Roman Catholic Defeats Archbishop Wood 66-56 in a PIAA Class 6A Playoff Semifinal: Kehler on Hoops

Written by: Dell Jackson on March 22, 2023

Roman Catholic Defeats Archbishop Wood 66-56 in a PIAA Class 6A Playoff Semifinal

Xzayvier Brown led Roman Catholic to a 66 to 56 win over Archbishop Wood in a PIAA Class 6A state championship tournament semifinal at Bensalem on Tuesday night. Both teams are members of the Philadelphia Catholic League, and this was Roman’s third victory vs. Wood this season. Roman is the defending PIAA Class 6A state champion, having defeated Wood in the title game in Hershey last March.

The game was battle between two outstanding and well-coached squads. This game was very close for the first three quarters, and, during those first 24 minutes, the biggest lead for either squad was six points. Both teams primarily play man-to-man defense, but both played a bit of 2-3 zone in this contest. Generally, the more uptempo and flowing the game, the better for Wood. It was to Roman’s advantage to control the pace of the game, and, in particular, to check Wood’s fast break offense. Roman was largely successful at managing the pace of the game, and Roman’s defense was terrific. Although Wood was a superb nine of 20 from beyond the arc, overall they were 20 of 57 from the field. Roman broke the game open in the fourth quarter, with Brown scoring Roman’s first 11 points of the final period.

However, in the first quarter, Wood got off to a great start, opening the scoring with a 3-pointer by 6’ 4” junior Jalil Bethea. Following a jumper by Roman’s Brown, Wood added five more points on a 3-pointer by 6’ 4” sophomore Milan Dean and a drive by Bethea to give them an 8 to 2 lead. At this point, Roman switched to a 2-3 zone defense, leading to two Wood turnovers and a 9 to 0 Roman run, consisting of a jumper by 6’ 1” sophomore Will Felder, a baseline drive by Brown, two free throws by 5’ 11” junior Bobby Cottrell, and a 3-pointer by 6’ 6” senior Anthony Finkley. That made it 11 to 8 in favor of Roman.

Trailing 21 to 18 midway through the second quarter, Wood recaptured the lead on a 7 to 0 run on a hoop inside by 6’ 8” senior Carson Howard, a hoop inside 6’ 3” junior Josh Reed, and a three point play on a drive by Bethea. That run gave Wood a 25 to 21 lead, and they led 29 to 27 at halftime.

Back in their man-to-man defense, Roman forced three Wood turnovers in the first 1:30 of the second half. However, outside shooting kept Wood in the game. Consecutive 3-pointers by Bethea and Dean, who shot over a screen, gave Wood a 35 to 32 lead. Roman’s Finkley responded with a pivot move and then he scored on a fast break dunk, and Roman was up 36 to 35, with 2:53 left in the third quarter. Wood’s Bethea answered with another 3-pointer to put his squad back in front, 38 to 36. After an exchange of scores, Wood led 40 to 38, with 1:08 left in the third quarter, when Roman launched the decisive run of the game.

Roman tied the game at 40 on two Cottrell free throws, then took the lead for good on a fast break layup by Brown with :43 left in the third quarter, a score that visibly lifted the Roman side. The Roman surge continued at the outset of the fourth quarter with a hoop inside by Brown to give his team a 44 to 40 lead. Wood cut their deficit to two points on a couple of free throws by 6’ 2” senior Gus Salem, then Roman’s Brown scored the next nine points on two free throws, a drive, a follow, a free throw, and another drive. At that point, there was 3:01 left in the game, Roman led 53 to 42, and Wood hadn’t scored a field goal yet in the fourth quarter. The rest of the game was anticlimactic, involving a lot of free throw shooting by Roman. Roman was 16 for 23 from the foul line in the fourth quarter.

For the game, Wood had a substantial rebounding advantage, 38 to 30. Roman committed just five turnovers, while Wood had 13 miscues. Roman was 26 of 35 from the free throw line, and Wood was seven of 10 from the stripe. Roman sank two shots from beyond the arc, while Wood made nine 3-pointers. There were five ties and seven lead changes.

Roman Catholic scoring: Xzayvier Brown 31, Bobby Cottrell 13, Anthony Finkley 12, Shareef Jackson 8, and Will Felder 2.

Archbishop Wood scoring: Jalil Bethea 23, Milan Dean 11, Josh Reed 9, Carson Howard 6, Deuce Maxey 3, Gus Salem 2, and Eric Garner 2.

Some other stats of note: For Roman, Jackson had 11 rebounds, Finkley had eight rebounds and five assists, and Cottrell and Brown both had five rebounds. For Wood, Bethea had 12 rebounds and three assists, Howard had eight rebounds, and Dean had five rebounds and two assists.

Roman Catholic     15   12   15   24-66
Archbishop Wood  12   17   11   16-56

Philadelphia Catholic League champion Roman Catholic is now 27-3 and will play Reading for the PIAA Class 6A state championship on Saturday night at the Giant Center in Hershey at 8 p. m.

Archbishop Wood is a really terrific team, and they finish with a 19-9 record. Several of Wood’s key players—including Philadelphia Catholic League MVP Bethea—are underclassmen, and the team will be a leading contender for league and PIAA state championships next season.

On Twitter: @david_kehler

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