Philadelphia Catholic League Playoff Semifinals: Kehler on Hoops

Written by: Dell Jackson on February 23, 2023

Philadelphia Catholic League Playoff Semifinals

Considering the setting, the size of the crowds, and the quality of play, the last two rounds of the Philadelphia Catholic League playoffs at the Palestra may be the most spectacular high school basketball championship event in the country. The Palestra, on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania, is justifiably called the “cathedral of basketball”, and about 8000 spectators filled the arena on Wednesday night for the Philadelphia Catholic League playoff semifinal doubleheader. The Philadelphia Catholic League championship tournament is the highest level of competition in Pennsylvania high school basketball. It is much harder to win the Philadelphia Catholic League title than it is to win a PIAA state championship. Many high school basketball mavens regard the Philadelphia Catholic league as one of the top five high school basketball loops in the United States. Wednesday night’s playoff semifinals did not disappoint. In both matchups, managing the tempo of the game was a key element in the outcome of the contests.

The opening game pitted Roman Catholic and Archbishop Wood, and Roman won a 66 to 59 come-from-behind victory. In the second game, defending champion Neumann-Goretti defeated West Catholic 69 to 56 in overtime. Both contests were intensely competitive and played at a high level of skill.

The Roman-Wood game featured three big scoring runs, the first by Wood and the last two by Roman. Archbishop Wood likes to play up-tempo, and they thrive in a wide-open game with lots of fast breaking and rapid flow of play. Several Wood players are outstanding outside shooters, giving them a diversified and formidable offense. Wood had a tremendous second quarter vs. Roman Catholic on Wednesday night, which included a 19 to 4 run that gave them a 36 to 25 lead late in the first half. Wood’s second quarter run was spurred by sensational offensive play by 6’ 3” sophomore Milan Dean, who scored 11 points in the second frame, including hitting two 3-pointers. Late in their run, on consecutive possessions, Wood also got a 3-pointer from 6’ 4” junior Jalil Bethea—the Catholic MVP this season—and then a 3-pointer from 6’ junior sharpshooter Michael Green.

With a couple minutes left in the first half, trailing by 11 points and with the run of play flowing strongly in Wood’s favor, Roman launched a 16 to 0 run that continued into the third quarter. The run began with a three point play by 6’ 4” senior Jermai Stewart-Herring, and Roman finished the first half scoring with a drive by 6’ 2” senior Xzayvier Brown and a pull-up jumper by Brown. That made it 36 to 32 in favor of Wood at halftime. Roman’s big run continued from the beginning of the third quarter on a follow by 6’ 4” senior Eric Oliver-Bush, a fast break dunk by Oliver-Bush, a 3-pointer by Brown, and a hoop inside by Stewart-Herring. That gave Roman a 41 to 36 lead, and they never trailed from that point.

However, there was no quit in Archbishop Wood. Two more Wood players—6’ 2” senior Gus Salem and 6’ 3” junior Josh Reed—scored from beyond the arc in the third quarter, and Roman led by just one point, 47 to 46 at the end of the third period. The key factor in turning the game around for Roman in the third quarter was being a bit more deliberate on offense, slowing the pace of the game just a shade.

In the fourth quarter, Roman looked inside more to 6’ 7” sophomore Shareef Jackson who opened the scoring in the final frame with a nifty pivot move. Trailing 54 to 48 with 5:38 left in the game, Wood knotted the score at 54 on a 3-pointer by Bethea and a steal and three point play by Reed. Roman then sealed the win with an 8 to 0 run on a hook by Jackson, a backdoor layup by Brown, two free throws by Stewart-Herring, and a sensational fast break dunk by Stewart-Herring.

For the game, both teams had 27 rebounds, Roman had six turnovers, while Wood had 18 miscues. Probably due to early game jitters, Wood had seven turnovers in the first quarter. Roman was 13 of 17 from the free throw line, and Wood was 15 of 21. Roman made three 3-pointers, while Wood sank eight shots from beyond the arc. It is worth noting that the backdrop for outside shooters in a packed Palestra is far different from what the guys see in a regular high school gym. There were five ties and three lead changes.

Roman Catholic scoring: Xzayvier Brown 22, Jermai Stewart-Herring 13, Bobby Cottrell 10, Shareef Jackson 8, Eric Oliver-Bush 6, Anthony Finkley 5, and Will Felder 2.

Archbishop Wood scoring: Jalil Bethea 22, Josh Reed 12, Milan Dean 11, Carson Howard 6, Gus Salem 3, Michael Green 3, and Markus Dixon 2.

A couple of other stats of note: for Roman, Jackson had 13 rebounds, and Finkley, who is a tremendous passer with great court vision, had seven assists.

Although Wood surrendered 66 points in this game, their defensive approach was stellar. They used clever hedges and frequently flashed double teams on the ball. Next for Wood is the PIAA District 12 Class 6A tournament, likely followed by a deep run in the PIAA Class 6A state championship tournament.

Archbishop Wood 12 24 10 13-59
Roman Catholic 15 17 15 19-66

The second game of the doubleheader pitted two extremely quick, fast break oriented squads, Neumann-Goretti and West Catholic. From the early going, Neumann clearly was interested in getting the ball inside to 6’ 8” senior Sultan Adewale. It was immediately apparent that West Catholic would have great difficulty guarding Adewale, but Neumann had other outstanding firepower. Shooting from the baseline corners, two Neumann players each made two 3-pointers early in the game—6’ 5” junior Amir Williams and 6’ 2” senior Bruce Smith. This allowed Neumann to build a 22 to 8 first quarter lead. Tremendously determined, West Catholic closed the first quarter with a 9 to 0 run on a drive by 6’ 3” senior Shemar Wilbanks-Acqui, a two fast break layups by 5’ 10” senior Budd Clark, and a three point play on a power move by 6’ 5” senior Zion Stanford. Neumann led 22 to 17 at the end of the first quarter.

In the second frame, West Catholic clearly concluded that a somewhat more deliberate pace would be to their advantage, and they were right. Still, Neumann was able to rebuild a double digit lead with a 6 to 0 run consisting of a hoop inside by Adewale, a fast break reverse layup by 5’ 10” junior Khaafiq Myers, and a fast break layup by Smith. That made it 30 to 20, Neumann. Once again, West Catholic responded, and a pull-up jumper by Clark cut Neumann’s lead to 32 to 26 at halftime.

West Catholic had an outstanding third quarter. Trailing 36 to 28, West Catholic surged ahead on a 3-pointer by 6’ 1” senior Amyr Walker, a floater by Stanford, a fast break layup by Wilbanks-Acqui, a floater by Wilbanks-Acqui, and two free throws by Wilbanks-Acqui. That 11 to 0 West Catholic run gave them a 39 to 36 lead. Late in the third quarter, Neumann recaptured the lead, 43 to 41, on Williams’ third 3-pointer of the game, and they never trailed from that point. Newmann led 44 to 42 at the end of the third quarter.

Determined West Catholic tied the score at 44 on a floater by Stanford early in the fourth quarter, but they were never able to regain the lead. Neumann-Goretti broke the tie with a 7 to 0 run on a putback by 6’ 1” junior Robert Wright III, a free throw by Myers, a tipin by Adewale, and a follow by Wright. With that, Neumann led 51 to 44 with 2:42 left in regulation. Yet again, West Catholic stormed back, aided by some poor free throw shooting by Neumann. West Catholic closed the scoring in the fourth quarter with an 8 to 1 run on two free throws by Stanford, a free throw by Clark, a clutch 3-pointer by Stanford with 17 seconds left in regulation, then a dramatic putback at the buzzer by Walker to knot the score at 52.

At the outset of overtime, Neumann’s Williams hit 3-pointers on two consecutive possessions, and West Catholic couldn’t recover.

Neumann-Goretti will play Roman Catholic on Monday night at the Palestra for the Philadelphia Catholic League championship. West Catholic should be considered one of the favorites to win the PIAA Class 3A state championship next month.

For the game, Neumann-Goretti out-rebounded West Catholic 40 to 34. Neumann committed 12 turnovers to nine for West Catholic. Neumann was 12 of 23 from the free throw line, and West Catholic was 10 of 14. Neumann made seven 3-pointers, and West Catholic made two shots from beyond the arc. There were four ties and three lead changes.

Neumann-Goretti scoring: Sultan Adewale 20, Amir Williams 15, Robert Wright III 15, Bruce Smith 10, and Khaafiq Myers 9.

West Catholic scoring: Zion Stanford 23, Budd Clark 12, Shemar Wilbanks-Acqui 12, and Amyr Walker 9.

West Catholic 17 9 16 10 5-56
Neumann-Goretti 22 10 12 8 17-69

On Twitter: @david_kehler

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