said for the windows above the bleachers. As a result, anyone sitting at the scorer’s table (myself included) was blinded by the light, which I doubt was what Bruce Springsteen was talking about in his famous song. One more note before I get to the action. Of course with Lincoln being right near my house, I took the clock for granted and didn’t arrive until about 6-8 minutes before tipoff. Since the Overbrook roster I got from Ted’s site didn’t have numbers on it, I was scrambling to get down who was who in time for the game. Thankfully, I was helped out by two Lincoln students at the scorer’s table, Sacoya (who was keeping score) and Billy, who was running the scoreboard and also serves as the goalie on Lincoln’s soccer team. When I asked for a more definable roster, Billy exclaimed, “Are you with Ted Silary?! Take a seat my man, there’s always room for Ted Silary!” The best part was he pronounced it SILL-uh-REE. Well, maybe the real best part was this was the second time this season in the Pub (also a Thanksgiving football game) that I was mistaken for Ted. Must be the rugged good looks (smile). Anyways, this game could easily be summarized as the Tyrone Martin show for Lincoln. I was looking forward to seeing Martin and jr. PG Rickey Savage play together as they are two Railsplitter standouts. However, Savage is currently unavailable (tending to school issue), so Martin had to run the show himself, something he was more than tickled to do. Overbrook scored the first three points of the game, but that was pretty much the extent of the upper-hand Martin was going to offer the Panthers. Lincoln scored the next eight points of the quarter and they never looked back from there. Overbrook nabbed the next three to get to within 8-6, but Lincoln closed out the quarter on a 9-0 run to go up 17-6. The Railsplitters would not relinquish their double-digit lead the rest of the way, but this one was not devoid of entertainment value. Martin went for eight in the first quarter, outscoring the entire Overbrook team and jr. G Nahjir Robinson added four points. With Savage out, Lincoln turned to Robinson to handle the point and he did a fantastic job filling in. Lincoln picked up where it left off in the second, as did Martin. With the Railsplitters holding a 21-10 advantage Martin drove into the left side of the lane and hoisted up an impossible shot while being knocked to his backside. As would be the case in several other instances in this game, that impossible shot found the bottom of the net. Everyone in attendance was in awe, and when the shot fell Billy yelled “Damn, that was sexy!!” Hard to argue, Billy. In another instance in the second quarter, Martin pulled up for a jump shot from the left wing and this time called his own shot, a la Prince in the famous Chappelle’s Show skit. There weren’t too many people in the gym, so when Martin yelled “Oh, that’s good!” everybody heard, but hey, when you’re hot, you’re hot. Martin added nine more in the second quarter to give him 17 at the break, while Robinson added six more of his own. Lincoln led 39-23 at the break, but to Overbrook and coach Freddie Stokes’ credit they never threw in the towel. Unfortunately for the Panthers, they didn’t have a star player of Martin’s caliber. He picked up right where he left off in the third, hitting an array of difficult shots, most of which ended with him crumpled on his butt in the lane. As Lincoln coach Ed McGettigan told me after the game, “Tyrone almost embraces contact to the point where those impossible shots are the ones we expect him to make.” Martin added 11 more in the third quarter, and toward the end of the period I turned to Billy and asked if Tyrone had ever scored this many points before. He scoffed and responded incredulously, “Man, he dropped 35 on George Washington, this is nothing.” Duly noted. For Overbrook, it was the Brandon Fulton and Raheem Nelson show in the third quarter and pretty much throughout. Fulton, a 6-4 jr. F/C and Nelson, a 6-3 sr. G/F scored 20 of Overbrook’s 22 points in the third to keep the game respectable, with Lincoln holding a 59-45 advantage after three quarters. Overbrook even pulled to within 63-53 briefly in the fourth, but Lincoln just couldn’t be stopped, snapping a three-game league losing streak. When all was said and done in this one, Martin erupted for 32 points on 14-of-21 from the field and added 11 rebounds to go along with his mammoth scoring effort. The 6-3 junior was just a joy to watch, and the scariest part to the rest of the Pub is that he’s likely to get better. McGettigan told me that if he develops a legitimate post game, then watch out. As I mentioned, Robinson did a more than admirable job filling in for Savage, tallying a season-high 20 points on 9-for-13 shooting. Lincoln also got contributions from jr. C Ronald Rollins (6 points, 6 rebounds), soph. C Michael Bowlers (5 points, 5 rebounds) and soph. G Ismail Wilson (10 points). It’s been a down year for the Railsplitters (just 4-7 in league play), but they return every major contributor next season so they should be considered a team to watch out for in 2010-11. For Overbrook, it was a rough go of it. Fulton (19 points, 10 rebounds) and Nelson (19 points, 8 rebounds) led the attack, but the Panthers were never really in it. Pint-size guard David West, who couldn’t have been too many inches above 5-feet, chipped in with eight points and a handful of steals. The kid was tiny, but he had the heart of lion and was constantly around the ball despite being the smallest guy on the floor. It’s been an equally tough season for Overbrook, which stands at just 3-8. It was so bad that it looked like a player quit at halftime and walked out of the gym (I couldn’t see who because he had taken his jersey off). To Stokes’ credit, he kept these guys in the game and had them playing hard, even though they faced a double-digit encouragement throughout. He was constantly clapping and applauding their hustle and effort, which was a really nice thing to see. I don’t know if I’ll be at any more Pub games this season, but I enjoyed this one. There were a lot more turnovers than I was accustomed to, but the action was double or triple a standard Inter-Ac or Catholic League game. You could tell Lincoln wasn’t used to the publicity, as when I was interviewing Martin after the game for my Northeast Times story, his teammates gradually started to trickle in and formed a semi-circle around us to watch. Then Billy whipped out his phone and recorded the interview, to which he said “This is going straight to YouTube!” Only in the Pub (smile).

FEB. 2
CATHOLIC RED
La Salle 47, SJ Prep 45
  Wow, four reports in five days from yours truly…sick of me yet? I certainly hope not, because this battle between two of the top three teams (the other being Roman) in the Catholic League Red division was by far the best one I’ve seen all year. Prep got the best of La Salle at home in overtime back on Jan. 8, so the Explorers were out for revenge in this one. They had a packed house full of supporters to help them along, and I mean PACKED house. Seriously, both sides of La Salle’s bleachers were completely full, and people that couldn’t get a seat crowded the four corners of the gym and stood up the entire time. Despite the fact that I got to the gym about five minutes before tipoff, I somehow squeezed into a spot a row behind the scorer’s table and was ready to roll. La Salle (8-1) came into the game a half-game ahead of Roman (8-2) and a full game in front of the Prep (7-2) in the league standings, so this one was crucial to all involved. The Prep got off to a quick start, as jr. G Mike Fee (6 points) scored on the game’s first possession. After Explorers jr. F Joe Brown tied things up on the next possession, the quarter swung in favor of the Prep. Soph. F Gene Williams (7 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists) scored the next five for the Hawks, and a three-pointer by frosh PG Steve Vasturia (much more on him later) paced the Prep to an 11-6 lead. La Salle got back to within three a few times, but anytime they scored Prep had an answer, which was the case when Vasturia buried another trey to put his team up 16-10 late in the quarter. Jr. G Michael Poncia cut it back to three with a three-pointer of his own, but Williams found sr. Sean Brophy on a pretty bounce pass on the low right block for an easy layup in the closing seconds to give the Prep an 18-13 lead after one. This was the first time I had seen either team play this season, and the Prep was the first of the two squads to really impress me tonight. Their offense kind of reminded me of Norman Dale’s in the movie Hoosiers in that it involved five short, athletic white kids passing the rock around and scoring with efficiency. Just like Coach Dale did with Hickory High, Speedy Morris gets the most out of the talent he has. The Prep isn’t the flashiest of teams, but when you’re as well coached as the Hawks are, flashiness goes out the window. Anyway, the Hawks continued to step on La Salle’s throat to start the second quarter, as Vasturia opened the period with another long-range bomb. Sr. F/C Connor McIntyre converted down low on the Prep’s next possession, and all of a sudden the Hawks had sucked the life out of the many La Salle supporters with a 23-13 lead. It wouldn’t stay that way for long, though. Sensing his team was letting this monumentally important game slip away, La Salle’s senior leader decided it was time to take over. That, in case you’re wondering, is guard Troy Hockaday. Hockaday dished out two assists in the first quarter but was held without a shot. I remember reading about this kid when Ted wrote about him in the DN a little while back, and the article said that Hockaday likes to slash to the basket for his points despite the fact that he stands at just 6-1. Let’s take a brief pause to hand Ted the award for accurate and factual reporting (smile). Hockaday attacked the basket like mad, sandwiching two driving buckets around a free throw to pull the Explorers within 23-18. Poncia buried another trey from the right wing and Hockaday followed shortly thereafter with another field goal. Vasturia hit a leaner from the right wing in the closing seconds to give the Prep a 25-23 lead at halftime, but any momentum Speedy’s team had was long gone thanks to La Salle’s 10-0 run that took up most of the quarter. Hockaday scored seven of La Salle’s 10 in the quarter, while the Prep managed just seven. Vasturia had a game-high 11 at the break, but the Hawks’ offense was really disrupted by some excellent defense from the Explorers. I went out on a limb and figured we were in for a phenomenal second half, and luckily since I’m psychic this proved to be the case. Hockaday opened the second half to pull La Salle within one, but Vasturia nailed his fourth and final trey of the game (don’t worry, he was far from done) shortly thereafter to put the Prep in front 28-24. Jr. F Joe Brown scored the next four for the Explorers on a layup and two free throws to tie the score. Anytime the Prep scored in the third, La Salle had an answer—they just couldn’t fully break through. Fee and McIntyre scored on consecutive possessions, but La Salle jr. G Eddie Mitchell finally busted out, scoring the next six for his team while alternating between drives to the hole and mid-range jumpers. Poncia was good on 1 of 2 from the line to give La Salle its first lead of the night, but it was short lived, mainly because the Steve Vasuria show was back on the air. Down 35-34, came up with a clean steal around midcourt and raced ahead of the pack for an easy layup. Hockaday converted on a drive to the lane on the next possession but was whistled for an offensive foul to nullify the basket. Right after, Williams found Vasturia on a pretty pass for another conversion, and the baby-faced freshman added another jumper just for good measure with under a minute to play in the third. Hockaday added a free throw with under two seconds to play, but Vasturia’s heroics allowed the Prep to take a 40-36 lead into the fourth. All in all he tallied 11 of his team’s 15 in the quarter, including the final eight. But La Salle never wavered, as the Explorers opened with the first five of the fourth (three free throws by Hockaday and a bucket by Mitchell). Fee scored on a pull-up from the foul line, but Poncia and Brown answered to give La Salle its largest lead of the game, 45-42. The Prep knotted the score again with three foul shots by Brophy and Vasturia, which left us with about 2:45 left on the clock. I figured we had a lot of game left…turns out I don’t know much (so much for my psychic powers). La Salle coach Joe Dempsey decided he didn’t want to play with fire (especially considering how hot Vasuria was), so he decided to hold for the last shot. It was a risky gamble, and I hate it when coaches play it conservatively like this, but it paid off big time for Dempsey. Mitchell and Hockaday took turns at the top of the key milking the clock all the way down to 20 seconds, and Dempsey called a time out. The plan was probably for Hockaday or Mitchell to take the last shot, but the Prep defense was blanketed all over them. As a result, Poncia took the ball at the top of the key inside 10 seconds. He started his dribble, slipped and fell but was able to hand it off to Brown before being whistled for a walk. Brown, with his back to the basket, turned and began his dribble and somehow maneuvered by his defender and put up a bank shot layup on the right block that fell with 2.5 seconds left. The Prep’s inbounds pass went long, and the Explorer faithful got to celebrate. What a game! Vasturia was obviously the standout for the Prep, finishing with 24 of his team’s 45 points on 8-for-13 shooting (4-for-6) long range. Despite looking like he’s only 12 years old (he’s probably only two years older than that, ha ha), Vasturia plays with a veteran’s poise and everyone around me (La Salle and Prep fans) were very impressed with his performance, as was I. Brown was the hero for La Salle, chipping in with a hard-fought 12 points and 7 rebounds to go along with his game-winner. Hockaday added 12, six of which came from the foul line. Mitchell and Poncia notched 10 and 9 points, respectively. This game was an epic treat, and I’m really glad I got to see it in person. La Salle just seems to be so darned good in every sport they play these days, and this team (now at 9-1 in the league) is as solid as they come. Hockaday is the best player, but on nights like these when he wasn’t at his best, his teammates knew their roles in order to pick him up. I hope this isn’t the last meeting between these two clubs this season, and if it’s not, I’ll surely be there for the rubber match…you can count on it. Hey, I’m psychic, what can I say? (smile)

FEB. 1
CATHOLIC RED
North Catholic 63, Judge 54
  When I saw this game on the schedule, I knew it would mean a rare weeknight appearance on the trail for Special Ed. North’s gym, “The Pit,” is one of my favorite spots in the city to watch a high school game and I had to make sure I got there for one more tilt before the school closes in a few months. I will say the schedule makers screwed the pooch a bit on this one, as this rivalry game should have been played on a Friday night. Still though, there was a very solid crowd on hand, including the people that chose to park their cabooses on the stairs behind one of the baskets that lead into the gym. North came into Judge in early January and knocked off the Crusaders, 81-64, so there was some incentive for payback for Sean Tait’s team. But the Falcons were flying as high as they have all season, coming off a huge win against the Prep on Friday. To make matters even more interesting, both teams entered with identical 4-5 records which meant sole possession of fourth place in the CL Red standings was on the line as well. One other tidbit to mention before I get to the game: when I got myself situated a row behind the scorer’s table about 10 minutes before tipoff, I found out I’d be lucky enough to be sitting behind Puck for the entire game. Initially concerned when he turned around to examine my presence, he realized who I was and we exchanged pleasantries. Then, he asked me if I would be so kind to keep Judge’s stats for the game, and in return he would keep North’s and after the game we would trade. An unlikely alliance for sure, but it worked! I’m getting much better at keeping my own stats during games, but Puck agreed that two knuckleheads are better than one (smile). Anyways, onto the action. Judge scored first on a dump off down low to 6-8 jr. C Seamus Radtke, and this would become an ongoing theme throughout this one. Judge marched out to a 6-3 advantage, but North would respond by scoring the next six. Four of those six came on beauties by sr. PG Woody Redding; first, Redding picked a Judge guard’s (not sure if it was Gavin Whalen or Joe Kehoe) pocket right as he crossed halfcourt and coasted in for an easy layup. On the next North possession, Redding drove into the lane and just as he was about to run into a roadblock called Seamus Radtke (who stands a foot taller than Redding), he maneuvered around to the right side and converted on a beautiful underhand scoop layup. This kid can really play, and he’s become one of my favorite point guards to watch because with Redding, you know you’re getting a combination of stingy defense, crisp passing and an ability to socre, whether that be from long range or taking the ball into the lane. The low-scoring first quarter ended a point in North’s favor, 9-8. For the second period, we had ourselves a good old fashioned seesaw match. Jr. F/football QB Tony Smith scored the first four points of the quarter to put Judge up 12-9, and that would be the largest lead of the quarter for either team. After North sr. G Jaleel Mack tied things up with a three-pointer, the seesaw was on. Seriously, the team’s traded some sort of points on every single scoring possession for the rest of the quarter. All in all, we had seven ties and eight lead changes…talk about battling it out! Things ended with Judge on top, 26-25, thanks to an and-one by jr. G Reggie Charles. Charles scored seven in the quarter (and 10 in the half to lead Judge), while Smith chipped in with six and Radtke had four. North had a balanced attack, but Mack led the way with five in the quarter and a team-high eight in the first half. The third quarter stayed close, but a few things happened relatively early on that started to turn the tide in North’s favor. For starters, Radtke picked up his third foul pretty early on in the quarter and had to come out of the game. This was poison for Judge, because this was the only guy that North, a great defensive team, could not find an answer for. When Radtke left, Judge trailed 33-30. After he exited, North coach Guy Moore decided to go for the throat with Judge’s biggest threat out of the game and he dialed up the full-court pressure. Judge clammed up a bit on offense and started turning the ball over, allowing North to increase its lead to the seven and eight-point variety as opposed to the smaller three-point advantages they enjoyed when Radtke was still in the game. Tait sent Radtke back in with less than two minutes to go in the third and the big fella scored the first time he touched the ball to pull Judge to within 45-39. But North held final possession and with the ball in Redding’s hands and the clock winding down, odds are the Falcons are going to score. And score they did, as Redding found jr. reserve guard Benny Birch on a gorgeous bounce pass that Birch converted for an easy layup with about three seconds left. Mack was good for seven more in the quarter, as was sr. G Mike Terry (Boston U. signee). The Falcons won the third, 22-13, but Judge still had one final push left in them and it came right at the start of the final period. Radtke (who else?) started the fourth off with a layup and after a defensive stop, Charles dished to a wide open Smith for a trey at the top of the key, getting Judge to within 47-44. But that would be it for the Crusaders, as North scored the next six to go up 53-44 and Judge never seriously threatened the rest of the way. Four of those six points in North’s final spurt belonged to sr. Bob Makor, and though I haven’t mentioned him yet, he’s the first one I want to talk about for the game. Makor usually hovers around the 7-10 point mark in league games, but his contributions are often overlooked because of the star power that Terry, Redding and Mack bring to the table. In this game, he was as steady as they come, shaking off an 0-for-3 first quarter to go 6-for-8 the rest of the way. He grabbed seven rebounds to go along with his 12 points, and he surely impressed the scout from West Chester that was in attendance to watch him play. Puck pleaded with me to write about him, saying Makor’s presence and value cannot be overstated. I also really dug his white long-sleeve Under Armour compression shirt that he donned under his jersey. Mack led North with 20 points, his fourth straight 20-point game. Terry added 15 points, six rebounds and four assists, while Redding was his usual solid self with eight points, five assists and three steals. I tell you what, North is not the deepest team in the city, but the Terry-Redding-Mack trio is hard to beat. This is a team that could be SUPER dangerous down the stretch, and I love watching them play. For Judge, Radtke was spectacular in a losing cause. He finished 10-for-13 from the field and was a monster on the glass, posting 20 points and 13 rebounds and it’s safe to say things could have ended differently had he not gotten into that foul trouble in the third. This was the third time I’ve seen Radtke play this season, and he’s come a long way over the past month. In the first North-Judge game, he was awkward around the basket and his footwork looked like it needed tons of work, but he’s improved dramatically. It looks like he’s harnessed that size advantage and is coming out against smaller teams and saying “Go ahead, try and stop me around the cylinder but I won’t make it easy on you.” Others that chipped in for Judge were Charles with 14 points and six assists and Smith, who finished with 12 points and five boards. Two other backbreakers for Judge: they missed nine free throws (and they lost by nine, ouch) and turned the ball over 15 times. Still though, they kept it relatively close and they can be a problem if you take them lightly, especially if Radtke continues his rapid improvement.

JAN. 31
CATHOLIC BLUE   
Dougherty 65, McDevitt 50
  For three quarters on Friday night, Dougherty controlled the game and looked poised for a huge road victory. Then, the wheels fell off for the Cardinals in a demoralizing fourth, being outscored by the Vikings 26-14 and picking up technical fouls in consecutive possessions. It was one coach Bill Day’s squad let slip away and as a result the Cardinals fell into fifth place in the CL Blue standings, a game behind West Catholic. Knowing full well that they don’t have many left to play (the school will close its doors in June), the Cardinals came out with a sense of urgency in this Sunday afternoon tilt at McDevitt. The first quarter was all Dougherty, scoring the first six of the contest. The Lancers added the next four, but then the Cardinals rampaged through the rest of the frame, finishing on an 11-0 run for a 17-4 lead. The most jarring figure in the quarter was rebounding…17-3 in Dougherty’s favor. The Cardinals were relentless on the glass on both ends of the floor. It wasn’t necessarily a huge size advantage that paced Dougherty on the boards—the Cards roster won’t be mistaken for redwood trees anytime soon; rather, they just wanted it more. Desire to win can be a pretty strong motivator, especially when a) you lost a game you should have won two nights prior and b) your days as a team are numbered. Sr. F Brandon Brown (6 points, 5 rebounds) and soph. G Laquan Coaxum (6 points, 6 rebounds) paced the Cards in the first quarter. A nifty one-handed scoop shot by sr. G Brandyn Wims early in the second quarter pushed Dougherty’s advantage to 21-6 as they appeared to put on the cruise control. But then, just like they did against the Vikings on Friday night, the Cardinals relaxed and let their guard down and before they knew it, the Lancers had scored the next nine to cut the score to 21-15. Frosh guard Kenyatta Long paced McDevitt during the run, scoring five points, including a no-way-did-he-call-that-one bank shot three-pointer from the top of the key. But instead of losing composure again when their opponent made a run, the Cardinals responded with a 9-0 run to go back up 30-15. Wims notched seven in the quarter for Dougherty, while jr. G Christen Gibbs chipped in with six. McDevitt made one more run at Dougherty, using a 7-0 spurt early in the third quarter to cut the deficit to eight, but after Gibbs scored again to make it 42-32 the Cards held a double-digit lead the rest of the way. There are a few things that really impress me about Dougherty. For starters, they are very deep and well-balanced. Wims is their leading scorer, but they have six or seven guys that are legitimate threats to score in double figures. What I also like about them is they are playing extremely motivated basketball. It would be pretty easy for them to give in knowing that a) it’s their final season and b) they aren’t the most talented team in the division. Still though, as Brown told me after the game, the goal for the final Cardinals team is simple: win a championship. Day was a bit more cautious, telling me that he expects to play in a playoff game or two but anything beyond that will depend on how hard his team works in practice, which he said is still a work in progress. They sure worked hard today, overwhelming the Lancers with that aforementioned depth and balance. Gibbs led the way with the quietest 15 points I’ve seen in quite some time, converting on his first seven field goal attempts (he was 3-for-3 in the second and third quarters). Wims was solid as usual, scoring 14 points. He was most impressive handling the ball, though, as he dished out seven assists to go along with three each of steals and rebounds. Soph. Jamal Nwanimeka contributed 12 points, three rebounds and three steals and Coaxum (playing in his third varsity game) rode his fantastic first quarter to 10 points and 10 rebounds. For the second straight game, Brown was Dougherty’s most impressive player in my opinion. He was just 2-for-11 from the field (and was just 4-for-16 against Wood), but scoring is not what his team needs from him. Instead, the Cardinals rely on the 6-4, 190-pound senior for leadership, aggression and the hustle plays (ones that appear in the box score and ones that don’t, as well). Brown collected a jaw-dropping 17 rebounds in this one, out-rebounding the entire McDevitt team. He also contributed six points and three blocks. A coach from Arcadia was there to watch Brown play, as he’s getting looks from them, East Stroudsburg and some other D-III teams. He’ll be able to help whatever team he plays for on the next level, as he’s got enough perimeter game to succeed as a guard but can also play down low, which is obviously where he’s most gifted in the high school game. If he grows another inch or two and puts on a bit more muscle, he’ll be an impressive low-post player at the next level. Unfortunately for McDevitt, they just do not possess the depth that schools like Dougherty have. The Lancers fell to 1-10 in the division. Long led the way with 15 points to go along with four assists and four steals. Soph. Gerald Scott added 13 points, nine of which came during garbage time in the fourth quarter. Jr. F Ian Holland (who hadn’t scored a point all season) came off the bench for nine points and five rebounds. The Lancers only start one senior, so there’s plenty of room for growth for Jack Rutter’s squad. By the way, I was trying to decide all game who I thought Rutter looked like, and here’s what I came up with: late 60 minutes correspondent Ed Bradley. This is where my mind wanders when a game isn’t close (smile). One other number of note: 48-14. These are the team rebounding numbers for Dougherty and McDevitt, and while I’m still getting the hang of keeping my own basketball stats, I think I’m pretty close on this. If so, whoa! When I said the rebounding was one-sided in this one, I sure as heck wasn’t kidding.

JAN. 29
CATHOLIC BLUE
Wood 72, Dougherty 64
  If you’ve already read Ted’s report, then you already knew a few facts about this one: 1) It was a helluva game, 2) There was tons of action with both teams embarking on several runs throughout the game, 3) Offense was not at a premium, which was nice for me after seeing three straight defensive struggles. I expected this to be a close one coming in, because the teams were separated by just one game in the standings (Wood came in 5-4 in CL Blue play, Dougherty was 4-5) and both programs are generally pretty competitive and talented. The crowd was a pretty impressive one for a Friday night contest in Warminster, as both sides of the bleachers had a fair amount of spectators in them. The first quarter was a pretty good indicator of things to come…a seesaw affair that ended in a 12-12 tie. Sr. F Art Comas notched seven of his nine points in the first quarter, while jr. PG Joe Getz and sr. Doug Macrone added four apiece for Wood. It’s worth noting here that Comas’ brother, Dan, played and starred for Wood. This information comes straight from Ted, but before I knew that I figured something might be up. Why, you ask? Well, during player introductions, Wood’s PA announcer referred to Comas as “Benedict Arthur” Comas. I know the famous traitor was named Benedict Arnold, but still, points for creativity on that one (ha ha). Anyways, Macrone opened the second quarter with his final field goal (he would later foul out) to give Wood a 14-12 lead, but then it was time for the first of those aforementioned runs. This one went 12-0 in Dougherty’s favor—it started and ended with three-pointers from sr. F Brandon Brown and was sandwiched in between with field goals from sr. G Brandyn Wims and jr. Victor Graham, as well as a pair of free throws from jr. Sahmir Thomas to put the Cardinals up 26-16. Dougherty sustained a 10-point lead as the quarter began to wind down, stretching the advantage to 31-21 on the strength of five straight points by soph. G Laquan Coaxum (three free throws and a layup on a nifty feed from Wims). Still with some time left before halftime, something seemed to dawn on the Vikings, as in “Hey, we can go on one of these runs too, ya know!” Yup, Wood closed out the quarter on a 9-2 spurt on the heels of a pair of Getz field goals and a three-pointer from sr. F Brian O’Grady to pull within 33-30. The Vikings nearly tied it up heading into the half as well, but a prayer three-pointer by sr. G Fran Dolan was waved off much to the dismay of the home crowd. It looked like the officials got it right though, as there was only 1.1 seconds on the clock to start the possession and Dolan bobbled the inbounds pass. Still though, VERY close call. Before I continue onto the second half, I have to mention the halftime entertainment in this one. The crowd was treated to a performance from Wood’s dance team, and when I say treated…I mean TREATED. Seriously, did Wood borrow these girls from the Sixers for the night? I know I’m 23 years old and ogling high school girls makes me sound borderline perverted at this point in my life, but I don’t care. And hey, I can’t feel TOO MUCH like a dirty old man…that’s right, Ted, I saw you snapping photos of the girls in the middle of their routine. Purely educational purposes, I’m sure (smile). Hey, what was it that Matthew McConaughey said in Dazed & Confused? “That’s what I love about these high school girls, man. I get older, they stay the same age.” ANYWAY, Wood scored the first four points of the third quarter to take a 34-33 lead, their first since it was 6-5. Then it was time for another one of those darned runs, this time for the Cardinals as they pulled off nine quick points: trey by Brown, two buckets by Wims and a field goal for jr. G Christen Gibbs (10 points) to give Dougherty a 42-34 advantage. Now, as I mentioned before, if you’ve read Ted’s report/DN story, you pretty much know what happened next. If not, then it was the coming out party of Wood jr. sixth man Jack Walsh IV. Some background info, if needed: Walsh is the son of Jack Walsh III, a Wood grad and first-year head coach of the Vikings. Walsh III is the son of Jack Walsh Jr., which would make him IV’s grandfather. On my way into the gym, I saw a few folks helping an elderly gentleman out of a car and into a wheelchair to bring into the game. Well, turns out this was Walsh Jr., who suffered a pair of devastating strokes four years ago and hadn’t been out to see his grandson play until this game. He picked a good one to show up for, as did his grandson…well, his grandson picked a good half to show up. Down by eight, Walsh IV (who had not attempted a shot in the first half) buried a three-pointer to make it 42-37. Then, a jumper to make it 44-40. With Dougherty back up by eight, Walsh buried a DEEP straightaway three-pointer to make it 48-43. Then, it was one more time for Walsh, who drained a trey from the left corner as the third quarter horn sounded. Wood still trailed 50-46, but everyone in the gym sensed the tide had turned after witnessing something pretty special. Walsh tallied 11 points in the quarter, but he was far from done. Dolan and O’Grady started the final quarter with baskets to pull Wood even at 50-all. Then, appropriately, Walsh fired his fourth three-pointer of the contest to put his team up 53-50, a lead they would not relinquish. When all was said and done, Wood had scored 12 straight to go up 58-50 and it didn’t get closer than six points the rest of the way. The wheels completely fell off for the Cardinals during that 12-0 Wood run, which included technical fouls by Gibbs and Thomas for unsportsmanlike behavior. On one of them, a very audible expletive was uttered after a blocked shot and it looked like this certain four-letter word was directed at a Wood player, even though the Dougherty guy (wasn’t sure if it was Gibbs or Thomas) got fouled on the play and was heading to the line to begin with. These techs were pretty much back-breakers for Dougherty, who had played so well and composed until this point. Not only did Dougherty lose their cools in the fourth quarter, but they also forgot how to play defense. The Vikings routinely drove into the lane with ease and ended up outscoring the Cardinals 26-14 in the quarter. On the flip side, Wood played fantastic D in the final frame after only being so-so for the first 24 minutes. Obviously, Walsh was the standout for Wood, going a perfect 6-for-6 from the field (four treys) for a season-high 17 points. The freakishly athletic Getz led Wood with 21 on 8-for-13 shooting. O’Grady chipped in with 13 points and 8 rebounds and Dolan added 10 for the well-balanced Vikes. For the Cardinals, Wims led the way with 15 points, but Wood did a nice job keeping him out of a rhythm in finishing 7-for-17. Brown did it all, notching 11 points, 12 rebounds, three blocks and three steals but shot just 4-for-16 from the floor. Gibbs and Comas added 10 and nine points, respectively. When all was said and done, this was the best and most entertaining game I’ve seen this season. The competition level was just off the charts, and the final result probably would have been even closer had Dougherty not lost its composure in the fourth quarter. I’m going to try to get to the Dougherty-McDevitt game on Sunday to see more of these guys, and although Warminster is a bit of a hike for me (coming from Northeast Philly), I might make a special trip back to Wood this season to watch the Vikes play. After all, the Vikings are probably that much more fun to watch with injured 6-8 sr. C Fran Dougherty (Penn) out there, as he should return in a few weeks from a stress fracture in his foot. Oh, who am I kidding? Any trip back to Wood will strictly be another excuse to check out that unbelievable dance team (smile).

JAN. 22
CATHOLIC LEAGUE RED
Judge 42, Ryan 40
  Even in a mutual down year for these two ancient Catholic League rivals, all the fans that attended this Friday night showdown at Judge got what they expected: a tight battle that would likely go down to the final possession. Each team sat at 2-4 in the league standings coming in, with Judge fresh off a clunker against the Prep in which they only scored 19 points the entire game (yikes). Ryan, meanwhile, had taken down McDevitt two days earlier but before that triumph had suffered consecutive losses, a close one against the Prep (41-38) and a shellacking at the hands of the inconsistent North Catholic (70-35). Despite the fact that neither of these clubs are expecting to catch La Salle, Roman or the Prep anytime soon, this was a game that each team needed to stay in the top half of the league standings. From the start, it was obvious this contest would be a hard-fought one. Judge opened up with a 4-0 lead and held the Raiders to precisely zero field goal attempts in the first three minutes of the game. But Ryan jr. Eric Fleming quelled the drought with a three-pointer from the top of the key to get his team on the board, and the rest of the quarter turned into a back-and-forth affair with Judge holding a 10-9 lead at the end of the frame. Fleming scored 7 of Ryan’s 9 points in the quarter, including all three of his team’s field goals, while jrs. Tony Smith and Seamus Radtke tallied four points each for the home team. Judge first-year head coach Sean Tait was none too pleased about his team’s defensive effort in the first quarter, imploring the Crusaders to “run at Fleming.” Consider the message received, as Fleming didn’t score again until Ryan’s last possession of the game. With Fleming being kept on lockdown, Judge began to stretch its lead in the second quarter. Leading 12-11, jrs. Joe Kehoe and Nick Sullivan nailed back-to-back three-pointers—their only field goals of the game—to push the lead to seven. After Ryan sr. G Anthony Magallanes (more on him later) broke into the scoring column with a trey, Judge turned in an impressive four-point possession that went like this: Radtke layup plus a foul, missed free throw which was then followed by a Smith offensive rebound and put back that gave Judge a 22-14 lead. Magallanes knocked down another long-range shot in the closing seconds, pulling his team to within 22-17 at halftime. In all honesty, Ryan was probably lucky to be that close at all as the much taller Judge squad was owning the Raiders on the glass. The Raiders also struggled mightily to find any offensive consistency, as Judge did a commendable job defending Ryan’s Princeton-style offense that featured continuous motion and lots of passing. The third quarter belonged to two guys—Magallanes for Ryan and Radtke for Judge. At 6-7, Radtke stands a full three inches taller than Ryan’s tallest player (6-4 sr. Brendan Ostaszewski) and it seemed like the third quarter was precisely the time that Tait decided to have the ball fed down low to his big man every time until Ryan proved they could stop it. Every time Ryan answered with a field goal of its own, Radtke was positioned down low on the block for an easy catch, turn and layup. It happened on four straight possessions, and before the Raiders knew what had hit them, Radtke had tallied nine points and five rebounds on 4-for-6 shooting in the quarter. Each one of Radtke’s buckets kept Judge up by eight points, and a jumper by Judge jr. Reggie Charles (8 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds, 3 steals) gave Judge its largest lead of the game, 33-23. But just what you thought the Raiders might be ready to throw in the white flag, Magallanes responded with his third field goal of the quarter, a three-pointer to pull Ryan back within seven. Jr. Mike Rymal followed with a three of his own to cut the deficit to 33-29, and despite a Kehoe free throw to close the quarter out, Ryan had staved off disaster and finally gained a little bit of momentum which they would carry into the fourth. Perhaps I should say Magallanes carried the momentum and his team into the fourth quarter, as the 5-10 senior opened the final frame with consecutive three-pointers to give Ryan an improbable 35-34 lead. The last three-pointer, Magallanes’ fifth of the game, elicited an audible gasp from the Judge faithful as their Crusaders suddenly had no answer to the sharpshooting senior. Ryan didn’t hold the lead for long, as Judge employed its favorite strategy once more on the following possession, feeding the ball to Radtke in the post for an easy two points. Charles followed with a pair of free throws to up the lead to 38-35, but Ostaszewski converted his only field goal in 11 tries to cut the deficit to one. After a Judge turnover, Ostaszewski had a golden look on a layup in the lane with 2:35 to go but clanged it off the front iron which would turn out to be a crucial miss. Judge then regained possession and decided to either hold for a final possession or force the Raiders to foul. Ryan played solid defense for more than two minutes, forcing Tait to call consecutive timeouts before the Raiders finally decided to send Sullivan to the line for a pair with 12.8 seconds left. Sullivan converted both and the Judge defense collapsed around Magallanes, who everyone in the gym knew would be taking the last shot with his team down three. It was Magallanes who took the final shot, but it was a contested one at best and it bounced harmlessly off the front rim. Smith then iced the game with a pair of free throws and Judge could sigh a huge sigh of relief as they almost let a team that had next to no offensive rhythm come back for the win. Radtke was a stud for Judge. He looked a bit awkward and rough around the edges when I saw him a few weeks back against North Catholic, but he really used his size to his advantage in this one, finishing 8-for-11 for 17 points and 9 rebounds. Smith hustled his way to 8 points and 13 rebounds and Charles was solid despite a bit of foul trouble. It was all Magallanes for the Raiders, as the senior leader and captain finished with 19 of his team’s 40 points (13 of the 19 points came in his explosive second half in which he nearly willed his team to victory). Fleming finished with 10 points and soph. Christian Rivera hustled for 4 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists. Ryan went on to lose two days later by six points against La Salle, as the Raiders fell to 2-6 in league play. It’s been a tough go of it for the Raiders lately, dropping three league games in the last week by a combined 11 points. I spoke to Ryan coach Bernie Rogers, who lamented that his team was “four or five baskets from being in second or third place in the league.” It’s been one of those seasons from Ryan, but they work extremely hard out there so it would be nice to see things turn around in their favor.

JAN. 15
INTER-AC LEAGUE
Malvern 53, Penn Charter 39
  Again, the Inter-Ac further proves my Inter-Ac = Big Ten of Philadelphia high school basketball theory. What we had on this Friday night affair in East Falls was another physical, smash mouth contest in which the winner boiled down to the team that made the least mistakes. Heading into the game, the thing that stuck out most to be about the victorious Friars (aside from their 12-2 overall record) was their size, and with four starters between 6-3 and 6-5 I knew to expect a battle in the trenches between the two league rivals. After watching the Quakers fall short against Haverford in the Inter-Ac Tipoff Tripleheader last weekend, I figured their inability to score at will would turn this one into a quick blowout. It’s always nice to be surprised, isn’t it? Not only did PC stay competitive for three-plus quarters, but they gave the deeper, more talented Malvern team a serious run for their money. Behind a raucous, gold-clad student section (dubbed “The Quaker Crew”), PC jumped out to an early 7-4 lead, helped in large part to an unexpected three-pointer by 6-4 jr. bruiser Jake Richards (8 points, 7 rebounds) that delighted the crowd and had the Charter faithful thinking upset. The Friars were quick to respond with a pretty 11-0 run, capped off by a steal and breakaway dunk by 6-4 jr. Lamon Church, who scored eight of his team’s 15 first-quarter points. But the Quakers didn’t fold when they suddenly found themselves down 15-7, as soph. G Nick Lamb responded to the Church dunk by racing up the court and beating the quarter buzzer with a floater in the lane. In quarter number two, the pesky Quakers continued to nip at Malvern’s heels, closing to within two points on two occasions. The Friars wouldn’t let up though, as a left-wing three-pointer by soph. Brendan Kilpatrick (10 points, 4 rebounds) and a jumper by Church allowed Malvern to head into the halftime break with a 24-17 lead. Church scored half of his team’s first half points, and the Friar defense did the rest, forcing the Quakers into a miserable 7-for-25 showing from the field. Malvern’s defense was especially impressive on PC leading scorer/long-range threat Tom Noonan. Malvern coach Jim Rullo frequently sent double teams toward the 6-7 Noonan, and in all other instances Church did a fantastic job bottling up Noonan, who shot just 3-for-10 from the field (1-for-7 from behind the arc). With Noonan’s struggles continuing into the third quarter, his team rallied behind him in starting the frame with a 12-4 run that gave the Quakers a 29-28 lead, their only advantage of the game. The game started getting very chippy in the quarter, as PC’s physical play really threw Malvern off its rhythm. The Quakers started boxing out and totally outhustled Malvern on the boards and won the quarter, 12-9. Noonan did not attempt a single field goal in the quarter, but Richards, jr. Michael L. Brown (7 points, 5 rebounds), soph. John Moderski (8 points, 4 steals) and even starting QB John Loughery (2 points, 8 rebounds) got in on the action to help out their frustrated teammate. Meanwhile, Malvern had a quarter to forget, as jr. DeQuann "Bootsie" Walker tallied seven of his team’s nine points. The third quarter also featured somewhat of a bizarre controversy, and sitting at the scorer’s table allowed me to witness this one firsthand. Apparently, there was some miscommunication between the PC bench, PC scorers and Malvern scorer about the number of fouls Noonan had racked up. Myself, Malvern’s official scorer seated to my right and PC clock manager Dr. Allan Brown all had Noonan for three fouls, which seemed to make sense as PC coach Jim “Flipper” Phillips yanked his leading scorer from the game with 1:30 to go in the quarter. However, those on the PC side only had Noonan down for two fouls, and dissension began to erupt among the two contingents. The Malvern scorekeeper, who from their team photo I can identify as team manager Simon Williams (more on this guy later), even got up as the fourth quarter was starting, went around to the front of the table and started shouting in Dr. Brown’s face. It was completely uncalled for, because 1) Dr. Brown is one of the senior-most, nicest and smartest members of PC’s administration and 2) Last I checked, it’s a coach’s job to correct these matters, not a team manager’s. To his credit, Dr. Brown kept his cool, telling Williams he in fact had Noonan down for three fouls, but there was no sense in arguing because what’s done was done and the official scorer, not he, had Noonan for two fouls. Anyway, the fourth quarter began without bloodshed (smile) and things swung back into Malvern’s favor. Noonan tallied his only field goal of the half to cut the score to 36-32, but Kilpatrick nailed a three-pointer off an inbounds pass on the next possession. Loughery missed a gimme layup and Malvern jr. F Tracy Peal (6 points, 9 rebounds) connected on a pair of free throws to put the Friars up by nine. PC scored the next three points to get within 41-35, but another clutch Kilpatrick field goal (on a beauty of a pass from Church) was the backbreaker, as Malvern closed things out from the line in the final minutes. The big difference of the second half was free throw shooting, as Malvern connected on 9 of 13 attempts, while PC struggled to a 5-for-12 clip. The Quakers were just 6-for-14 on freebies for the game, while Malvern was a clutch 14-for-19, and in close games like this performance at the charity stripe can be vital. Church led the way for Malvern with 18 points, but he had lots of help after halftime, mainly from Walker (13 points, 9 rebounds in the game) who shot 4-for-9 from the field and kept his team afloat in the third quarter while PC made its run. Noonan just couldn’t get things going, finishing 4-for-13 (2-for-10 from long range) for 11 points and 8 rebounds. Things got so frustrating for Noonan that with his team down 46-36 late in the fourth, he fired up a 30-plus footer that wasn’t even close. As the Inter-Ac season progresses, teams are going to continue focusing on Noonan so the Quakers (5-8, 0-3) are going to have to find scoring elsewhere if they want to avoid a lost season. Meanwhile, the Friars look like the real deal, as the win was their eighth in a row. They should be good for quite awhile too, as sr. captain and PG Ryan Creighton is the only senior that gets significant playing time. As for their manager/scorekeeper Williams, I understand that he’s a member of the team and it was nice to see his passion for the Friars but at the same time I think it might be wise for him to take things down a notch. His clapping and cheering was incessant throughout the game, and it got somewhat annoying considering it was happening right in my ear the entire time. Maybe I’m being picky, but if my extensive time of covering sports has taught me anything, it’s that a press row/box is for game officials, not cheerleaders. It’s fine for you to want your team to win, but I think keeping score should be done at the end of the bench if I need to listen to it the whole game. I don’t think I was alone, either, as a Malvern assistant coach had to come over to the table in the fourth quarter to calm down a frantic Williams. I dig your passion, bro…just knock it down a level! In happier news, I was happy to see the Quaker Crew was at its rowdy best for this one. When I was at PC as a student rooter/reporter for this website back during the 2003-04 season, Friday night home games were insane, especially considering how good the team was that year. Though this PC team is struggling, it’s nice to see the passion hasn’t been lost by the fans. In fact, not only did they dub themselves “The Quaker Crew” after I graduated, the students went ahead and created/distributed matching gold Quaker Crew t-shirts throughout the student section. The Crew even brought newspapers into the stands, and when the Malvern starting lineup was introduced the fans in attendance covered their faces and fake-read the papers to mock the opposing team…I believe they took this from one of my favorite sports movies, Mystery, Alaska—if so, well done, Quaker Crew, well done. To take matters even further, one PC fan was dressed in a huge banana costume. Apparently it was Peanut Butter Jelly Time at Penn Charter tonight…don’t get the reference? Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KQKaHpfkQE

JAN. 9
INTER-AC LEAGUE
Haverford School 47, Penn Charter 45
  At this point, I’m ready to liken Inter-Ac play to that of the Big Ten in college basketball. Most of the games are usually pretty competitive, but they aren’t always pretty on the eyes. This one was no exception…it was close and a relatively entertaining contest, but points were not at a premium. You would think as a PC grad who has seen his fair share of Inter-Ac games that I would come to expect this by now, but the majority of the Charter games I saw in my day were all high-scoring, offensively-fueled games led by Quaker legends Sean Singletary, Rob Kurz and Zack Zeglinski. But I digress. As they do in the Inter-Ac every January, this game was a part of a league kickoff tripleheader, held this time at Cabrini College in Radnor. I got to sit alongside Ted for this game and right away he remarked to me, “This has to be one of the biggest campuses in Delaware County.” He wasn’t kidding. For a school with less than 2,000 undergrads, it sure was a hike to find the gymnasium once I was on campus. The first quarter was a pretty good indicator of things to come, as offensive consistency was hard to come by. I didn’t know much about this Penn Charter team coming in aside from what the stats told me, and those said 6-7 sr. Tom Noonan was the player to keep an eye on. Noonan made his presence felt early on, sinking two three-pointers to pace PC to an 11-8 lead after the first eight minutes. Noonan’s stroke is silky smooth, and he’s not afraid to pull up from long range at any time, which is pretty impressive for a player of his height. The Quakers built a 19-11 advantage early in the second quarter, but the Fords fought back mainly by getting to the free throw line, shooting 6-for-9 from the stripe in the period. After Noonan’s fourth trey of the half, PC held a 24-16 lead with time winding down. Haverford soph. RaShaan Hollman (10 points) connected on a jumper before frosh Semaj Reed came up with a steal. Holding for the final possession, Haverford senior AJ Jones missed on a three-pointer, but jr. Andrew Acker (eight points, 11 rebounds) plucked the rebound and put the shot back as time expired in the half, pulling the Fords to within 24-20 at the break. This wasn’t the last time the buzzer beater would be kind to Haverford…but we’ll file that one under “obvious foreshadowing” for the time being. The third quarter belonged to the Quakers, as they outscored and outhustled the Fords 17-9 in the frame to build a 41-29 lead after three. PC jr. Michael L. Brown (not to be confused with the Michael Brown on the PC football team, who apparently played basketball last season and went by Michael X. Brown…weird) tallied seven of his 10 points in the third for Penn Charter, who appeared to be in the driver's seat. Unfortunately for PC, they missed the memo that you have to play four quarters in basketball, as their final eight minutes were downright brutal. They managed just one field goal the entire quarter, in large part due to Haverford’s full-court pressure, which gave the Quakers fits. I have the Fords down for six steals in the quarter, and I’m pretty sure most of them came before PC was able to cross the halfcourt line. With the defense intensity stepped up, Haverford used a frantic 16-2 run to take a 45-43 with two minutes to go in the game. Brown and PC jr. Jake Richards each traded 1-for-2 trips at the free throw line to tie the score with 44 seconds to go, setting up the thrilling finish. When Haverford began to bring the ball up the court and clearly were holding for the last shot, Ted turned to me and quipped “I like to call this holding for the last turnover,” but Jones made sure to prove Mr. Silary wrong (smile). Jones waited for the clock to go below 10 seconds before making his move, which started at the top of the key. He then dribbled into the lane, spun and pulled up from about 12 feet, burying a beauty of a shot. Time expired on the play, but the officials put 1.5 seconds back on the clock, leaving the Quakers one last possible gasp. With jr/starting QB John Loughery inbounding, he launched his best football pass down the floor, but it was deflected and time ran out, capping Haverford’s brilliant defensive stand that was the fourth quarter. The Fords outscored PC 18-4 in the quarter, and this was Haverford’s ninth straight win after starting the season 0-3. Jones finished with a fantastic all-around game, racking up 11 points, seven rebounds, six assists and six steals…very impressive. Noonan led the way for PC with 18 points, six rebounds and six assists, but the Fords did a great job bottling him up in the second half. Brown was the only other Quaker in double figures, as the team has definitely struggled scoring the ball this season, averaging just 51 points per game, which probably won’t cut it in the ultra-competitive Inter-Ac. Either way, should be a heck of a year as usual.

JAN. 8
CATHOLIC LEAGUE RED
North Catholic 81, Judge 64
  Well, it took me until 2010 to get to my first basketball game of the season, but this was a solid inaugural contest to get under my belt. Not necessarily because of the score—North controlled this one comfortably for about 95 percent of the game—but this one was fun because of the atmosphere, which certainly would have been enhanced had the result been closer. As someone that was born and raised in Northeast Philly, this is one of the most sacred athletic rivalries out there, and the atmosphere in Judge’s gym was a good indicator of this fact. As North senior point guard Woody Redding told me after the game, “We always get up the night before to play Judge,” and his play certainly showed that. Redding was the standout in this one, as his do-it-all style of play impressed just about everyone on hand. Redding is a stocky guy and is only about 5-foot-8, but what he lacks in size he makes up in defensive intensity, crisp passing and a surprising amount of quickness. His variety of skills were evident in the first half, as he was aggressively offensively in the first quarter (6 points on 3-for-4 shooting). In the second quarter with the defense focusing on him, Redding dished out four of his six assists as the Falcons built a 34-22 halftime lead. As Redding explained to me, “I always try to be aggressive early, so when the defense focuses on me, I can use that to get my teammates open looks.” The first half of the third quarter belonged to North as well, as another member of the Falcons’ three-headed monster began to heat up. That would be senior Mike Terry, who is bound for Boston University after the season. Terry has a smooth touch to his game that can probably be attributed to the fact that his father also played ball at BU. Terry racked up 10 of his 21 points in the third frame as the Falcons built a 52-33 lead. However, Judge didn’t just throw in the towel in front of their home crowd. It took awhile, but the Crusaders finally began to heat up, mainly behind the attack of Joe Kehoe (11 points) and Tony Smith (team-high 16 points…also Judge’s starting quarterback). With North holding strong on a 19-point lead, Kehoe and Smith scored 15 of Judge’s next 19 points to help spur a 19-6 run that pulled the Crusaders to within 58-52 early in the fourth quarter. With the Judge majority back into the game, North first-year head coach Guy Moore called a timeout. The quick breather allowed the star of the game to make the biggest shot of the game. With the Crusaders locking down in a halfcourt pressure, Redding got the ball in the left corner, right in front of his own bench. Probably expecting him to pass, Redding used a hard ball fake to get his defender to back off and calmly sunk a three-pointer to put the Falcons back up by 9. Judge never got closer the rest of the way. As mentioned, Redding was spectacular in this one. His final line looked like this: 23 points on 8-for-10 shooting, six assists and five steals. When North needed a big basket, Redding provided it. When the defense stepped up to guard him more closely, he found a teammate for an easy bucket. Though Terry is probably North’s most physically talented player, Moore told me afterward that “When the game is on the line, we want the ball in Woody’s hands.” Moore also told me Redding is getting a lot of Division-III looks as the season progresses, and after I finished talking with Woody it looked like a couple of guys who could have been college scouts were chatting him up. His size may scare a lot of teams away, but this kid can be an asset to any team, because unselfish guys like Redding that are pass-first, shoot-second do not grow on trees. Terry followed suit with 21 points and eight rebounds, and the final cog of the three-headed senior machine for North—Jaleel Mack—chipped in 15 points. It was a much needed first league win for North, who has since improved to 2-2 in CL play with a Monday win over Ryan. The Falcons are now 4-6 overall. The loss dropped the Crusaders to 3-7 overall and 0-3 in the league, but they have also since won with a victory over Bonner. One other note: with my first game of the season came my inevitable first encounter with Puck. As I was interviewing Moore after the game, Puck waddled right over to where we were standing and started barking to Moore about an extra two points on the stat sheet whose origin he did not know. I had a voice recorder running and clearly was having a conversation with Moore, but that didn’t deter the Puckster from chiming in. Moore kindly shooed him away, but I could still hear Puck in the background when I listened to the audio later on in the weekend. I didn’t mind though, I mean at this point that kind of behavior is to be expected, right? (smile)