Imhotep Charter Defeats Archbishop Ryan 52-48 in a PIAA Class 5A State Championship Tournament Semifinal: Kehler on Hoops

Written by: Dell Jackson on March 19, 2024

Imhotep Charter Defeats Archbishop Ryan 52-48 in a PIAA Class 5A State Championship Tournament Semifinal: Kehler on Hoops
Article by David Kehler

Kryptonite. My pal Dave Schultz and I were talking awhile back about Imhotep Charter and Archbishop Ryan, and Dave said that Imhotep is Ryan’s kryptonite. As usual, Dave was right on target. On Monday night at Bensalem, once again, Imhotep defeated Ryan, this time in a PIAA Class 5A state championship tournament semifinal, and by a score of 52 to 48. The spirited contest was close all of the way and played at an impressive level of skill.

Kryptonite? On March 2 of this season, Imhotep defeated Ryan 62 to 47 in the PIAA District 12 Class 5A championship game. Last season, Imhotep defeated Ryan 72 to 50 in the PIAA Class 5A state championship tournament semifinal. A couple of weeks before that, Imhotep had defeated Ryan for last season’s District 12 Class 5A championship.

So, these teams knew each other well coming into Monday night’s semifinal, and the game was played at a high pitch before a gym full of enthusiastic fans.

Imhotep Charter has a distinctive and compelling style of play. On defense, they play a tight man-to-man, frequently substituting players to keep a fresh defender on all of the opponent’s key scoring threats. On offense, while they will occasionally run, they often begin a half court set with a ball screen up high. They are adept at shooting from beyond the arc. In this game, five different Imhotep players made 3-pointers. In 6’ 2” senior Ahmad Nowell, a Connecticut recruit, they have a dynamic player who can drive and shoot from the perimeter with equal skill. The view from here is that Nowell should have been chosen to the McDonald’s All America team. Imhotep has really outstanding teamwork. All of their players are unselfish on offense, and they really help each other on defense. They have some rugged kids who are not hesitant to mix it up inside. Imhotep may be the best Pennsylvania high school team this season.

So, in this game, the ultra-talented Ryan squad had a high hill to climb, and climb it they did. Ryan quickly forged a lead. With the game tied at 7, Ryan launched a 9 to 0 run on a tipin by 6’ 10” senior Thomas Sorber, a 3-pointer by 6’ 1” senior Ryan Everett, and another 3-pointer plus a free throw by Everett. That made it 16 to 7, Ryan. Imhotep responded with a floater by 5’ 8” sophomore R.J. Smith followed by a 3-pointer by Smith, who was clutch all game and may be the next great Philadelphia guard. Ryan led 16 to 12 at the end of the first quarter. One very notable feature of Ryan’s attack was that they were setting up higher in half court sets than they had in their loss to Imhotep in the District 12 title game. By setting up higher, Ryan made it more difficult for Imhotep to hedge and to double team.

The run by Imhotep’s Smith continued, as he opened the second quarter scoring with another 3-pointer. Ryan’s Everett countered with a 3-pointer, as his squad worked the ball to get him an open look. Imhotep responded with a 3-pointer by Nowell, and, shortly thereafter, a Nowell free throw tied the game at 19. From that point, the teams battled evenly back-and-forth for the balance of the first half. Imhotep got into some foul trouble in the second quarter, and seven of Ryan’s 10 second quarter points were scored on free throws. It was clear from the second quarter on that Imhotep’s defense would always collapse on Ryan’s Sorber whenever he got the ball inside. Ryan led 26 to 25 at halftime.

Imhotep had a strong third quarter. They tightened their perimeter defense, crashed the offensive board hard, and limited Ryan’s offense in the frame to eight points by Sorber. On offense, Imhotep opened the third quarter with a 10 to 0 run on a putback by 6’ 6” sophomore Zaahir Muhammad-Gray, a hoop inside by Muhammad-Gray, a 3-pointer by 6’ 7” senior Ma’Kye Taylor, and a 3-pointer by Nowell. That made it 35 to 26, Imhotep. Ryan’s Sorber then launched a counteroffensive, and Imhotep led 40 to 34 entering the fourth quarter.

Ryan opened the fourth quarter with a 9 to 0 run on a drive by 6’ 3” senior Darren Williams, a jumper by Williams, a fast break layup by 6’ 3” senior Rocco Marabito, and a 3-pointer by Williams. That gave Ryan a 43 to 40 lead with 5:25 left to play. Ryan out-rebounded Imhotep six to one in the fourth quarter, and Imhotep, uncharacteristically, committed four turnovers in the final frame. With less than three minutes to play, Ryan scored on a pivot move by Sorber and were up 45 to 42. An Imhotep player was called for a charge, but Ryan committed a foul, leading to a 3-pointer by Imhotep’s Smith to tie the game at 45. Ryan turned the ball over, and, in Imhotep’s ensuing possession, Nowell was fouled when shooting from beyond the arc. Nowell made all three free throws, and his side led 48 to 45. Ryan then scored on a couple of free throws by Williams with 1:05 left in the game, cutting Imhotep’s lead to 48 to 47. Imhotep went up 50 to 47 on a drive by Nowell late in the game, and Ryan didn’t have enough time to counter.

For the game, Ryan out-rebounded Imhotep 24 to 23. However, Imhotep had 12 offensive rebounds in the game, and their strength on the offensive board was a major factor in the outcome of the contest. Imhotep committed nine turnovers to 12 by Ryan. Imhotep was eight of nine from the free throw line, and Ryan was 16 of 21 from the stripe. Imhotep made six 3-pointers, and Ryan scored four times from beyond the arc. There were seven ties and 11 lead changes.

Imhotep Charter scoring: Ahmad Nowell 20, R.J. Smith 11, Latief Lorenzano-White 9, Zaahir Muhammad-Gray 7, Ma’Kye Taylor 3, and Carnell Henderson 2.

Archbishop Ryan scoring: Thomas Sorber 18, Darren Williams 13, Ryan Everett 10, Matt Johnson 3, Rocco Marabito 2, and Jaden Murray 2.

Imhotep Charter     12    13    15    12  – 52
Archbishop Ryan    16    10     8     14 – 48

Imhotep Charter will play Franklin Regional on Friday for the PIAA Class 5A state championship. Archbishop Ryan had a terrific season, and they finish 20-10.

On Twitter: david_kehler

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