Takin' a Mulligan
Basketball '07

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  Tom Mulligan, a senior, is an Episcopal Academy football lineman/kicker with an interest in writing and keeping things light.
  He will file reports and we're glad he opted to remain in our nutty group, even after the departure of Wayne & Gerald & Others (smile).
  Tom may be contacted at tmull89@comcast.net.


DEC. 30
NON-LEAGUE
N. Catholic 51, Episcopal 36
 
After a tough loss to Germantown Friends School, the Churchmen had picked up their second win of the season, playing a very good game in which they handled Kima Institute, a charter school from D.C. that had an impressive schedule through their first part of the season. Coming into the game, Episcopal knew if they wanted to pull this one out, they would have to play a very solid game, and for other than a stint at the end of the third quarter, that's what the Churchmen did.
  Missing usual starter Matt Byrne, who was out with a sprained ankle, the Churchmen didn't seem to miss a beat throughout the first half. The play of senior leader Pat Kelly fueled the Churchmen, as he continually used his quickness, beating North players down the floor in transition, often leading to points for himself or others – he finished with 5 assists. His counterpart, Velton Jones, also had a strong showing. The kid showed range with a few jump shots, and I was surprised to see him pass as much as he did, but he still finished with 13 to go along with 3 assists. His teammate, Andrew Pomager, who was a huge part of the Falcons' 3rd quarter run that made it hard for the Churchmen to come back, finished with 11 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals, and 3 blocks. Episcopal big man Herb “Seriously, yo” Bowen had a very solid outing in this one, hitting well over 50% from the field for 14 points. At this time last year, some big schools were sniffing, and after an off-season in which he put in a lot of time and effort, he has told me his college decision could be Vermont or Purdue.
  Though EA suffered a 15 point loss in this one, the team looked very good for the majority of the game. They seemed to have meshed a lot better than in the early-going. The players are getting a much better feel for each other, and what seemed to be the biggest problem in this one was letting North pull off that big run in the third quarter. Other than that, the Churchmen looked very good, especially against a North team that is, in some opinions, a top 10 and even top 5 team in the city, when at full strength.
  On Thursday afternoon, the Churchmen made the hike down City Line to Friends Central, who had lost to Inter-Ac foe Penn Charter on Wednesday 77-66 – however, their star PG Quaran Johnson had 35 of those 66. The Churchmen pulled out a 64-32 win in convincing fashion, holding Johnson to just 5 points. The squad is really clicking now, which is good as league play is right in front of us. The next game is Saturday vs. Penn Charter at 3:30, as part of the I-A tripleheader at Arcadia. If the Churchmen continue to play the way they have, they could definitely start their league schedule on a positive note.
  On another note, I'm glad Ted replaced the old picture. My e-mail has recently been stacked with female readers who I never knew I had (no, it hasn't ... at all). I am, however, glad to see Inter-Ac writers dominating the website this year; should make for some good reports now that league play is here. However, it just won't be fair when each team plays Malvern and are forced to suffer a triple-team from those wacky Friarside guys, who don't try way too hard at ALL.

DEC 20
CATCHING UP
   Yeah, your boy's back. The third and final year of the most-visited tedsilary.com game reports section is back up and running. Not gonna lie, I had second thoughts about continuing my reporting, but then I realized that I would be viewed as a fair-weather fan, which is certainly not the case. Also, I can't pass up the opportunity to own my neighbor, Brian “Bthom” Thomas, in something else. I've already dominated him in every driveway basketball game you can think of, so I guess I'll take it to the next level with this game reporting. Oh, sorry, I forgot to tell you who he is. He is a part of the three-headed Malvern Monster that is referring to itself as “Friarside Chats.” You probably haven't bothered to look at their stuff yet, but please do – I know, you only read the deluxe stuff, but give them a chance, ok?
   Anyway, this year's Episcopal basketball squad is looking nothing like the teams of the past two years. The loss of Gerald Henderson, Wayne Ellington and company is proving to be as difficult to overcome as we had thought. The team stands at 1-7 right now. I was able to watch their first two games against a strong Living Faith team, and Abington Friends. Both games could have been won by the Churchmen as they led each contest at halftime. However, turnovers and questionable coaching moves caused the team to blow their leads and let the other team walk away with it. The team was obviously still working on their chemistry, as almost all of the players but co-captains Pat Kelly and Mike Nealis are getting their first real varsity time this year. With this circumstance, I was surprised to see how quickly the older players were replaced by freshmen when they made mistakes in the first two games. This year's Episcopal team has a strong group of freshmen, but they are still very raw and have yet to prove themselves, which leads many people to question why they played so much the first few games and why they were on the court in the waning moments of the West Catholic game, another game that should have been won by the Churchmen, but a solid fourth quarter lead was blown. A win was picked up at the Bullis Holiday Classic Tournament in Maryland, but other than that, the season is anything but successful. On average, the Churchmen are losing each game by 13 points. However, I will say that the potential for this team to be successful is there. The combination of Kelly and G Dan Hilferty is an above-average mix of quickness, ball-handling, and the ability to score. G/F Matt Byrne brings a strong defensive presence to the team. He rarely fouls, and can handle himself in one-on-one situations better than anyone on the team. He will also be the hardest worker on the floor for the Churchmen this year. Down low, the 6'8 Nealis brings a physical defensive presence to the paint and a nice touch on the offensive end. 6'7 Herb Bowen rounds out the starting 5 and shown signs of tremendous athleticism, throwing down a dunk in transition against Abington Friends, however he could use some work on the defensive end and sometimes a lack of coordination is apparent. Coming off the bench, G/F Blair Fox has all-round game. He may not be the best at any one thing, but he is undoubtedly the best well-rounded player for the Churchmen. F Will McFee, hailing from Sydney, Australia, still needs to get a feel for the offense but his athletic ability (6'0 and can dunk) and offensive presence will be useful.
   The Churchmen play away at Germantown Friends today, and if they don't win this game I really don't know what I'm going to do. The Inter-Ac looks strong this year, with Penn Charter, Germantown Academy, and Malvern leading the way. Supposedly Episcopal is going to join Haverford this year in the “roll over” teams category. But, I don't see that happening. Don't get me wrong, I hope Sammy Zeglinski, Kyle Griffin, and their teams think that their Episcopal games this year are going to be easy, because then the upset will be more fun. By the time the league starts I expect the team to reach its potential and compete for its third title in that many years. I'll be back soon.