Archbishop Wood and Parkland Advance to the PIAA Class 6A PIAA State Championship Tournament Semifinals: Kehler on Hoops

Written by: Dell Jackson on March 17, 2024

Archbishop Wood and Parkland Advance to the PIAA Class 6A PIAA State Championship Tournament Semifinals: Kehler on Hoops
Article by David Kehler

Archbishop Wood defeated Spring-Ford 67 to 61 and Parkland defeated Roman Catholic 57 to 50 on Saturday afternoon at Norristown in the quarterfinal round of the PIAA Class 6A state championship tournament. Both games were close all of the way. Wood and Parkland will face off in the semifinal round at Norristown on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.

Controlling the pace of a high school basketball game is one of the main keys to victory. Archbishop Wood likes to play in an uptempo style. They have great team quickness and veteran players who are accustomed to playing with each other. Wood is particularly outstanding in transition, as the team can improvise superbly on the fly. At the outset of Saturday afternoon’s game, Spring-Ford was drawn into Wood’s pace. The teams played on even terms in the first frame, with five guys scoring for each side in the opening period.

Wood switched to a 1-3-1 zone defense at the beginning of the second quarter, and Spring-Ford countered by slowing the tempo of the game. Although Wood did not stay in their 1-3-1 for long, the change of pace helped Spring-Ford, and the teams continued to battle on even terms throughout the second quarter. Spring-Ford hit three 3-pointers in the second period, two by 6’ 3” junior Jacob Nguyen and one by 6’ senior E.J. Campbell. Spring-Ford out-rebounded Wood 11 to eight in the second frame and would go on to have a slight overall edge on the boards in the game. Poor free throw shooting plagued Wood in the second quarter, as they were two of seven from the stripe in the frame. Free throw accuracy was a problem for Wood all afternoon. Spring-Ford led 29 to 28 at halftime.

In the third quarter, Spring-Ford was obviously playing deliberately, but they did not hesitate to take it to Wood when in possession of the ball. Nguyen made two more 3-pointers in the third quarter, and his teammate, 6’ 4” junior Matt Zollers, scored once from beyond the arc in the period. In the slower tempo of the third quarter, Wood’s offense lacked its normal flow. Spring-Ford played some 2-3 zone at the end of the third quarter. With seconds left in the third frame, Spring-Ford led 45 to 38. Then, McDonald’s All American Jalil Bethea, a 6’ 5” Wood senior, launched his team’s comeback with a three point play at the buzzer which cut the Spring-Ford lead to 45 to 41.

With his future college coach, Jim Larranaga of Miami, sitting at courtside, Bethea scored 18 points in the fourth quarter and pushed the tempo of the game more to Wood’s liking. However, gritty Spring-Ford battled to the end. Five Spring-Ford players scored in the fourth quarter. There were three ties in the fourth quarter, the last one at 61 with 1:50 left in the game. Spring-Ford attempted to hold the ball for a last shot. However, it is extremely difficult for a high school team, even a greatly talented one, to hold the ball for as much as a minute. With 42 seconds in the game, Wood’s Josh Reed, a 6’ 3” senior and a Drexel recruit, stole the ball leading to a possession in which his teammate, 6’ 3” senior Tahir Howell, sank a couple of free throws with 39 seconds left in the game. Spring-Ford missed a shot in their next possession, and Wood got the rebound, leading to two free throws by Bethea. Spring-Ford missed a shot in their final possession, leading to two more free throws by Bethea. In all, in the fourth quarter, Bethea made three 3-pointers, two two point field goals, and five free throws.

For the game, Spring-Ford out-rebounded Wood 29 to 26. Wood had just five turnovers, while Spring-Ford had 14 miscues. Wood was 14 of 25 from the free throw line. Spring-Ford had more of a perimeter offense, so they shot fewer free throws. They were five of eight from the stripe. Wood made four 3-pointers, all by Bethea. Spring-Ford scored nine times from beyond the arc. There were nine ties and nine lead changes.

Archbishop Wood scoring: Jalil Bethea 31, Milan Dean 13, Josh Reed 12, Tahir Howell 5, Deuce Maxey 4, and Mike Green 2.

Spring-Ford scoring: Jacob Nguyen 22, Matt Zollers 13, E.J. Campbell 13, Tommy Kelly 6, Oban Mokonchu 5, and Jordan Marsillo 2.

Spring-Ford              17   12    16   16 – 61
Archbishop Wood   20   8     13   26 – 67

The Parkland-Roman Catholic game was close all of the way, but Parkland’s effort was much more spirited. Some Roman players were ineligible for the state championship tournament due to transfer rules, and that hurt their chances vs. a talented Parkland squad. Roman had difficulty containing the versatile Nick Coval, a 6’ 2” senior, and Parkland’s balanced attack eventually sank Roman’s chances. Early in the third quarter, consecutive 3-pointers by Parkland’s 6’ 3” senior Robbie Ruisch and Coval broke a 29 to 29 tie, and Parkland never trailed from that point.

Roman out-rebounded Parkland 27 to 23. Parkland had 11 turnovers to 10 Roman miscues. Parkland was 11 of 15 from the line, and Roman was eight of 12. Parkland made six 3-pointers, and Roman also made six. There were four ties and seven lead changes.

Parkland scoring: Nick Coval 19, Jayden Thomas 15, Robbie Ruisch 7, Blake Nassry 7, Zaire Smaltz 6, and Luke Spang 3.

Roman Catholic scoring: Shareef Jackson 22, Bobby Cottrell 10, Sammy Jackson 8, Hunter Johnson 5, Sebastian Edwards 3, and Malik Hughes 2.

Roman Catholic    16    11    7    16 –  50
Parkland                 16   12    19   12 – 57

On Twitter: @david_kehler

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