Father Judge Wins PIAA Class 6A State Championship: Kehler on Hoops
Written by: Andy Herr on March 31, 2025
Article by David Kehler
Father Judge defeated Roman Catholic 71-60 on Saturday night at the Giant Center in Hershey to win the PIAA Class 6A state championship. Judge and Roman are both members of the Philadelphia Catholic League and had played each other twice this season prior to Saturday night. Judge won both of those contests, including the championship game of the Philadelphia Catholic League.
The PIAA Class 6A title game was fiercely contested and played at a very high level of skill. Roman thrives on defensive pressure to create turnovers that lead to transition baskets. They like an up-tempo game, and they have multiple scoring threats from beyond the arc. On Saturday, five different Roman players made 3-pointers vs. Judge. Judge has several very, very quick players, but they are generally at an advantage when the pace of the game is less than breakneck.
In the first quarter on Saturday night, the fast tempo clearly favored Roman. Roman forced four Judge turnovers in the first frame and had a nine to seven edge on the boards. Roman took their first lead of the game at 5-4 on a 3-pointer by 6’ 6” junior Sammy Jackson. About 30 seconds later, Sammy Jackson hit another shot from beyond the arc, and Roman led 8-4. Roman’s Sebastian Edwards, a 6’ 3” senior, and Semaj Robinson, a 5’ 9” junior, also made 3-pointers in the first quarter. Roman led 18-15 after eight minutes of play. However, Judge outscored Roman in each of the final three quarters.
Judge’s Kevair Kennedy, an extremely quick 6’ 2” senior, had a sensational second quarter, tallying nine points in the frame, including five from the free throw line. Kennedy had great success driving to the hoop in the game and getting to the line; his was 15 of 17 from the stripe on Saturday night. His great quickness was the key to Judge’s offensive success. When checked, which wasn’t often, he passed to a teammate; he had five assists in the game. With 3:44 left in the first half, Judge cut Roman’s lead to 28 to 26 on a layup by 6’ 3” junior Derrick Morton-Rivera on an inbounds play. Following a Roman turnover, Judge took the lead 29 to 28 on a three point play on a fast break layup by Morton-Rivera. Although Roman would tie the game at 34 and at 36, they would never again lead in the contest.
The game was tied at 36 at halftime. The second half was played at a slightly slower pace, and that was to the advantage of Judge. Judge’s perimeter defense was tighter in the second half. In particular, Judge’s Rocco Westfield, a 6’ 1” junior, and Nazir Tyler, a 6’ 3” sophomore, played great defense. Roman had been seven of 14 from beyond the arc in the first half, but they were three of 14 from deep in the second half. Judge’s interior defense was also strong; 6’ 10” senior Everett Barnes superbly clogged the lane. That said, the game was very close throughout the third frame. Judge’s largest lead in the third quarter was six points, and Roman drew within four points late in the third period on a free throw by 6’ 5” senior CJ Miller.
With 6:41 left in the game, Roman cut Judge’s lead to 55-53 on Sammy Jackson’s fifth 3-pointer of the contest. But, that was as close as Roman got. Judge responded with a drive by Morton-Rivera, a drive by Kennedy, and two free throws by Morton-Rivera to lead 61-55 with 3:57 to go. Roman countered with a spinning drive by Sammy Jackson and a drive by Miller, and it was 61-57 in favor of Judge with 2:29 left. Judge’s Kennedy then made a couple of free throws, stole the ball, was fouled again, and made two more free throws. That put Judge up 65-57 with 1:33 left, an advantage too much for Roman to overcome.
For the game, Judge out-rebounded Roman 26 to 19. Judge had 15 turnovers, and Roman had 10. Judge was a spectacular 30 of 33 from the free throw line, and Roman was a very accurate 10 of 12 from the stripe. Judge scored three times from beyond the arc, while Roman made 10 3-pointers. There were four ties and four lead changes.
Father Judge scoring: Kevair Kennedy 29, Derrick Morton-Rivera 19 Nazir Tyler 7, Rocco Westfield 6, Everett Barnes 6, Kevin Beck 2, and Max Moshinski 2
Roman Catholic scoring: Sammy Jackson 17, Shareef Jackson 15, Sebastian Edwards 12, Tyler Sutton 5, Wayne Ruffin 5, CJ Miller 3, and Semaj Robinson 3.
Other Judge stats of note: Kennedy, who had a tremendous game, had 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 5 steals. Westfield had 6 rebounds from his guard position, several of which were really clutch. Barnes had 6 rebounds.
Other Roman stats of note: Shareef Jackson had 10 rebounds. Edwards had 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 4 steals.
Roman Catholic 18 18 14 10-60
Father Judge 15 21 18 17-71
Father Judge finished with a record of 24-7. They started two seniors, two juniors, and a sophomore in this game. Roman Catholic finished with a 25-6 record. They started three seniors, a junior, and a sophomore in the title game.
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