Huck's Corner Basketball, 2008-09 Return to TedSilary.com Home Page   Ed "Huck" Palmer is a headliner among our trusty statmen/observers. He is not to be confused with Tom "Puck" McKenna. (Huck is normal. Puck is not even close). He will make reports on games he sees. You may contact him at TEDDYCAT10@aol.com.

MARCH 8
CL FIRSTS IN STATE BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS
(All accomplished by Carroll players, unless noted)
(Thanks to Carroll coach Paul Romanczuk for his help in cross-checking some of these)
  Game/Win: In a AAA contest on 3/6, Carroll beat Phoenixville, 56-50. Played at Norristown.
  Tap: A Phoenixville player "won" the tap, but Kasheef Festus recovered the ball.
  Shot: Festus, missed a contested foul-line jumper.
  Points: DJ Irving, on a 15-foot, left-wing jumper.
  Three-point shot: Irving, unsuccessful. (He then had the first successful trey.)
  Free throw: Irving, successful.
  Assist: Juan'ya Green.
  Steal: Ben Mingledough.
  Rebounds: Andre Wilburn (defensive), Mingledough (offensive).
  Blocked shot: Andre "Scooter" Gillette, N-G (Wilburn had Carroll's first, but it didn't happen until the third quarter. N-G also played this night vs. Steelton-Highspire at Southern. Game started about a half-hour later. Gillette had his very early.)
  Personal foul: Irving.
  Turnover: Irving.
  Dunk: Danny Stewart, N-G. (Carroll had none.)

MARCH 7
PIAA STATE 2A FIRST ROUND PLAYOFF
West Catholic 50, Salisbury Township 42
   The Burrs weren’t going to win any beauty pageants with today’s performance, at least from a shooting standpoint, but I doubt anyone who’s part of the program cares all too much about that. A win is a win! And no one will ever be able to take away that this collection of Burrs were the first to win a state playoff basketball game. In a game played at Monsignor Bonner, the Burrs were able to outlast the Salisbury Falcons, who traveled down from the Allentown area in District 11. Interestingly, Salisbury was the high school that hosted the Burrs' first state playoff football victory this past season against Palisades. I’ll note that the football team on that day scored thirteen more points than the hoopsters did today. Smile! So, how did the Burrs do it? Plain and simple they were just scrappier than their scrappy opponent. Well, also, the Burrs did have a decided quickness advantage and it was that aspect that allowed them to impose their will at a couple of junctures during the second half. The Burrs actually trailed after one, 13-10, and only had the slimmest of halftime advantages, 20-19. Towards the end of the first half Head Coach Bill Ludlow had his troops do some full-court trapping. It paid off for a couple of easy buckets. To begin the second half, West used this same strategy and again had some success, allowing them to grab a six point lead early in the half. Soon after, though, Ludlow had his team fall back into a zone. I’m thinking he was trying to give his squad a blow without having to call a timeout. As they ran back court, head football coach/AD Brian Fluck, who was sitting next to me, mentioned they’re going into a zone. Of course, I had to quip – Here comes a three! Fluck immediately concurred, and seconds later, there it was falling through the net. Ha ha. The Falcons quickly hit another one next time down the court before the Burrs could get out of that defense. Not too long after that, sr. PG Tommy Bonser (11 points, 3-of-6 on 3’s) bombed home another deep triple while falling backwards. This team just was not going to go away. Fortunately, the Burrs righted the ship some and finished the quarter with momentum. Sr. WG Rob Hollomon accepted a pass from soph. PG Aquil Younger along the right baseline and scored as the buzzer sounded. Not only did this give West an encouraging 40-34 lead, but the bucket allowed Hollomon to reach 1,000 points for his career. He’s the eighth Burr to do so. Also, Hollomon entered rare territory as he became one of only two city players to ever score 1,000 points in basketball and rush for over 3,000 yards in football. A tremendous accomplishment! Ryan’s Joe Zeglinski (’05) was the other to do it. Despite only going 1-for-5 from the floor and 8-for-16 from the line, West was able to keep Salisbury at arm’s length throughout the final stanza. They did so with their trademark, aggressive on-the-ball defense, which suffocated the Falcons and led to few quality looks. Today’s headliners were the Burr backcourt as R. Hollomon (15) and Younger (12) combined for 27 points, including 19 of the 30 the Burrs scored in the second half. Though, they only combined for a 9-for-27 shooting performance, each made timely and crucial plays. R. Hollomon had three assists, while Younger put forth an excellent stat line with 7 steals (All in 2nd half), 6 assists, and 5 rebounds. Sr. WG/F Haleem Hayward grabbed 7 rebounds and made 3 steals. He did an excellent job in the second half on Bonser, the Falcons’ leading scorer. He was able to limit him to just 3 points and 4 total shot attempts. Sr. 6’7” F Ade Barek connected on 3-of-4 tries for his 6 points. He also snatched 9 rebounds and made 4 steals. He did good job of making sure the Falcons only true post presence, sr. 6’6” Chris Uhl, got few touches. Uhl came in as Salisbury’s second leading scorer, but managed just 7 points on two field goal attempts. Jr. F Kiwan Murray (3 off. rebounds) used some savvy to score 7 points on a 3-for-4 effort from the field. The ball just has a way of finding him and he typically does a good job of finishing in close. Sr. WG Brandon Williamson hustled for 5 points and 3 rebounds. The Burrs made 15 steals in the game and won the turnover battle 20-to-11. However, the free throw line was a sore spot behind a 12-for-27 (44.4%) showing. This needs to improve as the Burrs march onward. The Burrs will play Hughesville (21-5) in the second round at a site to be determined on Sunday. Hughesville was the second seed out of D-4 and moved on after besting the top seed from D-2, Holy Cross, 59-56 in overtime.

MARCH 6
PIAA CLASS 3A FIRST ROUND PLAYOFF
Carroll 56, Phoenixville 50
  The Patriots recorded a first tonight, as they became the first PCL team to win a state playoff basketball game. OK, Neumann-Goretti also won tonight, but their game started a half-hour later than this one, so the Pats will certainly accept this distinction, even if it is only by forty-five minutes or so. Was it easy? Heck no! Phoenixville, who came via the Pioneer Athletic Conference in District-1, were game throughout and made things dicey for Carroll just about to the final horn. Speaking of that final horn, how about we sprint ahead to the final minute to see how this baby concluded? Phantoms’ jr. WG Corey Gordan (3 treys, 11 points) nailed a triple with 52 seconds left to bring his team within, 52-50. Choosing not to foul right away the Phantoms chased Carroll around the court until the 25-second mark, eventually fouling jr. CG DJ Irving for a one-and one opportunity. Irving’s shot delicately circled the rim and slipped off into the waiting hands of reserve sr. F Romance Turner, who in turn was also fouled. Again, a Carroll player was faced with a one-and-one chance. I don’t know this to be a fact, but I have a feeling that these freebies were more than likely Turner’s most important to date. How did he respond? Like he’s been doing it forever, as he smoothly sank the first and the bonus for a 54-50 lead at 23 seconds. Clutch! A P’Ville timeout followed and afterwards a deep right-wing trey caromed off the rim. Soph. 6’3” PG Juan’ya Green scrambled for the rebound and threw down court to Irving, who dribbled away just about all of the remaining time. He was eventually fouled at nine-tenths of a second and closed out the scoring with two from the line. Ballgame! Carroll hadn’t played in nine days and early on it looked it. The Pats went just 4-for-16 in the opening quarter and 9-for-26 in the first half from the floor. Many in-close shots misfired and you could see the frustration on the Pats’ faces. Meanwhile, the Phantoms were methodically playing a solid first half and had the game at their speed. And they needed it that way too! Phoenixville didn’t make one sub in the first half. Remarkably, the game only featured five total fouls during the first sixteen minutes of play. Ultimately, P’Ville went into the break with momentum and a 23-20 lead. I got the sense that the Phantoms probably couldn’t play a whole lot better and eventually Carroll would impose their will and make a throat-grabbing run. Well, this did happen midway through the third quarter. Carroll scored 13 straight points to seize a 39-30 lead. They went onto win the quarter 23-12. Irving was huge with a trio of triples on the quarter, but sr. 6’5” F Kasheef Festus is the player that made his presence felt the most. The big fella made all five of his tries from the field for 10 points in the stanza. You can say he was in a bullying state of mind, as he easily created space with some subtle nudges and bumps. Despite the eruption by the Pats, the pesky Phantoms would never go away, fighting to the very end. I was impressed with this team and the composure they showed for the duration. They were a well-coached unit too.  Irving and Festus each scored 20 points in the game and tallied 28 points (14 each) between them in the second half. Festus was 9-for-12 from the field and I’d be willing to bet that his nine makes totaled no more than 20 feet from the basket between them. He also bruised his way to a game-high 11 rebounds. He must enjoy playing in Norristown H.S. gym because earlier this season he took home MVP honors in a showcase win over Norristown, who just recently captured D-1 4A honors. Most of Irving’s damage came from distance where he went 5-for-9. He needs a little space to unleash, but when he does it’s usually calm and smooth. Green (3 rebounds) was next with 8 points and hit a couple of timely jumpers in the second half. His primary influence tonight, though, was in the setting-up department. Four of his six dimes came during his team’s third quarter spurt. Sr. 6’3” F Andre Wilburn was held scoreless, but claimed 5 rebounds. Jr. 6’3” F Ben Mingledough had 3 assists. Turner gave Head Coach Paul Romanczuk excellent minutes off the bench. Hot only was he active on the defensive end, but he also chipped in with 4 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, and an assist. Without some of these little things, then maybe Carroll’s fate is a little different. Hey, if you’re planning on making a lengthy state playoff run, then you’re going to need contributions from more than the usual suspects. Carroll regrouped nicely in the second half and shot 13-for-21 (61.9%). The Phantoms were led by sr. PG Yusef Brown with 20 points (8-for-13 FG’s), 3 assists, and 3 steals. Beefy, but nimble, sr. 6’6” F Greg Peters scored 10 points, hauled in 7 rebounds, and also had 3 assists. Phoenixville’s starters played all but three minutes in the game. All total just six players saw time for the Phantoms. Carroll will now tangle with Shamokin (24-1), a 51-39 winner over Pottsville, on Tuesday night. Shamokin is the #1 seed out of District-4.

FEB. 18
CATHOLIC LEAGUE SEMIFINAL
Roman 63, Carroll 59 (OT)
  Teddy S. and I are going to handle this one together. Our TS.com fearless leader was writing his story on Neumann-Goretti’s somewhat surprising dismantling of North Catholic in the opener, while Amauro and I handled stat-keeping duties for the nightcap. In time, Ted would be amongst the intrigued spectators. I’m sure he’ll agree that this one turned out to be very exciting, even if it wasn’t the most crisply played game, especially from a shooting standpoint. So, look for all the twists and turns in Ted’s portion of the late-game and overtime recaps. Meanwhile, I’ll stick to some observations and my specialty – Stats! Smile. Thanks to the construction of the Red/Blue alignment this was my first look-see at the Cahillites. Typically, I would have seen Roman at least three or four times by now thanks to two games against my home town Burrs. Somehow, the schedule wasn’t all that friendly for yours truly this season and the opportunity to witness the purple and gold was nonexistent. Ok, it was disappointing not to see Roman star sr. PG Maalik Wayns in uniform, who earlier in the day found out he had made the McDonald’s All-American Game. Great honor! Congratulations! Wayns is still hobbled by a meniscus injury, but his availability COULD BE looming at the beginning of next week. Apparently, Maalik will pay a visit to the doctor’s on Monday afternoon. It is his HOPE that he’ll be cleared just in the nick of time to help his team battle the Saints in the Catholic League Final later that evening. Like tonight, that game will also be played at the fabled Palestra. Tip-off should be around 8:15, after the Carroll-Wood girls settle their crown. Anyhow, even without Wayns the Cahillites are still aggressive, quick, and fearless when asked to bring pressure. Obviously, Roman has long had immense talent, but I really believe that over the last three or four seasons their defensive intensity has become even more imposing. This intensity and a 5-for-5 shooting performance to begin the game help propel them to an early 14-6 lead. Eventually, Carroll would catch their breath and went onto notch 16 of the next 18 points. Thus, grabbing a 22-to-16 lead. Continued solid play would last through the third quarter and the Pats entered the final frame with a promising 42-36 lead. Then, like simply flicking on a light switch Roman turned up the heat and willed their way back into the game. It was easy to notice that Carroll was rattled and before long the Cahillites ripped-off a 13-to-2 run to grab a 49-44 lead. To Carroll’s credit they fought back and even had a chance to take a late lead. For recap purposes Ted will resume play-by-play here. Playing a starring role for Roman was jr. 6’4” F Kevin Regan, who was the Cahillite signal-caller during football season. During one juncture from the end of the second quarter through early in the fourth he hit seven straight shots (3 treys). In reading Ted’s story in the paper next day I noticed that K. Regan mentioned that he had struggled with his shot throughout the season. Trust me folks, but there wasn’t a hint of a struggle tonight! In fact, he displayed a calm, easy motion on most of his attempts. Many came off of high ball screens involving him and star jr. WG Rakeem Brookins. All total, K. Regan went 10-for-15 from the floor, including 4-of-7 from the arc. Good for a game-high 24 points. Not to go unnoticed were the 8 key rebounds and 4 timely steals he produced. Tremendous all-around effort! Brookins had to settle for just 13 points, as Carroll paid strict attention to him throughout. Primarily on the case for the Pats was jr. CG DJ Irving, who helped see that Brookins would only go 5-for-18 from the field. Hey, who said that scoring was the only way you could help your team? To make up for the poor shooting night, Brookins dealt 9 assists (Roman only had 10 total), 5 rebounds, and 5 steals. This kid has little trouble going forward and plays for keeps. Frosh. F Andre Horne scored six of his 12 points in the overtime session, including a 4-for-4 showing from the line. Clutch! Right now I’d just dub this kid as a basketball player, as a specific position probably hasn’t been defined as of yet. He also added 6 rebounds. For a freshman I liked his competitiveness. Sr. 6’7” F Koron Reed can jump with the best of them, but tonight he found himself saddled to the pine for stretches due to foul trouble. Just about all of his production came in the second half. He finished with 7 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 blocks. Soph. G’s Kawaun Chavis (3 steals) and Abdul King displayed pest-like qualities. Both only took and missed one shot apiece during regulation. However, both youngsters stepped-up big-time in overtime when each made a basket. Hard to imagine huger buckets ever occurring in their young careers. Carroll placed four players in double-figures and another with eight, but had some woeful moments from the field. They finished 23-for-69 (33.3%) total and just 4-for-18 (22.2%) from the arc. Soph. 6’3” WG Juan’ya Green has a bright future ahead of him, but he just couldn’t ever get on track tonight. He did mange 13 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, and two apiece of steals and blocks, but went a chilly 3-for-18 from the floor. There will be better nights in that department. Sr. 6’3” F Andre Wilburn led with 14 points (6-for-12 FG’s), while grabbing 10 rebounds. His most productive moments came in the middle frames when he scored ten of his points. Sr. 6’5” F Kasheef Festus added 12 points and as many rebounds. Irving contributed 10 points, 4 boards, and 4 assists. Jr. F Ben Mingledough added 8 points and 7 rebounds. The Patriots hurt themselves with six turnovers and a 2-for-9 performance in the fourth quarter. The Saints and Cahillites will play for the championship for the fifth time in the last ten years. The teams have spilt the first four.

FEB. 14
CL QUARTERFINAL
Neumann-Goretti 64, Wood 46
  The Vikings started fast and behind a pair of treys from jr. 6’7” F Fran Dougherty and sr. WG Tim Fahy grabbed a quick 7-0 lead. The Saints wouldn’t score their first points until the 4:15 mark of the opening quarter. Up until this stage the Saints were off-kilter and rhythm was nowhere in sight. However, the Vikings probably didn’t capitalize as much they probably should have. Even though points weren’t being scored, I thought the pace was much too fast for Wood to sustain and that ultimately N-G’s superior athleticism would take over. Well, don’t you know, but just seconds apart, sr. 6’8” C Andrew Gillette and jr. 6’6” F Daniel Stewart wolfed down a pair of transition slams. Stewart’s came off a steal around his own three-point line, which saw him semi-uncontrollably race down court. Then, just inside the foul line, when it appeared that another dribble might be costly, it was time for takeoff. Wow! Trust me folks, but the finish was eye-popping. Despite this momentum-seizing sequence the Vikings kept their composure and went into the second quarter tied, 11-11. Also, Saints’ star jr. CG Tony Chennault incurred his second foul with 50 seconds left in the first quarter. He would spend the rest of the half on the pine. Wood definitely needed to make some headway with the Saints’ leader sitting. Though, they did keep it close (24-21 N-G at half) that probably wasn’t good enough. The second half would be all Saints, as they just imposed their will over a game, but overmatched bunch of Vikings. The Saints would go onto make 16 of 22 second half shots (72.7%) in an efficient and focused display of basketball. They notched 12 assists on these 16 made buckets, further proving the togetherness in which they played. In the fourth quarter, N-G missed their first attempt, but ended the game with nine consecutive makes. Nice! So, who was today’s hero? Well, all season long the Saints have pretty much used a six-man rotation, with an occasional seventh player seeing action from time-to-time. The team’s sixth-man has been soph. PG Lamin Fulton, a quality/talented player, who is probably the team’s sixth option based only on the fact that he has older, more experienced players ahead of him. Today, Fulton missed a first quarter trey, but after that he tickled the twine on eight straight attempts, including four from beyond the arc. Maybe, the rim was slightly grazed on one or two of these. In the fourth quarter alone he nailed three of his bombs and each one provided another punch to the gut of the Vikings. He finished with 21 points and 2 steals. Chennault would be next with 17 points, as he made 6-of-7 from the field in the second half. In fact, he and Fulton each made four baskets in as many attempts in the final quarter. Many of Chennault’s baskets came on aggressive drives down the lane. He also contributed 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals. This kid is as competitive as they come. However, if I could offer up a little constructive criticism it would be this. After Tony picked up his third foul early in the third quarter Head Coach Carl Arrigale opted to leave him in. Then, with about two minutes to play in the quarter he removed him with Wood still within reach. Obviously, he was trying to protect him from picking up a fourth foul before the quarter ended. It was not only the right move, but a smart one. Anyhow, while on the bench Chennault didn’t exactly show the greatest of body language, facial expressions, or understanding as Arrigale and assorted coaches spoke to him. It wasn’t anything overly negative and it more likely spawned from his competitive nature, but you never know who is watching and how those people might interpret these types of behaviors. My advice would be this. You’re better off just accepting the coach’s decision, for right or wrong he has the best interest of the team at hand. Tony seems like a good kid, so I think as he gets older he’ll better understand how to handle these types of situations. Another impressive Saint and player that just wears on you for his solid play is jr. PG Tyreek Duren. Earlier I read Ted’s report on the North/Bonner game and how North’s jr. PG Woody Redding had 6 assists to one turnover in the game. Duren was even a little better than that for the Saints, as he notched eight assists to just one turnover in this one. This kid plays at such a calm pace and mostly always makes the right decision. He also added 10 points (2-for-3 on 3’s), 6 rebounds, and 3 steals. Stewart scored 8 points and grabbed 9 rebounds. Gillette made 3-of-5 shots for 6 points and had a pair of steals. He oddly only grabbed two rebounds. Jr. WG Mustafaa Jones struggled shooting the ball, but contributed four apiece of assists and rebounds. The Saints went 25-47 (52.3%) from the field and had 18 assists on these baskets. The Vikings were definitely more competitive than the final score indicates, but just ran into a buzz-saw in the second half. With only two seniors in their rotation, one would think that they can make decent noise a year from now. Then again, N-G only has one senior in their top six too. At the high school level you never know what can happen in a year’s time, so we’ll see what transpires. Their leader today was the improving-by-the-day Dougherty. He scored 17 points, including a couple of treys. His ball-handling and range seem to get better with each outing. He also managed 4 rebounds and 2 assists. No other Viking reached double-figures. Jr. F Brian O’Grady grabbed 12 rebounds. You just got to love how this kid goes after it. Soph. PG Joe Getz only scored 4 points and had a difficult time finding space for quality looks, but he did grab 6 rebounds and deal 6 assists. Others to contribute were: Fahy (4 rebounds, two 3’s), sr. F Sean McCartney (7 points, 3 boards, and 2 steals) who provided energy/toughness off the bench, and jr. 6’5” F Doug Macrone, who made both his shots from the arc. Much credit goes out to interim Head Coach Sean Tait, who did an excellent job with this team this season. Long-time Head Coach/AD Joe Sette took a sabbatical this past season. Sette is now a prominent member for District-12 in the PIAA, so we’ll see what happens on this front as time passes. The Catholic League semifinals will feature the four teams that have played the best all season. On Wednesday night North-Neumann-Goretti will play at 7 o’clock, while Carroll-Roman will follow at approximately 8:30. This should be an exciting and competitive night of high school hoops at the Palestra.

FEB. 14
CATHOLIC LEAGUE QUARTERFINAL
Carroll 51, West Catholic 48
  Upon arriving at Cardinal O’Hara for this PCL Quarterfinal between Carroll and West, I immediately paid a visit to the Burr locker room to get a sense of the team’s mind-set. The Burrs were huddled up and getting ready to head on out for pre-game warmups as I walked in, when I inexplicably noticed that Head Coach Bill Ludlow wasn’t with the team. Must be in the bathroom, right? Nope! This is when assistant coach Mike Bradley informed me that Ludlow was not here and home sick. Yikes!!! I was told that Ludlow pretty much ran yesterday’s practice sitting down and overnight his ailment became much worse and he was bedridden with a fever of 103 degrees. As the game began it appeared that assistant Marlon Belfon was running the team, but more than likely Bradley and fellow assistant Greg McCleary joined him for a committee approach. Early on it looked like it was going to be a long day for the Burrs as Carroll, behind soph. 6’3” PG Juan’ya Green’s 11 first quarter points (3-for-3 on 3’s), grabbed a 19-10 lead. Midway through the second they expanded their advantage to 26-12 and were seemingly in control. Suddenly, West found their energy and behind the quickness of their backcourt, soph. PG Aquil Younger and sr. WR Rob Hollomon, they began to make headway. The Burrs would end the quarter with 13 straight points to claw within 26-25. To begin the third quarter sr. 6’7” F Ade Barek scored in tight off of two feeds from sr. WG Haleem Hayward to give West seventeen straight points and a 29-26 lead. We have a ballgame! The teams would only be separated by two of three points pretty much the rest of the way. Carroll did go up 46-42 on a right-corner trey by jr. CG DJ Irving, off a feed from Green, with 2:04 left. Still, Carroll would not be able to shake the pesky Burrs as the game wound down. Let’s head to the final 26 seconds of play with Carroll holding a 47-46 lead. Sr. 6’5” F Kasheef Festus missed the front-end of a one-and-one. West chose not to call timeout and Younger got into the lane and attempted a semi-wild, contested shot that missed. Barek was able to pull down the offensive rebound, but his momentum pushed him away from the basket and his attempt went wayward. Irving secured the rebound and was fouled with 12 second left. He too missed the front-end of a one-and-one. Then, as Barek collected the rebound he was fouled by Festus, his fifth, with ten seconds left. Now, it was Barek’s turn at a one-and-one opportunity with a chance to tie and possibly take the lead. However, his attempt was straight, but backed-rimmed to Green, who was fouled immediately. Green would go on to make both freebies for a 49-46 lead. As West scurried up court Carroll Head Coach Paul Romanczuk summoned his team to take a foul so West couldn’t attempt a potential tying three-pointer. Irving fouled Hollomon has he crossed half-court with 4.7 on the clock. Hollomon made both to move the Burrs within one. Afterwards, Green was again fouled with 3.7 on the clock. He connected on the first for a 50-48 lead, but missed the second. West called timeout after securing the miss with 2.9 left. After the timeout Hayward was to inbound the ball on the left-side and quickly threw back to Younger who had stepped back out of bounds on the right-side. Uh-oh! West called timeout after a missed shot and therefore this is an illegal play. If the timeout was called after a basket or made foul shot, then it would have been fine to try this. I have often seen West and other teams do this over time. Anyhow, the ball went back to Carroll and for all intents and purposes ended any Burr hopes of pulling off the upset. Carroll’s sr. F Andre Wilburn was fouled after the Pats took over. He made the first for a three-point cushion, and then missed the second. Hayward rebounded, but his length-of-the-court heave fell well short. Obviously, the late-game lapse on the out-of-bounds play was unfortunate, but that sole moment should not take away from the commendable job the entire Burr staff did in Ludlow’s absence. Being around the team as much as I am, I’ll say this about his replacements. The player substitutions were consistent with what they have done all year, the using of timeouts was fine, and the adjustments made throughout the game were solid. Remember this team trailed by fourteen points at one time, but fought back and played hard throughout. Coach Ludlow has much to be proud of! Carroll was led by Green’s 17 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists. After scoring eleven quick points he saved his final six for the second half of the fourth quarter. All were important! Festus was the only other Pat to reach double-figures with 10 points (5-for-9 FG’s). He also battled for 9 rebounds. Wilburn contributed 8 points, 13 rebounds, and 2 blocks. He was force on the offensive glass where he grabbed eight. Irving was next with 8 points, 5 assists, and 4 rebounds. As mentioned earlier Irving did knock down a huge three-pointer. This trey stopped a streak of eleven straight misses (7 in 4th quarter) from the arc for Carroll.  Jr. F Ben Mingledough chipped in with 6 points, 4 boards, and 2 assists. Carroll was woeful from the line going 8-for-20 in the game, including a 6-of-12 showing in the final quarter. One strong area for the Pats was on the offensive glass where they grabbed 21 for the game. This helped them out-rebound the Burrs 43-to-33. For West, three players reached double figures; Younger (14), R. Hollomon (12), and Barek (12). Barek was very effective in the game and also posted solid rebounding and block numbers with ten and five, respectively. Younger added 5 rebounds and 4 assists in the game. Hayward contributed 7 boards and 3 assists. Sr. F Brandon Williamson grabbed 4 rebounds. West attempted 45 shots in the game. All of them came from the starters. R. Hollomon, Younger, and Hayward each attempted ten, while Barek had eleven attempts. Williamson managed the remaining four. The game was played at Cardinal O’Hara and during the national anthem I roughly counted about 125 people attendance. Maybe, it doubled as the game moved along. Beforehand I ran into McDevitt Head Coach Jack Rutter and told him that Ludlow was not available. He quickly quipped, “I’ll coach.” Ha ha. Rutter and Ludlow are good buddies. Rutter even coached the West JV under Ludlow.

FEB. 11
CL BLUE FIRST ROUND PLAYOFF
West Catholic 50, Dougherty 45
  Tonight, the Burrs accomplished something they haven’t done in ten seasons - win a Catholic League playoff basketball game! The last time West tasted victory in the CL second season came in the semifinals of the 1999 campaign. That year the Burrs bested La Salle to reach the Catholic League finals, where they ultimately fell to Roman, who was led by the late Eddie Griffin. Ironically, that Burr team was headlined by a couple of first-year assistants for Head Coach Bill Ludlow; Marlon Belfon and Greg McCleary. Since that point the Burrs have made just three playoff appearances (’00, ’04, ’05), falling each time in the first round. In this one West held a slight lead just about throughout, but never really were able to shake the pesky Cardinals. The opening half was mostly played in a deliberate, half-court set by both teams. It was rare to see anyone get out on the break or into the open.  I suspect some nerves played a part. West led, 18-16, after 16 minutes of play. Eventually the Burrs carried a seven-point advantage into the fourth quarter. They maintained that lead over the first half of the frame, but with 4:30 left suffered a blow when cat-quick soph. PG Aquil Younger fouled out. The score was 38-29 West. I instantly thought that Dougherty would increase the pressure and without Younger the Burrs could be in for some issues. The Cardinals did do that, but initially the Burrs pushed their lead out even further, and once led 43-32. Thanks to some hot shooting the Cardinals were able to inch closer over the final minutes, but never drew closer than 46-42 in the final 10 seconds. From here sr. WG Rob Hollomon and sr. 6’7” F Ade Barek deposited a pair of free throws each. Dougherty’s jr. G Dawan Earle hit a last-second trey to give us our final. Leading the way for West was R. Hollomon, who scored 13 of his game-high 19 points in the final stanza. And you have to be pleased with the manner in which he achieved his points. Not only did he convert both of his field goal attempts, but he went 9-of-10 from the line, including his final six. The charity stripe hasn’t always been kind to this kid, but tonight he displayed excellent focus and hit some critical freebies that ultimately sent the Burrs into the quarterfinals. Prior to fouling out Younger added 10 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 assists. Barek had some shaky moments in the first half, but played a strong second half. He scored 7 of his 9 points after the intermission, while adding 9 rebounds and 6 blocks. Sr. WG Haleem Hayward only took four shots and wasn’t much of a factor in the scoring column, but like always did many of the little things with 10 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals. He also played great defense on Dougherty’s second leading scorer jr. F Brandon Brown (1-for-11 FG’s, 5 points). West was only 3-for-9 from the line prior to the fourth quarter, but went a respectable 14-for-20 in the final eight minutes. For Dougherty, jr. PG Brandyn Wims was solid with 18 points and 3 assists. He shot 6-for-10 (3-of-5 on 3’s) from the floor. The ten shots was probably about five too few for his team tonight. However, I thought he did a good job of not forcing things, especially since West pretty much ran two people at him throughout the second half to get the ball out of his hands. It was obvious they didn’t want him to beat them. In the first half he came around three high screens and knocked down back-to-back-to-back treys. Brown led in the rebounding department with 11. No other Dougherty player reached double-digits. Earle was next with 7 points. Sr. F Norman Dorsey-Poles (6 pts, 4 rebounds) had some active moments, while soph. G Christian Gibbs (3 steals) and jr. Art Comas (4 rebounds) were active in those stat areas. West outrebounded the Cardinals 34-to-23. The game was played at Carroll and overall the crowd was sparse. However, one interesting development did occur when about 15 or so Dougherty students set up shop directly behind the West bench upon arriving two or three minutes into the game. Yes, the Looney Bin travels to Radnor. If I had a word to sum of this crew’s outing it would be annoying. Hey, I have no problem with kids cheering on their team or even having some good-natured fun with the opponent. However, these guys crossed the line for the simple fact that they were directly behind the West bench and yelling into their huddle during timeouts. Meanwhile, two Dougherty administrators sat idly across the gym and did nothing. Finally, Ludlow had enough and asked for someone to do something about it in the final seconds. Carroll’s AD Fran Murphy came over and settled down the loonies. Oh, yeah, Dougherty’s administrators just sat back like they had first row seats at the NBA All-Star game and continued to do nothing. Kudos! To close out the festivities the loonies continued their clueless ways with the chant, “Here comes Neumann, here comes Neumann…..” Ahem, the Burrs' next opponent will be Carroll. Back to the drawing board, fellas, smile!

FEB. 6
CL BLUE
West Catholic 45, Wood 37
  It was Senior Night and the regular season finale for the Burrs (Wood will close out their season on Sunday afternoon at home against Carroll) and they more than likely needed this victory for psyche purposes. The Burrs entered the game (0-5) against the three teams currently sitting in front of them (Also, N-G and Carroll). So, the win should be a nice boost to their confidence. It also gave them a chance to capture third place in the Blue division. For that to happen they’ll need Carroll to beat Wood Sunday and then be on the lucky side of the ever popular coin flip. A strong first quarter involving three usually non-starters went along way in helping West garner this win. Sr. WG Haleem “Peanut” Hayward and sr. 6’7” F Ade “London” Barek were the two familiar faces on the floor. The other three spots were occupied by sr’s 6’5” F Dwayne Shaw, WG Matt Bush, and WG Brandon Williamson, who typically serve as reserves for Head Coach Bill Ludlow. Sr. WG Rob Hollomon, the team’s leading scorer, and his brother soph. WG Brandon Hollomon, were both out of school on Thursday and missed practice. A team rule prevents anyone who misses practice the day before a game to start in that game. Also, soph. PG Aquil Younger admirably offered to give up his starting spot to a senior in this final home game. Nice gesture! The starting five for the Burrs played the entire first stanza and did a solid job winning the quarter 13-11. In that quarter the Burrs made five buckets and got four assists from four different players. Nice! Wood may have had a brief, early lead, but the Burrs pretty much led from beginning-to-end. However, they never actually experienced serious breathing room until the third quarter, when they outscored the Vikings 15-8 in the frame. West entered the final quarter leading 37-26. The action over this final stanza was sluggish and more sluggish. Wood had some opportunities to claw back via multiple West turnovers, but they often turned the ball over themselves or misfired from distance. The closest they would get would be 39-33 on a soph. PG Joe Getz right-wing trey with roughly three minutes remaining. West would secure the win when R. Hollomon and Hayward each connected on a pair of free throws in the latter stages. The most impressive Burr was Barek, who probably played his most complete game of the year. He finished with 10 points (5-of-7 FG’s), a game-high 14 rebounds, and 2 steals. On the interior he managed just one block, but contested or altered a handful of others. He was very active in the game, but under control and well-positioned too. For someone who has watched this kid compete all year, I saw a lot of little things that haven’t always been evident. Hey, you have to start somewhere and this outing is definitely something to build upon. The next Burr who had the most influence on the game was Younger, whose arrival in the second quarter paid off immediate dividends. Younger is often the quickest player in the court and tonight was no different. He made 4 of his 6 steals and scored 7 of his 12 points in the second quarter. He did have some turnover problems in the game, but overall was a thorn in the Vikings side throughout the final three quarter. He also skied for 8 rebounds and added 2 assists. R. Hollomon never really got on track and finished just 1-for-7 (6 points) from the floor. However, he did deposit all four of his free throws in the game during the second half. West as a team has struggled from the not-so-charity-stripe this season, but tonight they went 6-for-6 in the final quarter and a respectable 12-for-17 for the game. Conversely, Wood shot just two free throws in the game. Much of this can be attributed to that they settled for many perimeter jumpers. Also, chipping in for the Burrs was Hayward with 6 points and 6 rebounds, Bush scored 5 early points (trey), and Williamson added 6 points. Prior to writing this I read Wood’s student reporter Tom Zulewski’s report and he mentioned that he thought the Vikings were in a listless, un-energized state of mind. I concur! With that being said, the Burrdome can be a tough place to play, especially for a team that likes to spread the floor like Wood. The smaller confines forces teams to play quicker and make quicker decisions, and in my opinion, this isn’t a nature of basketball that would be conducive to how Wood wants to play. Leading the way for the Vikes was jr. 6’7” F Fran Dougherty, who has made vast improvement from last year to now. I really like how this kid is progressing and I think further improvement is in the works. He led Wood with 12 points (6-for-13 FG’s), while adding 5 rebounds and 2 assists. If I had a concern about his game at the moment it would lie in being more of a factor on the glass and as a defensive presence in the lane. Wood’s other four starters are all under 6’1”, so he’s needed in this area, but there is plenty of time to improve on this. Getz offers savvy and some brass for the Vikings and he was next with 11 points, 5 assists, and 2 steals. Jr. F Brian O’Grady (6 points) is usually a force on the glass, but tonight settled for just 7. Of course, this isn’t a terrible number by any stretch, but I believed he pulled 18 or 19 in the last meeting. Sr. WG Tim Fahy never found that comfort zone from distance. He finished with 5 points, 4 steals, and 2 assist. Wood was just 2-for-18 from the arc. The teams combined to go 3-for-25 from distance and had 40 turnovers between them. The Burrs and the Vikings will settle in the third of fourth spots and most likely play Conwell-Egan or Dougherty. The possibility of a Dougherty/Lansadale Catholic tie for sixth place still exists. But LC will need a Dougherty loss at C-E and an even more daunting task of beating N-G down in South Philly on Sunday afternoon.

FEB. 2
CL BLUE
West Catholic 66, Kennedy-Kenrick 50
  The Burrs came out swarming on both ends of the court and this propelled them to a commanding 16-0 lead just halfway through the first quarter.  Offensively, they were getting not good, but great looks, all the while sharing the rock. They went onto hit 11 of their first 14 shots in the first quarter, as seven different Burrs scored in the opening frame. Defensively, the Wolverines had difficulty just getting the ball over half-court. West made six steals and forced 11 turnovers (25 for the game) in that opening quarter. By the time the first eight minutes of play had subsided, the Burrs lead comfortably, 26-7. The final three quarters wouldn’t be anything to write home about for either club, though Sure, K-K continued to battle and had some gritty type moments, but West either got disinterested, or maybe came back to earth a little, so sluggish play was commonplace. The Wolverines would never get the deficit under double-digits, but they did put forth a commendable effort for a full 32 minutes and that’s always good to see. In fact, after the first quarter K-K outscored West 43-to-40. West placed three players in double-figures and was led by sr. WG Rob Hollomon with 17 points. Early in the game he played torturous on-the-ball defense, which led to some easy lay-ups off pilfers. He finished with 4 steals, 3 assists, and 3 boards in the other stat columns. Sr. WG Haleem Hayward was next with 14 points and added 6 rebounds. Soph. G Brandon Hollomon scored 10 points and had 3 assists. Additionally, soph. PG Aquil Younger mixed 7 points, 6 assists, 3 boards, and 2 steals. Sr. 6’7” F Ade Barek grabbed 6 rebounds. Others who contributed were sr. WG Brandon Williamson (4 boards) with 6 points, jr. F Kiwan Murray with 6 points, and sr. 6’5” F Dwayne Shaw with 4 rebounds. K-K was paced by jr. F Dave Tornetta (5-for-7 FG’s) with 14 points and 8 rebounds. Sr. F Brad Miller scored 9 points, hauled in 9 rebounds, and dealt 3 assists. Sr. F Alex Byrne hustled for 12 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals. Jr. PG Rob Griffith scored 8 points (2 treys), had 3 assists, and made 2 steals. The Burrs will end their regular reason at home versus Wood this Friday night. A win here, combined with another Wood loss against Carroll on Sunday, will give the Burrs a chance at third place. Of course, if both teams finish with identical records, then a coin flip will decide the third and fourth spots.

JAN. 30
CL BLUE
Carroll 60, West Catholic 48
  The Patriots captured their seventh straight win and eighteenth in nineteen tries this season behind a convincing 18-4 third quarter. Earlier the Pats jumped out to a 12-2 lead to begin the game, but the Burrs would fight back. Soph. PG Aquil Younger, who played an efficient and spirited first half, scored on a driving lay-up with under ten seconds left in the opening half. This tied the score at 23-23. After the bucket Pats soph PG Juan’ya Green drove upcourt and scored on a shot just inside the foul line at the buzzer. Little did the Burrs know, but this would be the beginning of the end. West only had three teams fouls at the time and I wondered to myself if taking one on Green as he scurried upcourt would have been wise. Sure, a two-point halftime deficit is hardly Mt. Everest in the overcoming department, but I’d have to think going into the locker room tied would have done more for West’s psyche. When the third quarter started it was all Carroll, as they methodically pulled away from West. Green hit a pair of treys in the stanza, including a buzzer-beater to end the quarter from the top of the key. This gave Carroll a commanding 43-27 advantage. West would draw within double-digits in the final quarter, but never really threatened. Leading the way for the Pats was sr. 6’3” WG Andre Wilburn. This kid is a solid player, but he really seems to save his best games for the Burrs. Tonight, he scored 20 points (7-for-11 FG’s, 2-of-3 on 3’s) and grabbed 11 rebounds. Both were game highs. He did a very good job of allowing things to come to him and taking what the Burrs presented. Green was next with 15 points. With Villanova assistant coach Pat Chambers in the house this kid continues to impress. I wouldn’t say he was exceptional from start to finish, but was solid throughout, and often delivered a dagger or two as mentioned earlier. He went 6-of-11 (2-for-3 on treys) from the field and mixed 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. I don’t think he’s even close to a finished product yet, and that’s what makes his potential so attention-grabbing. He really plays the game at a solid pace for a young player. Steady jr. CG DJ Irving fished with 14 points. He converted 5-of-6 from the line in the final quarter and added 3 assists. Bullish sr. 6’5” F Kasheef Festus was complimentary with 8 points. Jr. 6’3” handyman Ben Mingledough contributed 4 rebounds and 3 assists, while playing strong defense on the other end. For West, Younger finished with 21 points (8-for-11 FG’s, 2-of-3 on 3’s) and 4 steals, but no other Burr produced much of anything. Younger was exceptional in the open court and assorted forays to the rim. Sr. WG Rob Hollomon entered the game as the Blue division’s leading scorer at over 18 a game. In an earlier game this year versus Carroll he poured in 37. Tonight, was extremely difficult for him, though, as he managed just 2 points on a 1-for-8 showing from the floor. Carroll did a great job of suffocating him whenever he had the ball. The length of Carroll’s guards gave him fits, as he often found himself caught in tight places. There will be better days ahead, I’m sure. Sr. 6’7” F Ade Barek had a productive first half on the defensive end. He did a solid job in protecting the rim for the Burrs and blocked 4 of his 5 shots in that opening half. However, when the Burrs fell behind they needed to go smaller and his tick in the second half diminished. Sr. WG Haleem Hayward struggled with his shot, but did battle for 9 rebounds and dealt 3 assists. Carroll’s gym is currently undergoing some renovations, so everyone was forced to sit on one side of the gym. The same side as the teams and scorer’s table. Hey, it made for a decent sized crowd. Well, if you blocked out the emptiness from across yonder it did. Smile!

JAN. 26
CL BLUE
West Catholic 62, Lansdale Catholic 61
  The Burrs did lead from start to finish and even had a 10- or 11-point advantage during the fourth quarter, but when this contest concluded one had the sense that given a morsel of more time, the Crusaders might have stolen one. With the Burrs struggling from the charity stripe (8-for-15) in the fourth quarter, LC was able to connect on some deep, contested treys to inch closer and closer as the final moments started to wind down. Their final trey came courtesy of jr. WG Mike Barr from deep on the right wing. After the ball fell through, I looked at the clock and saw roughly 5.8 seconds. However, the Crusaders were out of timeouts and could only helplessly watch as West never had to inbound the ball. The referee didn’t beginning counting until sr. WG Haleem Hayward picked the ball up with just under four seconds left and that was she wrote. Overall, this was a good contest, with a fair share of entertaining moments. The Burrs were an efficient 24-for-44 (54.4%) from the field. Sr. WG Rob Hollomon used an assortment of drives and scoop shots to lead West with 22 points (9-for-18 FG’s). He also had 5 assists and 2 steals. Hayward continued his fine play with 16 points (6-of-9 FG’s, 2 treys), 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 steals. He was very relaxed and under control tonight. Sr. 6’7” F Ade Barek had some very good moments before fouling out. He made 4-of-5 shots (9 points) from the field, which included a nice two-handed slam. He also added 9 rebounds and 2 blocks. He played very much within himself during this game and didn’t try to over-do things when opportunities arose.  Soph. PG Aquil Younger had some careless turnovers, but overall put forth a nice line with 10 points, 5 assists, 5 steals, 4 rebounds, and even 4 blocks. Sr. WG Brandon Williamson provided some quality minutes off the bench with 5 points and 5 rebounds. For LC, Barr scored 14 of his team-high 18 points in the second half, which included a 4-for-4 showing from distance. He also added 3 apiece of assists and steals. Leading scorer, sr. WG Brendan Stanton was hounded all night by Hollomon early, then Hayward late. He still got his share of shots off, but was only able to connect on 7-of -23 for 16 points. A lefty, this kid does a good job of constantly moving and has a fair amount of athleticism that allows him to create his own shot. Sr. PG Liam Coyne was next with 13 points. He seemed to provide a spark just at the right time during the game, often preventing West from increasing their lead. Sr. F Christian Reed displayed bully-like moments and really was a thorn in the sides of the Burrs. He finished with 10 points and 13 rebounds (7 offensive) with 8 & 8 coming in the opening half. Jr. F Pat O’Hara hustled for 7 rebounds and 2 assists. This was my first trip to Lansdale and for the most part I enjoyed it. The gym has a cozy feel to it and there was a good crowd on hand for a Monday night. But…….There just needs to be a way to start games earlier. Eight o’clock on a Monday night, a school night, is just extremely too late when you consider how far teams have to travel. It’s roughly 30 miles from West to Lansdale. At the end of the game I got out of there right away and still didn’t get home until 10:15. I’m sure the team didn’t get back to West until after 10:30. Now, take into account that parents are waiting in an empty parking lot, or worse, a player has to jump on public transportation to get home from that point. Not good! And this isn’t a shot at just the Lansdale people because it’s equally as unfair for them to have to travel to Neumann-Goretti or Dougherty for a weekday 8 o’clock game. Friday nights are OK, but if you’re going to choose to play weekday night games, then please, do everyone a favor and at least implement a 5:30 (JV), 7:00 (Varsity) start time. If not, then play the games on Sunday afternoons. Maybe, change will come about after this season. Of course, this is the first year of the Red/Blue alignment in hoops. There are a lot of unfamiliar destinations on the schedule these days and maybe a few of these late-night experiences will lead to positive/sensible change. Thanks for listening, smile!

JAN. 23
CL BLUE
Neumann-Goretti 74, West Catholic 61
  Sorry for the delay everyone, but the wedding planning stuff has commenced. And even though the fiancé is a Goretti alum, that still wasn’t a good enough reason to keep the report from the back burner for a little while. Ha ha! I’m quickly learning that Puck isn’t the only one in my life that gets the final word. Smile! Anyhow, I have to admit, but this statman earned his keep tonight. This baby was played at a high octane pace, featuring all kinds of drives and forays towards the basket. There was much spirit and the occasional barking between the clubs, and for the most part it made for an entertaining, if not wild evening for most. The Burrdome is a snug place to say the least, so when you put ten athletes of this caliber on the court at the same time, then things can’t help but be chaotic.  Don’t let the 9-8 (West lead) score after the first quarter mislead you. Slowed paced this was not! The teams combined for 33 shots in the opening stanza, with only seven actually falling through. Eventually, in the second quarter, the Saints would begin to find their mark. A 24-11 second stanza propelled them to a 32-20 halftime lead. It could have been a lot worse for the Burrs, but they scored five quick points in the last 30 seconds leading up to half. Jr. G Tony Chennault was a one-man fast-break lay-up machine, as he scored 15 points in the session. West finished the first half just 6-for-27 from the field. Numerous lay-ups and close-to-the-basket attempts either came up short, spun out, or were just severely butchered. The second half was equally as much a speedway as the first, but the teams did begin to execute a little more frequently. The teams combined for 83 points (42-41 N-G) after the intermission. The Saints kept the Burrs at arm’s length for the most part, though. A critical sequence came in the early stages of the fourth. Chennault and jr. 6’6” F Daniel Stewart had just returned after spending the first minutes of the fourth quarter saddled to the bench with four fouls apiece. A lead that was once 17 points had been trimmed to seven, with West having possession. However, a missed trey led to a fast-break opportunity for the Saints. Zooming down court Chennault accepted a pass just inside the foul line as West’s sr. CG Haleem Hayward reached from behind and fouled him. An intentional foul was called and from my vantage point it was an extremely shaky call, especially when you consider how the game was played throughout. Hayward may have slightly tugged at Chennault’s jersey with his left hand, but his right paw was all over the ball. It was definitely a foul, but of the intentional variety? I have to question that. Afterwards, Chennault canned one of two freebies. Then, right off the in-bounds jr. WG Mustafaa Jones (5 assists) hit a trey from the left wing off a feed from jr. PG Tyrek Duren. This pushed the lead to eleven points and the Burrs never threatened again. The unquestioned leader for the Saints is Chennault, who was very instrumental in righting the ship for his club in that second quarter. He finished with 21 points (9-for-16 FG’s), 10 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals. He’s very fearless in the open court and taking the ball to the rack, where he thrived tonight. Though Chennault’s the leader, their best player in this game was probably Duren. I just loved how he played with sense and control is such wild environment. He really had an idea of when to go and when to pull it back a notch of two. He scored 13 of his 20 points (8-for-15 FG’s) in the second half and many of them were huge. All three of his assist came in the final quarter. He also hustled for 10 rebounds and 3 steals. Stewart also finished in double-figures with 13 points, which featured three emphatic slams. This kid loves to get to the front of the rim for assorted lobs. Sr. 6’8” C Andre "Scooter" Gillette managed 7 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 blocks. He altered many others as well. Soph. PG Lamin Fulton serves as the Saints sixth man and wasn’t much of a factor in the opening half. However, he scored 8 points late, including a pair of back-breaking treys when West was trying to claw back closer. Freshman 6’4” F Derrick Stewart, younger bro’ of Daniel, saw some important time in the game. He possesses an active body and was able to grab four rebounds. For West, Hayward had a strong all-around game with 15 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 assists. As usually he continues to do many of the little things. Sr. WG Rob Hollomon led all West scorers with 16 points (7-for-18 FG’s), while adding 4 boards and 3 steals. He did find operating room difficult and this led to a few ill-advised shots. Soph. PG Aquil Younger was next with 11 points, 6 assists, 6 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. At times this youngster shows flashes of brilliance, but still has moments of growing pains during games. He’s very adept at beating defenders off the dribble, slashing his way through the lane, and even getting near the rim. He just needs to finish better. Part of the problem is that he gets a little cute with the ball prior to releasing it, like with unnecessary twists, twirls, or spins. If, when, he improves upon this part of his game, then we’ll being to see more complete player. Sr. F 6’7” Ade Barek played hard and competed with N-G’s inside people. He ended up with 13 rebounds and 2 blocks. Still, he continues to struggle with putting the ball in the basket. Tonight, he only scored one point and missed all eight of his field goal attempts. Yes, a few were contested with good defense, but many were just rushed and wildly tossed at the basket. For the Burrs to have any kind of success in the second season he’ll need to do a better job of finishing amd becoming a more consistent contributor in the scoring column. Soph. WG Brandon Hollomon had some nice moments and score 9 points off the bench for West, while sr. 6’5” F Dwayne Shaw grabbed 5 rebounds. West really hurt their chances with a miserable showing from the charity stripe (17-for-34). Compound that was the missed layups and one can only wonder how much closer this game could have been. West finished 20-for-62 from the floor, while the Saints were 30-for-63. Yes, 125 combined shots! There were also 48 total fouls, which led to 54 free throws. Interestingly, the turnovers were not overly abundant when you consider the nature of the game, as there were only a total of 27 miscues, with the Burrs committing one more than the Saints.

JAN. 21
CL BLUE
West Catholic 65, McDevitt 41
  This one was moved up to 5:30 because another school-related group wished to use McDevitt’s gym in the early evening. On top of that, it’s exam week in the catholic league, so the school day for most had ended by mid-morning. Students galore this place was not! So, when sidekick Matt “Cauls” McCauley and I entered the gym midway through the fourth quarter of the JV game, it didn’t take long to get that barren feel running through us. Maybe, there were 30 people in the gym at that time. It did ascend somewhat for the varsity, but elbow room for everyone was available. That’s ok, though, because I took little issue traveling to Wyncote on a Wednesday night much earlier than the conventional time.  In fact, just go ahead and make it a yearly occurrence! Smile! Ok, another quick side-note before I get into game stuff.  On our way up to the game I received a call from West chief Bill Ludlow to let me know to disregard a voice mail he had left me. For some reason I hadn’t received the message to begin with, but he had asked if I would stop by West to pick up one of his players. Of course, I would have, but Billy had told me that the player in question, sr. CG Haleem “PEANUT” Hayward, was nowhere to be found around school despite repeated attempts over the loudspeaker. Once arriving to the game we situated ourselves directly behind the JV’s bench and I asked a couple of players if Haleem had showed. The answer was no, but moments later the wayward Hayward (Smile!) indeed appeared. Apparently, he had misheard the correct reporting time and when he did eventually show up at West, the team had already left to ensure the 4 o’clock JV start would be met. Perfecting skills commonly exhibited by Tom “Puck” McKenna (He was here too, but more on that later.), Peanut high-tailed public transportation to get to the game. Um, West and McDevitt aren’t exactly around the corner, so you have to appreciate the hustle, right? How many kids would have just gone home? And for the Burrs' sake, they should feel fortunate he did show. Midway through the second quarter the Lancers were battling, as well as displaying some nuisance-like qualities. A basket by sr. F Courtney Havens-Dobbs and a trey from sr. WG Mike Palmero on consecutive possessions forged an 18-18 tie. It didn’t last for long, though. Behind a couple of triples from Hayward, the Burrs scored the last ten points of the half. From here the contest was never in question. West started the second half by scoring the first eight points and by this point they had doubled up the Lancers, 36-18. It would later balloon to the upper twenties. I don’t think Ludlow wants the reliable and steady Hayward to make a habit of it, but you can’t argue with the results. He scored 12 points and made every shot he took (4-for-4 FG’s, 2 treys, 2-of-2 FT’s). He also added 3 boards, 2 blocks, and 2 steals in just 13 minutes of play. At the top of the scoring column was sr. WG Rob Hollomon (10-for-18, one trey) with 21 points. He also added 4 steals and three apiece of assists and rebounds. No other Burr scored in double-digits, but plenty contributed in an assortment of ways. Soph. PG Aquil Younger (7 rebounds, 4 assists) and sr. WG Brandon Williamson (6 boards, 4 steals, & 2 assists) each scored 9 points. Sr. 6’7” F Ade Barek had some late-game success and contributed 7 rebounds and 3 blocks. Sr. WG Matt Bush made three steals. In the late going one of the more reserved Burrs, sr. F Larry “Buckets” Brown showed a side of himself few have rarely seen. After taking a right-elbow jumper, Brown exclaimed “Buckets” as the ball was in flight. Of course, this prompted Ludlow to inquire in a puzzling manner, “Did he just say buckets? Was that Larry?” Well, lo-and-behold, it was! And don’t you know that after front-rimming, caroming off the backboard, the ball did in fact tickle-the-twine. On my way home I got another call from Ludlow telling me that Buckets received some cube-busting (Stole that from Ted) afterwards and his teammates asked if I’d give him the nickname in my report. Done! The likeable Buckets also hustled for 7 rebounds and 2 assists while in the game. For McDevitt, Head Coach Jack Rutter was hoping his club would be able to piggyback off Sunday’s win against Lansdale Catholic. However, even though effort was there for the most part his team just couldn’t match the Burrs' overall quickness. Palmero (3 steals) canned four treys to lead the Lancers with 12 points. Sr. G Linburg Green canned 7-of-8 freebies, mostly in the latter stages, and was next with 9 points. Leading scorer soph. G Reggie Charles had trouble finding a rhythm and managed just 4 points. He did contribute 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and two each of steals and blocks. Soph. G Matt Conroy hustled for 5 boards, 3 steals, and 2 assists. Havens-Dobbs (3 steals, 3 boards) scored all 8 of his points in the first half. Jr. F Sean Maguire grabbed 5 rebounds. The teams combined for an unpleasant 41 turnovers! Ok, now onto Puck. His Pucklehead showed up near halftime. Why was he here? Then again, why ask? A bevy of brilliant scientists couldn’t figure this character out. Of course, yours truly got the honor of driving him to his next destination. Did he ask in typical human being fashion? Nah, he just simply followed me to my car. Sure Tom, help yourself! “Yo, which way you go?” I’m going to Lincoln Drive, Puck. “Ok, take me Lincoln Dwive.” Well, Lincoln Drive turned into 33rd & Market, yes, a stone’s throw from his ultimate destination of the Palestra to catch the St. Joe’s-Duquesne game. The most refreshing part of this story is that the St. Joe’s game went to overtime, so it was comforting to know that some other unfortunate soul had to put in extra duty in amusing the Crown Jewel of Wackos! Smile!!!

JAN. 16
CL BLUE
West Catholic 61, Conwell-Egan 52
  For three quarters the teams competed in a seesaw affair that saw neither squad lead by more than five points at any given time. Entering the fourth quarter the Eagles held a slim one-point advantage (41-40) and looked to be primed to push the Burrs to the limit. However, West began the quarter with an 11-2 spurt, including eight straight at the tail end of this run to establish just enough distance to fend off the Eagles. The closest C-E would draw from here was 56-50, on a right-wing trey by jr. WG Andrew Schaefer at 50 seconds. Afterwards, West sr. CG Haleem “P-Nut” Hayward canned three of four freebies to seal the deal. Each team entered the game with (4-4) league records, so with the victory the Burrs were able to grab at least a temporarily hold of the fourth spot in the CL Blue. The most defining moment came midway through the fourth quarter with West leading 47-43. On consecutive possessions the Burrs converted C-E miscues into layups. Hayward and sr. WG Rob Hollomon did the honors, with both coming via a soph. PG Aquil Younger assist. Another reason the Burrs were able to secure to the win was because of timely execution from the foul line. Not always a kind area for the Burrs. Smile! Behind Hayward’s (5-for-6) and R. Hollomon’s (3-for-4) marksmanship, the Burrs were able to go 9-of-11 in the final stanza. Very solid! Leading the way for West was R. Hollomon with 19 points (7-for-15 FG’s), with all coming from the second quarter on, including 15 in the second half. He also had three apiece of assists and rebounds, while adding 2 steals. His brother soph. WG Brandon Hollomon got his first start of the season and instantaneously the move paid off dividends. Inserted for his offensive mindset and quickness, he scored 8 quick points, which included a pair of treys. He ended with 10 points. Hayward added 11 points and 10 rebounds. On the other end he did a great job on C-E headliner sr. 6’5” F Jonas Skovdal by forcing him into a 5-for-18 shooting performance. Also contributing for the Burrs was sr. 6’7” F Ade Barek, who more than likely put forth his best half of the year over the final sixteen minutes. After just one missed shot in the first half, he converted all four of his tries after the intermission and scored 9 key points. He also snatched 8 of his game-high 12 rebounds in the second half. There were many positives to build upon in his performance. Younger only scored 4 points, but managed 4 assists and as many steals. Sr. WG Brandon Williamson made 3-of-4 field goal attempts in the first half for all of his six points. Leading the Eagles was jr. WG Isaac Robinson with 16 points (7-for-14 FG’s). This kid is really long and tonight he used those long limbs to reach over smaller West players for rebounds and loose balls. He also added 9 rebounds, 4 steals, and 2 assists. I like this kid and with some added strength and another year of development he could be an interesting prospect by next season. Skovdal, who served as a point-forward for the Eagles for much of the night, added 13 points. He often attempts to lull his defender to asleep before making his charge to the basket. Tonight, he did this on a few occasions, but just couldn’t get the pill to drop consistently. He added 8 boards, 3 assists, and 2 steals. Football star sr. F Ryan Golin did many of the little things to help his team. Not only did he make his only two field goal attempts, but he also hustled for 6 rebounds and 3 assists. Schaefer scored 7 of his 9 points in the second half. C-E hurt themselves with a 4-for-16 display from the field in the fourth quarter, including a 1-for-7 showing from the arc. The win allowed the Burrs to grab a little breathing room in the hunt for one of the six playoffs spots. As of now it looks like West (5-4), C-E (4-5), Dougherty (3-6), and Lansdale Catholic (3-6) will battle it out for the last three spots.

JAN. 9
CL BLUE
Wood 58, West Catholic 50
  At three separate junctures of the game the Vikings would establish somewhat comfortable leads. But each time the Burrs would scratch and claw their way back, even briefly taking a lead on a couple of occasions. First, Wood sprinted to a 12-3 advantage, but West scored the last nine points of the first quarter to grab a 14-12 lead. Then, late in the first half Wood pushed to a 26-18 lead, but early in the third quarter the Burrs were able to edge ahead 31-30. From this point the Vikes would once again regain control, this time via an efficient display from the floor. Wood would make eight of their last ten shots of the third quarter. To begin the fourth jr. 6’1” F Brian O’Grady, who was a game-long force, piggybacked off the third quarter surge and made a basket to give the Vikings their largest lead at 46-35. A drive down easy street appeared to be in their sights, but it was not to be, as one more time the Burrs would come roaring back. A driving layup by soph. PG Aquil Younger pulled their Burrs to within two (52-50) with slightly over a minute left. However, West would draw no closer, as jr. 6’4” F Doug Macrone (7 points) scored on a layup off a feed from soph. PG Joe Getz to make it 54-50. This was Macrone’s second huge basket of the quarter, as earlier he deposited a trey from the right-corner. To this point he had misfired on his first six from distance. After Macrone’s bucket subsequent Burr possessions came up empty. Wood’s jr. 6’7” F Fran Dougherty was instrumental in halting the comeback bid by taking a charge on Younger at the 24-second mark. Closing out the scoring were jr. PG Scott Adkins and Getz, as each converted a pair of freebies. This was a big win for the Vikings, who have now put themselves in great position to claim a top three spot in the CL Blue division. Overall, this was solid team showing by the Vikings. Interim Head Coach Sean Tait appears to have his team playing hard, smart, and very much together. You get the sense that this squad enjoys one another and as individuals accept their roles. This was only my first look-see at the Vikings, but I have followed them through newspaper articles and games reports from the site, especially Wood student reporter Tom Zulewski, who does a great job covering Wood. I was well aware of O’Grady’s exploits this season coming in, but appreciated the fact that I got the chance to see him up close tonight. Impressive! Yes, he’s strong kid with above average athleticism, but at 6’1” you’re not supposed to dominate the glass in the manner in which he does. Then how does he do it? Plain and simple! He just wants the ball that much more than the other nine players on the court. Talk about competitor! This kid really has a nose for the ball. At times he wasn’t even in my field of vision, then would come swooping in to grab a rebound over unsuspecting Burrs. Tonight, he grabbed 18 rebounds, with nine apiece come on each end. You just can’t under-evaluate the importance of nice second chance opportunities coming from the work of one player. Oh, yeah, he even had time to add 12 points (6-for-9 FG’s), 3 assists, 3 blocks, and 2 steals. The Vikings leading scorer tonight was Getz with 14 points (6-for-14 FG’s). This kid does a great job of constantly moving, which at times led to easy opportunities for him. He also did a good job across the stat sheet with 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals. Dougherty also notched double-digits with 12 points, while adding 5 boards and 2 blocks. With sr. WG Tim Fahy out of the line-up (ankle), you can’t diminish the job that sr. CG Fran Dolan did for his team tonight. Coming off the bench he added 8 key points and 3 apiece of rebounds and assists. These contributions went a long way in seeing that the Vikings came out on top. For Head Coach Bill Ludlow he just didn’t get enough production outside of his starting backcourt. Sr. WG Rob Hollomon (20 points) and Younger (17 points) scored 37 of the team’s 50 points, including 26 of their 29 second half points. Yes, this duo has the ball in their hands a good part of the game and they are the most likely Burrs to be creative. So, opportunities for others aren’t overly abundant, but they do exist and right now it just isn’t happening. Hollomon finished 7-for-19 from the field and made 3 steals. Younger scored ten of his points in the fourth quarter and was an encouraging 9-for-10 from the line. He also added 4 assists and 3 steals. Sr. CG Haleem Hayward (8 points) notched a pair of threes and led West with 7 rebounds. The teams combined for a woeful 6-for-35 performance from the arc. Wood handled the Burrs off the glass, 40-to-24. The Burrs are off until the next Friday night when they’ll host Conwell-Egan to begin the second half. Wood will close out the first half with second place on the line when they travel.

JAN. 7
CL BLUE
West Catholic 73, Kennedy-Kenrick 37
  Not a whole lot to say about this one in a competitive sense, as the Burrs methodically pulled away in the first half and cruised throughout the second to win comfortably. These are for-sure tough times for K-K and Head Coach Jack Flanagan. Since Flanagan has taken the helm I have always appreciated his enthusiasm and coaching-for-the-moment approach. His teams typically play hard despite being outmanned on most nights in a competitive Catholic League. Tonight, I saw more of the same, but frustration was certainly evident too. Kennedy-Kenrick is basically in a transition cycle, even though they’ll spend another year after this one as a member of the PCL. In 2010-11 they’ll merge with St. Pius to create a new school in the Royersford area and at this time move to the Pioneer Athletic Conference. Royersford and Norristown, where K-K currently sits, aren’t exactly around the corner, so building/maintaining a program without a doubt is not the easiest of endeavors. Tonight, Flanagan and a K-K player picked up technicals in separate incidents. Frustration was more than likely an overriding cause. Hopefully, Flanagan and his club can experience some level of success the remainder of the way. West led 29-11 at the intermission, then increased that to 52-25 by the end of the third quarter. The Burrs made 10 three-point field goals in the game on 23 attempts. Reserve soph. PG Derrick Carter notched four of these, with three coming in late-game mop-up duty. Hmmm??? This got me thinking, but when was the last time a Burr squad made this many treys in a game and when was the last time one player made as many as four? Now, take it from me, but over the years West has never really ever been a perimeter oriented team in a bombarding sense, so I knew it had to be while. Well, as it turns out the last time a West player made four in a game was 62 games ago (Last game of ’06 season vs. K-K) and it was accomplished by a little-known freshman at the time, sr. WG Rob Hollomon (Unavailable tonight; missed school). Two other Burrs made four in a game that season too. The last time a Burr made more than four in a game was 128 games ago (Parts of 6 seasons), when Hakeem Townsend (’04) canned six in a game versus Wood. The last time the Burrs made as many as ten as a team? Only 123 games ago, with K-K once again being on the receiving end. Last time they made more than ten? You got me, ha ha! Anyway, Carter showed a relaxed form and made 4-of-6 for 13 points in the game. Soph. PG Aquil Younger scored all 14 of his points (11 in 3rd QT) in the second half. He also added 8 assists, 3 rebounds, and 3 steals. This kid has much potential and is as quick as they come in these parts. However, tonight he committed far too many turnovers for a game of this nature. Yes, some of them probably could have been avoided if teammates handled a pass or two, but as PG he has to do a better job of valuing the ball. Hey, he’s young and this is all part of the maturation process. I see no reason why this part of his game won’t round into shape at some point. Sr. F 6’7” Ade “London” Barek pretty much had his way inside and finished with 11 points and 14 rebounds in just 18 minutes of action. His most impressive moment came after accepting a pass in the post and then posterizing a K-K defender with a vicious, turn-around, one-handed dunk. Sr. WG Matt Bush got the start for the absent R. Hollomon and contributed 10 points (2 treys). Sr. WG Haleem Hayward finished with a nice line of 7 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 steals. Sr’s WG Brandon Williamson and 6’5” F Dwayne Shaw (3-for-3 FG’s) each added 6 points. For K-K, only nine players were suited up for the varsity game. Gritty sr. G Kevin Shemar paced the Wolverines with 9 points and 3 assists. Sr. F Alex Byrne (4-for-5 FG’s) managed 8 points and 6 rebounds. Jr. 6’3” F David Tornetta added 6 points, 7 boards, and 3 steals. Meanwhile, sr. 6’4” F Brad Miller mixed 6 points and 4 steals. Sub soph. WG Billy Malescio showed some pep with 6 points, 4 boards, and 2 apiece of steals and assists. The Burrs travel to Warminster for an important tilt Friday night against the Vikings. Ok, the Burrs and Vikes have done some battling on the gridiron over the last six years or so. Will the hoopsters develop a little bit of rivalry now that they reside in the same division? Friday night will gives us our first glimpse into this possibility.

JAN. 2
CL BLUE
West Catholic 65, Lansdale Catholic 59
  With each team entering this game with identical (2-2) league records, the victor would be able to establish some residency in the top half of the Catholic League Blue Division. In the end, the squad coming out on top would be the Burrs, as they slowly pulled away from a game and determined Crusader squad during the third quarter. After a 25-25 first half, West outscored LC 21-12 in that third quarter, and then eventually saw their lead reach double-digits during the fourth stanza. Still, the Crusaders pushed back and never let the Burrs win this one in going-away fashion. I’m sure Head Coach Bernie Fitzgerald and his staff didn’t leave satisfied with a moral victory, but nonetheless, they had to definitely appreciate the efforts of their club. Even as the final horn sounded, a small contingency of LC fans (Maybe 25 people or so; and more than likely parents), showed their team added support by giving them a standing ovation as the teams lined up for end-of-the-game handshakes. Nice gesture! West was coming off a heart-breaking New Year’s Eve loss to SJ Prep, as they suffered a two-point setback on a last second shot. Not sure if a carry-over occurred, but they didn’t seem ready to play, at least at the beginning they didn’t. Hey, maybe, the Crusaders just brought more energy and better play in the early stages. The Burrs’ quickness was more than likely the difference in the game, and for a while one of their quicker players, sr. CG Rob Hollomon, was unavailable. Hollomon was held out of the first quarter by coach Bill Ludlow after missing the team’s last practice due to illness. When Hollomon finally did enter the game he used a flurry of bursts along the baseline and through the lane to do damage. By game’s end he led all West scorers with 18 points on 7-for-14 shooting. West also got another solid contribution off the bench from reserve sr. 6’5” F Dwayne Shaw, who scored 12 points (5-for-6 FG’s) in just 12 minutes of play. Shaw scored ten of those points during a stretch of play over the latter part of the third quarter and beginning of the fourth. His play was instrumental because starting sr. 6’7” F Ade Barek (7 rebounds, 2 blocks) was saddled to the pine with four personal fouls. His fourth infraction actually came via a technical foul when he attempted a dunk after a whistle. It was obvious that frustration motivated this momentarily lapse in self control. Chalk it up as a learning experience, big fella. Soph. PG Aquil Younger had some trouble finishing in tight early, but overall had solid moments of play. He finished with 11 points, 6 assists, 6 rebounds, and 2 steals. Steady sr. CG Haleem Hayward finished with 8 points, 8 rebounds, and two apiece of assists and steals. Sr. WG Brandon Williamson and jr. F Kiwan Murray each managed five rebounds. After a poor showing from the field in the first 16 minutes, the Burrs finished a solid 15-for-27 (55.6%) in the second half. The Crusaders were paced by sr. WG Brendan Stanton ,who poured home 30 points and grabbed 7 rebounds. Yes, he hoisted a lot of shots (11-for-27 FG’s, 3-of-9 on 3’s), but I loved how this kid competed. He’s a lefty, so that always catches people off guard, but he also exhibited craftiness, fearlessness, and the ability to create his own shot. The next two best Crusaders were sr. PG Liam Coyne (10 points, 7 rebounds, & 2 each of assists/steals) and jr. CG Mike Barr (10 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds, & 3 steals). Both players demonstrated toughness and a solid basketball IQ. Jr. F Pat O’Hara was rugged in retrieving 7 boards. For the school’s first ever game in the cozy confines of the Burrdome, the Crusaders did a very good job of protecting the ball. They committed just 11 turnovers in the game. From an outside point of view that might just be an OK number, but trust me, teams that are obviously not as a quick as West and unfamiliar with the surroundings, often find their totals near or in the 20s. Neither team had a good showing from the charity stripe, as witnessed by the collective 26-for-52 performance from the line. An Only-in-the-Cath moment occurred today when the West freshman team traveled to Lansdale, while the Crusader freshman came to West thinking it was a triple-header. The referees for that freshman tilt also went to LC. In the end, WC’s freshman and the referees made the trek back to West Philly and played the game. Of course, this pushed the JV start back and the varsity beginning even further.

DEC. 27
NON-LEAGUE (Cardinal O’Hara Holiday Tournament)
West Catholic 68, Living Faith Christian 46
  Behind an excellent team effort and an efficient second half, the Burrs pulled away from the Soaring Eagles to gain a first round victory in Cardinal O’Hara’s Holiday Tournament. West outscored LFC 41-to-25 in the second half behind a 16-for-26 effort from the field (61.5%). Doing much of the damage was the starting backcourt of sr. CG Rob Hollomon and soph. PG Aquil Younger, who combined for 25 second half points. Younger scored all 13 of his points after the intermission on a 6-for-6 showing from the field. This came after he took just one shot in the opening half. He did tweak an ankle and spent some time on the bench in the first half. During his second half foray he mostly relied on quick bursts to the tin, as he easily beat his man off the dribble and was able finish strongly. He also knocked down his only trey attempt in the game, while mixing 5 assists and a pair of steals. R. Hollomon finished with 22 points on 7-for-11 shooting (One trey) and 4 assists. Tonight, he thrived in the open court and in the ability to slash his way through LFC’s defense for opportunities. No other Burrs reached double-figures, but Head Coach Bill Ludlow got solid play from the entire roster when given the chance. West finished with 19 assists on 27 buckets. Others who helped out in the little things department were; sr. CG Haleem Hayward with 5 apiece of assists and rebounds, sr. WG Matt Bush who made all three of his shots (1 trey) in quick second quarter burst, and jr. WG Vincent Ho who made a three-point play the old fashioned way, while hustling for 4 rebounds and 2 steals. Sr. 6’7” F Ade Barek was in foul trouble throughout and was limited to just 15 minutes. When he was on the court he did convert all three of his field goal attempts to score 7 points and grabbed 4 rebounds. After fouling out his replacement, sr. 6’5” F Dwayne Shaw gave some quality minutes and finished with 4 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 blocks. West forced 22 Soaring Eagles’ turnovers, while only committing 12 of their own. Living Faith Christian had just nine players suited up for the game, but did possess a pair of imposing interior players in jr. 6’8” wide-body Markus Kennedy (16 points, 4 rebounds, 2 blocks) and sr. 6’7” David Jones (14 points & 11 rebounds). In the nightcap, O’Hara surprised Ben Franklin in double-OT 54-52. This sets-up a former Southern Division final between the Burrs and Lions.

DEC. 21
CL BLUE
Neumann-Goretti 71, West Catholic 54
  Well, it’s a new era in the Philadelphia Catholic League basketball circuit under the PIAA. And with that in mind, “traditional” Southern Division clashes will be hard to spot when you look at the weekly schedule. However, with the Saints of Neumann-Goretti and the Burrs of West Catholic you indeed have one of the matchups that could potentially bring a little juice based on a familiarity aspect. Granted, over the last decade the Saints have been one of the more elite teams in the area, while the Burrs have been a middle-of-the-pack club for the most part, so ultra competitive contests between the schools haven’t exactly been commonplace. Dating back to the 2000 season the Saints (nee Pirates) have won 17 of 18 games between the teams. Still with the Romans, SJ Preps and Bonners nowhere to be found, at least until playoff time, then the Burrs just might be the marquee league game on N-G’s schedule. And yes, the final showed a comfortable 17-point victory for the Saints, but when you notice that they won their first two league contests by 40+ points then maybe those thoughts do have a little validity to them. As a unit the Saints simply just have bigger, faster, and better basketball players than the scrappy Burrs, but the win wasn’t easy, and the Saints were certainly challenged by West, at least in an effort/energy facet, if not overall skill. A late second quarter flurry by the Burrs enabled them to trail by just seven at halftime, 31-24. To begin the third quarter they even had three possessions to cut into the lead, but failed to do so, and ultimately N-G turned it up a notch or two or three to push the lead into a more comfortable double-digit territory. The Saints would go onto win the third stanza, 23-13, to take a 17-point lead into the final frame. The Burrs would get no closer than eleven from this point. Balanced scoring was used by the Saints in the win and with their leader/star jr. 6’2” CG Tony Chennault (already committed to Wake Forest) off a few fractions it was definitely needed. Chennault never seemed to find his comfort level. He did manage 12 points, but was just 5-for-18 from the floor and 0-for-5 from the arc. The good thing with this kid is that he can help his team even when his shot isn’t falling. Today, he offset the shooting woes by adding 6 assists, 5 rebounds, and 5 steals. He still plays for keeps and with a unique passion, so better games will be more prevalent throughout the season. Today’s leading scorer was jumping-jack jr. 6’6” F Daniel Stewart, who can get off the floor as quick as anyone in these parts. Five of his six baskets were dunks! Spirited ones too! He also notched a promising 6-for-8 showing at the line and finished with 18 points. Not to go unnoticed was the glass-cleaning mood he appeared to be in as he claimed 14, while blocking 3 shots. Fellow inside performer sr. 6’9” C Andrew “Scooter” Gillette (Niagara) had some nice moments before fouling out. He went 5-for-6 (At least three, maybe four slams) from the field and ended with 13 points. He added 9 rebounds and 3 blocks. He seemed to be much surer of himself today than what I noticed in the past. Better court awareness was evident and he had more of a confidence about him. Work is still going to be needed for measurable success at the next level, but the kid is 6’9” and blessed with athleticism, so there is much to work with. Also reaching double-figures was unassuming jr. WG Mustafaa Jones who scored 16 points behind a 4-of-7 showing from deep. This kid possesses a quality stroke and shoots the ball with confidence. With the other Saint headliners drawing so much attention, I’m going to think that opportunities for him to do some quality bombarding will be frequent. As witnessed by an earlier game where he deposited EIGHT trifectas! Oh yeah, word is that he’s a quality student too and even a little Ivy attention has come his way already. The Saints other starter is jr. PG Tyreek Duren who was in foul trouble throughout and never really got in the flow. He did manage 4 assists and 4 rebounds. Better days ahead for this talent. Soph. PG Lamin Fulton serves as the Saints sixth man and could probably start in 90% of the backcourts in the area. He contributed 4 assists and 2 steals. When I look at the Saints I see an extremely athletic and talented team, who probably possess as strong a six player group as any in the city. Hey, they’re already the other paper’s (Smile!) #1 Southeastern PA team. If I had a red flag to suggest, then I would think it could be depth. For example, if foul trouble were to occur in an important game in say March, then trouble could arise. Still, they appear to enjoy playing with one another and sometimes that’s half the battle. If great things happen on the state 3A level (And in the Catholic League playoffs, let’s not kid ourselves, these will still be way up there on the importance meter) for this team, then none of us should be surprised. As a West guy I have to admit I was encouraged by the effort the Burrs put forth. This basketball thing is basically just taking off for this team after a long football season enjoyed by handful of their players. I think if the effort and energy can stay on the level they exhibited today, and they can avoid some of the midseason swoons they have experienced in recent years, then I think they can be in the mix for a top three spot in the nine-team PCL Blue division. Today, they just had an extremely difficult time scoring the basketball and in the long run this COULD be an issue throughout the season. They were a miserable 16-for-62 (25.8) from the field. And it wasn’t because of a ton of ill-advised, long-range bombs either. They only shot seven threes in the game. A lot of in-close attempts and near the lane shots was more like it. Sure, N-G’s athleticism and the shot-blocking ability of Stewart and Gillette caused some intimidation, but there had to be about a dozen or so if-I-bear-down-I-can-make-this opportunities that they let slip by. Their leading scorer’s were sr. CG Rob Hollomon (14 points) and soph. PG Aquil Younger (10 points, 6 rebounds, & 3 steals), but the Burr starting backcourt had fouled out by the five-minute mark of the fourth quarter. They’re quick and aggressive, but they have to use a tad more discretion when they really want to pressure the ball. Way too many fouls have occurred, especially in Younger’s case, when that type of pressure really wasn’t needed. As more experience is had I think he’ll develop a better understanding on how to be a more intelligent defender. Sr. CG Haleem "P-Nut" Hayward scored 8 points and grabbed 7 rebounds. Sr. 6’7” F Ade Barek got his first taste of playing against a couple of kids that could match his athleticism and height. He competed and even found himself involved is a couple of intense moments with Gillette, but his lack of big-game experience probably hurt him a little. Hey, this is all part of learning the game and how to become a better competitor. There are positives to take from the outing and with the proper mindset he’ll become a better player from this experience. He finished with just 4 points (1-for-9 FG’s), but did claim 7 rebounds and block 4 shots. Sr. WG Brandon Williamson hustled for 7 rebounds. The Burrs did an admirable job on the glass by edging the Saints 39-to-37 in that department. This was only N-G’s third game and their next action won’t be until Dec. 29.

DEC. 19
CL BLUE
West Catholic 60, McDevitt 45
  The Burrs led from start-to-finish, but in all honesty they probably only played solid basketball for roughly a third of the game. And that might be a stretch, as it was not the prettiest of affairs folks. After a decent beginning to the game by West, sloppiness and lack of focus eventually took over. Head Coach Bill Ludlow played all 12 of his players in the opening half and other than a brief stint by sr. CG Haleem "P-Nut" Hayward, no starter saw time in the second quarter. How bad was the offense by both teams in the first half? How about a combined 13-for-52 (25.0%) showing from the floor and 24 total turnovers bad? In time, the quickness of the Burrs and the fact that they had more overall talent would eventually take over. Again, to be fair, but this group still hasn’t had any quality practice time together and it was their fourth game in five nights. The Lancers battled hard, but would never really threaten in the second half. Part of the problem was that with no McDevitt player taller than 6’2”, it was extremely difficult for them to match-up with West’s sr. 6’7” F Ade “London” Barek. The big guy pretty much had free reign near the basket and in the end posted impressive numbers. He finished with 16 points (7-for-18 FG’s), 19 rebounds (11 offensive), and 5 blocks. The good in his performance lied in that he played hard, showed a live body, was resilient, and did his damage in just 21 minutes of action (Didn’t play in 2nd qtr.). The bad if you look at his numbers was that he failed to bear down on some chippies near the rim. In one sequence he missed three consecutive shots that all hit the back rim and bounced right back to him from about four or five feet away. It was truly a sight! He did convert the fourth! Can you say Moses Malone? The former 76ers’ great was famous for scoring off his own missed shots, all the while building up that rebounding total. A couple of other impressive moments saw him catch a lob from soph. PG Aquil Younger for a nice two-handed slam. Then, after receiving a pass on the wing, he made one dribble to get past a defender, and then turned that into a one-handed slam. Putting the ball on the floor in that manner was indeed impressive. This kid has some work ahead of him, but I have little doubt that his best basketball lies ahead. Younger only had 2 points through three quarters, but scored a total of 11 points in the final stanza to finish with 13. During this foray he nailed three consecutive treys from the left-wing. Sr. CG Rob Hollomon contributed 12 points and 4 assists. Hayward did many of the little things and finished with 7 assists, 4 rebounds, and 4 steals. For McDevitt, soph. WG Reggie Charles and sr. 6th man F Rodney Ellis each scored 11 points. Charles made a few nifty plays off the dribble, but was far too careless with the ball and that led to numerous turnovers. He also contributed five apiece of steals and boards. Ellis provided solid energy and seemed to be in the right place at the right time for many of his buckets. He hustled for 6 rebounds. Sr. WG Courtney Havens-Dobbs had a tough night from the floor going just 1-for-10. He did bang for 9 boards, including 6 off the offensive glass. Sr. PG Linberg Green came off the bench and scored all nine of his points in the second half. McDevitt really hurt themselves with a dismal 8-for-22 (36.4%) showing from the charity stripe. The teams combined for 47 turnovers. The teams make up two of the three class AA squads in the Catholic League. The other is Kennedy-Kenrick. One of these squads will represent the PCL in the district playoffs, as of now the Burrs have a leg up with the win tonight.

DEC. 18
NON-LEAGUE
West Catholic 61, Academy Park 38
  I don’t think you’ll be seeing the tape of this baby making its way to Springfield, Massachusetts, anytime soon. Yes, if you’re a Burr fan, then you’ll definitely take the 23-point victory, but I doubt on a whole the team was overly excited about the way they played. With that being said, this team just did welcome back five members from the football team, and so far they have only had one walk-through type practice as a team. Guess what? They have another game tomorrow, too, as they’ll host Bishop McDevitt in a PCL Blue contest. This will be their fourth game in five nights. Even though the crispness and flow might be off for the Burrs right now, it’s still good to see the effort and desire to play hard. This can always be appreciated! West took control with a 20-8 second quarter and built a 32-15 halftime lead. There’s probably just one word that can describe Academy Park’s offense tonight – UGLY!!! The Knights turned over the ball 20 times in the first half alone and had a mind-boggling 34 for the game. Twenty-seven of these came in the form of Burr steals, as many were in a pilfering state-of-mind to say the least. Because of the inordinate amount of turnovers, West was able to take 28 more shots than the Knights in the game. Phew! Sr. CG Haleem "P-Nut" Hayward played a strong floor game for West. He contributed 11 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 steals. This kid is just a steady player for Head Coach Bill Ludlow. His backcourt mates are sr. CG Rob Hollomon and soph. PG Aquil Younger, who are extremely quick and eventually could pose major difficulties for most of the PCL Blue teams that come into the Burrdome. Tonight, this duo wreaked havoc throughout. Younger finished with 12 points and 7 steals, while R. Hollomon added 12 points and 5 steals. Sr. WG Brandon Williamson also brings solid athleticism to the Burr rotation and possesses a stronger frame than the aforementioned guards. He added 7 points, 6 steals, and 5 offensive rebounds off the bench for the Burrs. Sr. 6’7” F Ade Barek was active throughout, especially near the goal on the defensive end where he registered 5 swats. He also scored 8 points, grabbed 6 boards, and made 2 steals. Jr. F Kiwan Murray was steady and scored all 8 of his points in the opening half. In their five games so far the Burrs have had a couple of respectable showings from the charity stripe, but on a whole this has been a sore spot. Tonight, they went just 7-for-21 for $100-line. Yep, I refuse to call it the “free” throw line anymore. Smile! Academy Park’s lone bright spot and one true player is energetic sr. CG Devon Cain, who possesses scoring-whiz potential. In an earlier game this year he scored 30 points (SEVEN 3’s) versus Bonner. He did not start tonight because he showed up not in the proper attire for a road game. He ended up with 23 points (8-for-20 FG’s, two treys) and 3 steals. This kid has some game to him and has little trouble creating his own shot.

DEC. 16
NON-LEAGUE
West Catholic 64, Father Judge 57
  For the second night in a row the Burrs traveled to the Northeast to take on an opponent. Mayfair was the destination tonight, as the Burrs squared off with a physical Judge team. After a nip and tuck first half the Burrs took a miniscule 24-23 lead into the locker room. Then, in the third quarter they asserted themselves by outscoring the Crusaders, 20-11. Judge did score the first five points of the fourth quarter to draw close, but would never get within four at any juncture of that final stanza. Fourteen of WC’s final 16 points came from the foul line. Leading the way was cat-quick soph. PG Aquil Younger, who tied for game-high honors with 20 points. After missing his first four free throws of the night, he closed by making 10-of-12, all in the fourth quarter. All and all he played a strong floor game, as the Crusaders had a difficult time matching up with his quickness. His decision making was solid and he played confidently. In a well-rounded effort he also contributed 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, and even a pair of blocks. The next best Burr was sr. WG Brandon Williamson, who just got back from a long football season, where he was a contributing wide receiver. He saw limited duty the night before against Dougherty, but with sr. CG Rob Hollomon out with an illness, he really picked up the slack in this one with 17 points. He finished 7-for-9 (2-of-3 on 3’s) from the field and made 3 steals. He too played under control and with confidence. Sr. CG Haleem "P-Nut" Hayward scored all 8 of his points after halftime, including a 6-for-8 showing from the line. He was a steady influence throughout and added 7 rebounds and 5 assists. Jr. F Kiwan Murray used nice instincts in getting to good spots on the floor. He chipped in with 10 points and 3 steals. Sr. 6’7” F Ade Barek didn’t get too many clean looks and finished with just 2 points. He did manage 7 rebounds and a pair of swats. Also, he was able to make a couple of nice passes out of the post for driving lay-ups by teammates, so his vision isn’t all that bad. He does need to be a tad more decisive and authoritative when making moves in-and-around the basket. These slight hesitations are allowing defenders extra time to surround him. I’m going to assume these can be corrected in time when further basketball playing experience is had. Sr. 6’4” F Dwayne Shaw connected on both of his shot attempts and did so impressively. He is yet another football player, so down the line Head Coach Bill Ludlow might be able to get a little more out of him too. West went a solid 21-for-40 (52.5%) from the field. For Judge, their go-to guy is sr. 6’2” WG Tom Ryan (Towson for football). He scored ten of his 14 points in the opening half, but struggled somewhat with his shot going just 6-for-18. He’s a tough kid, who can do a little of everything. He also added 8 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals. Last season Ryan was a great complementary part to Judge’s offense. It appears that this year he’ll be counted on to score a little bit more, though, I’m not positive I’d dub him as a classic scoring guard. Speaking of scoring, sr. WG Fran Hennessey did just that during Judge’s fourth quarter flurry, when he deposited 15 of his team-high 20 points. This kid came off the bench and didn’t play until the second quarter, but after tonight maybe he’ll see some earlier action. I wouldn’t classify Judge as a tremendously gifted offensive team, but this kid showed a scorer’s mentality, so maybe it will lead to things. He finished 7-for-11 from the field, including a terrific 4-for-6 showing from the arc. The Crusaders have an interesting prospect in soph. 6’6” F Seamus Radtke. He’s a little unsure of himself now and the speed of the game might be a tad quick for him, but he definitely has interesting possibilities down the road. He scored just 5 points, but both came from distance; a long deuce from the corner to end the second quarter and a trey from the left wing. It’s never a bad thing when a young kid with this size can shoot the ball. He also had decent enough instincts to block 4 shots. Sr. F Josh Jaskowiak is a rotation member holdover from a year ago. He never actually got going scoring the ball, but did contribute 7 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 assists, and 2 blocks. He’ll more than likely serve as Judge’s nuts and bolts guy. This was leg two of West’s five games in seven days tour. They’ll host Academy Park Thursday night.

DEC. 15
CL BLUE
West Catholic 43, Dougherty 41
  No rest for the weary, nor the heart-broken, as West Head Coach Bill Ludlow welcomed back six members of his program from a loooonnng football season. Just last week Ludlow sat this group down to discuss what they would like to do in terms of returning. With complete understanding of what was going on, he approached it with a flexible mindset. He even TOLD them to absolutely take this past Sunday off to wind down from such a meaningful Saturday. But kids will be kids, and even despite losing an emotional championship game on Saturday afternoon, EVERY single player showed up for practice on Sunday unbeknownst to Ludlow. Very commendable! Ok, so their first contest with a full roster wasn’t a Da Vinci-like masterpiece, but the notch in the win column certainly made everyone feel good, especially since it was both a road and league game. Let’s head to final minute where things were ultimately settled. Dougherty’s jr. PG Brandyn Wims, a smooth lefty, calmly deposited a right-elbow pull-up jumper with 40 second left. After a Burr timeout, jr. PQ Aquil Younger drove hard down the right-side of the lane and dished to sr. CG Rob Hollomon on the left side of the basket, who made the layup for the tie. Next, the Cardinals called timeout at half-court with 8.3 second left. Afterwards, the plan was to get the ball to Wims. However, the Burrs double-teamed him and when the pass was thrown, sr. CG Haleem “P-Nut” Hayward made a steal near midcourt, and with a defending closely trailing, laid the ball off the glass with 1.9 remaining. Dougherty’s last chance was a desperate, 55-foot heave by jr. F Ryan Colbert that hit high off the left-side of the backboard. In the game, Ludlow went 11 deep, including five that just came from the gridiron. Hayward (4 rebs, 3 steals) and R. Hollomon (4 steals, 3 assists), both football players, played significantly and ended up the team’s leading scorers with ten points apiece. The rust levels were high for each, but energy and effort were certainly there. Younger and sr. 6’7” F Ade Barek (7 rebounds) were next with 7 points each. The Burrs had a difficult night shooting the ball going 17-for-47 (36.1%) from the field and compounding that with a discouraging 7-for-21 (33.3%) showing from the line. For Dougherty, their top player appears to be Wims. He finished with 18 points (6-for-11 FG’s) and three apiece of rebounds and assists. This kid displayed a nice pull-up jumper in-and-around the top of the arc. Interestingly, he transferred from North during the season last year. And before his freshman year he spent the summer playing with the West young guys. I liked him and he bears watching. The other Cardinal to reach double-digits was jr. 6’3” F Brandon Brown with 11 points (5-for-9 FG’s). He also contributed 9 rebounds and 3 blocks. Colbert too added 9 boards, while soph. G Christian Gibbs secured six rebounds. The Cardinals hurt themselves with 24 total turnovers. This was yours truly first time in Dougherty’s gym in some years. I think I remember watching the Burrs play a non-league contest there about six or so years ago. The Looney Bin was sparsely occupied, but they did bellow out a few chants along the way. One in particular was directed at R. Hollomon as he shot some late-game free throws – “One more yard, one more yard…..” Ouch! But Hollomon gave them a good-natured smile afterwards. Much practice time for the Burrs is needed, but it won’t come this week, as they have five games in seven days.

DEC. 12
CL BLUE
Conwell-Egan 68, West Catholic 63 (2OT)
  I’m sure everyone knows by now, but the Burr football team fell in the Class AA State final on Saturday. They did so in devastating fashion, when a two-point conversion try failed in the second overtime. Well, as it turns out, this wasn’t the only double OT setback for a West athletic team this weekend. Sure, it was much further down on the significance scale, but the Burr hoopsters also lost in a two- overtime game. Oh, well, nothing like being consistent is the heart-detaching department. Smile! OK, how about I set the stage some? A Friday night trek to Levittown, the night before an early trip to Hershey, the JV game ends way late, pushing the varsity back from a 7:30 start time to a 8:05 beginning. Let’s add in that game lasted over two hours thanks in part to some rough-on-the-eyes happenings. Almost from the get-go the officials were tooting at a frenzied pace. By game’s end, 61 total personal fouls were called, 70 free throws were shot, 6 players (3 apiece) were disqualified on fouls, and the teams evenly split 48 turnovers.  Where can I sign up for more? Again, smile!! As for the game the Burrs had a three- or four-point advantage throughout the second half, but were never able to expand on it. Ending regulation with four consecutive turnovers didn’t help either, and ultimately the Eagles caught them to send the game into overtime. Then, after the teams played a 6-to-6 session in OT #1 we were off to OT #2, where the Eagles seized control rather quickly, as jr. G Andrew Schaefer hit a huge trey to create some separation. From this point, a 15-for-16 marksmanship from the freebie line would do in the Burrs, despite a late rally. C-E’s headliner is sr. 6’5” G/F Jonas Skovdal. However, tonight just wasn’t his night, at least in terms of scoring. He managed just 4 points (1-for-5 FGs) and never seemed to get comfortable. I recall him scoring about 27 points last year in the Burrdome and he seemed to be a little more active/creative in that game. Hey, sometimes these things happen. He did manage to dent a few of the stat columns with 8 boards, 6 assists, and 3 blocks. I expect better scoring outings from him as the season progresses. Picking up the slack was jr. 6’3” WG Isaac Robinson, who was a game-long force with 27 points. He finished 7-for-14 from the field (2 treys) and an efficient 11-for-13 from the line (6-for-6 in 2OT). He displayed good form on his shot and pretty much let the game come to him. Not overly aggressive off the dribble, but showed a hint of slashing potential. He added 7 boards, 4 steals, and 2 blocks. Sr. WG Shayne Bonner scored all 12 of his points from the third quarter on. He hit a critical trey in the first overtime from another zip code, while also depositing all four of his free throws in the 2OT. Sr. PG Bill Petraitis scored 8 points, but three of his buckets came during an important fourth quarter stretch. Schaefer quietly added 14 points, including two three-pointers. He was extra-important in the extra sessions. Sr. F Ryan Golin of football fame appears to be the guy who’ll do the dirty work for the Eagles. He incurred two early fouls that limited his time, but did contribute 5 boards, 2 assists, and 2 steals while in there. Twenty-five of the Eagles’ 43 shots came from the arc. As mentioned in my last report the Burrs have started the season with a limited roster due to the extended football season. Tonight, these kids here played hard and gave themselves a chance to win. Soph. PG Aquil Younger registered 27 points (13-for-18 FT’s). He also added 7 steals, 4 assists, and 3 rebounds. The next best Burr came off the bench in jr. F Kiwan Murray, who demonstrated some toughness and grit throughout. He scored 13 points (4-for-6 FG’s) and hustled for 10 rebounds. Murray and sr. F Larry Brown did admirable jobs in neutralizing Skovdal. Brown scored 8 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, and made 3 steals. Sr. 6’7 F Ade Barek managed 7 points and 11 rebounds. The Burrs were as frigid as the weather outside from the field, shooting just 17-for-56 (30.4%). These teams use to reside in the Southern and Northern divisions within the Catholic League, but now are both member of the PCL Blue, or smaller enrollment (3A/2A) league. Teams in this league will play a 16-game league schedule. Six of the nine teams will qualify for the playoffs, so there should be plenty of time for teams to get on a roll.

DEC. 10
NON-LEAGUE
Ryan 68, West Catholic 53
  If you’re a fan of West Catholic athletics at this time then you’re more than likely flying sky high with the success of their gridiron team this fall. In case you didn’t know, but the Burr football team will play for the class AA state championship this Saturday. So, to say this is a special time within the school would be quite the understatement. However, there is one slight drawback from all of the success on the football field, and that is that at least a fistful of football players play hoops too. To boot, a few of these kids should be intricate parts of Head Coach Bill Ludlow’s rotation as the season goes on. For the time being, though, the Burrs will be a makeshift crew and tonight it showed in leaps and bounds. The fact that this was Ryan’s third game didn’t help matters either, as this was the opener for the Burrs. Ok, how about those Red Raiders? Last season Head Coach Bernie Rogers and his crew did wonderful things before eventually bowing to North Catholic in the Catholic League final. MVP and little bro’ PG extraordinaire Andrew Rogers has moved on, as well as much of the supporting cast. And even though Rogers the player was terrific, and will certainly be missed, their overall team success typically relies on the unselfish and patient approach that goes hand and hand with their Princeton style offense. Just a couple of rotation members return in sr. PG Rus Slawter, of football quarterback fame, and sr. SF Anthony Keiter, but the tendencies of a typical Ryan squad seemed to still be intact. At least tonight they were. The Red Raiders seized control towards the end of the first quarter and never looked back. Their most comfortable lead was in 22-23 point range and only a late flurry by the Burrs made the score somewhat respectable. Good team effort by Ryan throughout, as every rotation member made a solid contribution. Soph. WG Eric Fleming scored 14 of his 16 points (6-for-12 FG’s, two 3’s) in the opening half. He was a very unassuming player, who had little problems finding his comfort zone. Good release and body control on his jump shot. He also hustled for 7 rebounds and a pair of assists and steals. Slawter went 6-for-8 from the field, including 3 treys for his 15 points. He also dealt 5 assists. Sr. 6’4” F Gerry Smith mixed 15 points, 4 boards, 3 steals, and a two swats. Sr. G Colin O’Malley (5 rebounds) did a lot of little things well and saw the court just fine, as witnessed by his 10 assists. Many were excellent! Keiter scored all 9 of his points in the second half and dented additional stat columns for 6 boards, 3 assists, and 3 steals. Ryan built an early lead thanks in part to some long range bombing. Six different Red Raiders dialed up long distance, as they shot 9-for-22 from the arc in the game. Ryan accumulated 20 assists on their 26 made baskets. The Burrs have a transfer from England in sr. 6’7” F Adewunmi “London” Barek. He’s a bit raw and probably not completely comfortable in his new surroundings yet, but he has interesting possibilities nonetheless. He’ll be one to keep an eye as the season moves along. I’d like to see him be a bit more active on the defensive end near the goal, possibly more of a distraction towards the opposition in the paint. Hey, Ryan’s offense isn’t exactly the easiest thing to figure out, so we’ll give him some time on that front. He ended the game with 10 points (4-for-7 FG’s) and 10 rebounds. West’s most talented player is soph. PG Aquil Younger, who is as quick as they come, but sometimes too quick for his own good. He finished with 15 points, but was just 6-for-17 (3-of-8 on 3’s) from the field. He added 5 assists, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists. He made a bad decision late in the first quarter when he was called for a silly foul (Reach in at top of the key) in the final ten seconds of the quarter. It was his third personal and he spent much of the second quarter on the pine, watching helplessly as Ryan increased their lead. Turnovers were an issue as well, mostly on difficult or wild passes. He’ll need to do a better job of understanding the skill set of his teammates when attempting such heaves. He did play hard to the end and there is definitely talent, as he has little problem getting by his defender. I think with more understanding of the game and a little seasoning, you’ll see him play at a higher level. Jr. F Vincent Ho added ten points. West received productive energy and grit off the bench from jr. F Kiwan Murray with 8 points and 4 rebounds. Soph. CG Julain Lee chipped in with 6 points and 5 rebounds. Tough first hardwood game for yours truly. The frantic play produced by the Burrdome is not a good way to begin your stat season. The teams combined for 39 turnovers. Oh well, I toughed it out and see no reason why I won’t be in mid-season form come the second quarter of my next game. Smile!!!