George Defeats Phelps 80-56 in PISAA Playoff Semifinal: Kehler on Hoops
Written by: Dell Jackson on February 24, 2023
George Defeats Phelps 80-56 in PISAA Playoff Semifinal
George demolished visiting Phelps 80 to 56 on Friday evening in a semifinal in the Pennsylvania Independent Schools Athletic Association state championship tournament. The competition is for private schools that are not members of the PIAA, and George will play Perkiomen in the championship game on Sunday afternoon at St. Joseph’s U. George, located in Newtown, is a member of the Friends Schools League.
George’s attack was explosive on Friday vs. Phelps. Trailing 8 to 6 in the early going, George launched an 8 to 0 run to take the lead for good on an ally-oop dunk by 6’ 10” senior Kachi Nzeh, a putback dunk by Nzeh, another putback by Nzeh, and a drive by 6’ 4” junior Christian Bliss. Phelps then scored on a fast break layup by 6’ 4” senior Charlie Bell, but George responded with a 10 to 2 run to finish the first quarter. Twelve of George’s 24 first quarter points were scored by Nzeh, who had his finest game in a George uniform. Whether playing a 2-3 zone or man-to-man defense, Phelps was unable to stop Nzeh, an Xavier commit, who finished with 38 points. Nzeh had five ally-oop dunks in the game, and two other spectacular slams.
George played a variety of defenses to check Phelps’ talented and high powered offense, and the visitors’ chances were diminished by some poor shot selection, too many rushed shots, and a fast breaking style that could have been more structured. Phelps matched up well with George in terms of height, but their offense became too focused on the perimeter to keep pace with George. In the end, George just had too much offensive firepower for Phelps, on this occasion, at least. This was the most complete and fiery performance by George this season. The view from here is that George is one of the five best teams in Pennsylvania.
For the game, George out-rebounded Phelps 48 to 31. George committed 10 turnovers, while Phelps had seven. Five of Phelps’ seven turnovers occurred in the first quarter, as they fell behind. George was 10 of 12 from the free throw line, and Phelps was six of nine from the stripe. George made five 3-pointers, and Phelps scored six times from beyond the arc. Early in the game, there were two ties and three lead changes.
George scoring: Kachi Nzeh 38, Christian Bliss 21, Luke Bevilacqua 9, Dante Weise 7, Carson Mastin 3, and Luke Melniczak 2.
Phelps scoring: IV Pettit 14, Will Riley 10, Justin Houser 9, Saleem Payne 7, Malcolm Wrisby-Jefferson 7, Aasim Guenther 4, Gavin Doty 3, and Charlie Bell 2.
Phelps 12 15 15 14-56
George 24 15 22 19-80
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