Roman Catholic defeats Archbishop Wood 77-56: Kehler on Hoops

Written by: Dell Jackson on January 4, 2023

Roman Catholic defeats Archbishop Wood 77-56

The Philadelphia Catholic League began to play league games on Tuesday night, and the marquee matchup was between the two teams that played in the PIAA Class 6A state championship game last March, Roman Catholic and Archbishop Wood, and, once again, Roman prevailed. The game was played at Holy Family U. and was Roman’s home game.

Both squads suffered significant graduation losses from last season’s teams, but both also return some key players. Last night’s game was fiercely contested and played at an uptempo pace. The teams traded leads throughout the first half, and Wood was able to keep it close until late in the third quarter.

Defending PIAA Class 6A state champion Roman Catholic has an excellent team this season, quicker than last year’s squad, and, at this point, they should be considered the favorite to capture the state title once again in March. Athletic Archbishop Wood has, in 6’ 4” junior Jalil Bethea, probably the top outside shooter in the state and a vigorous defense. Wood has some tall players, and they are good on both boards Both teams have superb coaches: Chris McNesby at Roman Catholic and John Mosco at Wood. Both teams have played challenging non-conference schedules this season. Over the holidays, Roman won the championship of the prestigious Beach Ball Classic, in Myrtle Beach, SC.

Last night, Wood’s Bethea was on fire in the first quarter, scoring 10 points in the frame and showing that he is very, very difficult to guard. Roman kept pace with Wood in the early going, spurred by a couple of 3-pointers by 6’ 2” senior Xzayvier Brown. Roman’s tallest starter, 6’ 7” sophomore Shareef Jackson, got in early foul trouble and had to sit for much of the second quarter. That opened things up for Wood slasher Milan Dean, a 6’ 3” sophomore, who scored 11 points in the second frame. Roman led 31-30 at halftime.

Roman’s Jackson was back on the court in the third quarter. Roman began the third frame with a 7-0 run—fueled by two Wood turnovers—on a 3-pointer by 6’ 6” senior Anthony Finkley, a fast break layup by 6’ 4” senior Jermai Stewart-Herring, and a jumper by Brown. Gritty Wood came right back with a floater by 6’ 3” junior Josh Reed, a three point play by Bethea that started with a fast break, and a jumper by Bethea. That cut Roman’s lead to 38-37, but Roman pulled away from there. Late in the third quarter, a 7-0 Roman run on a 3-pointer by Finkley, a jumper by Stewart-Herring, and two free throws by Stewart-Herring put Roman up 54-43, and the game was of Wood’s reach. Roman switched between man-to-man and zone defenses in the second half.

Roman had a 27 to 24 rebounding edge. Both teams had seven turnovers. Roman was 18 of 21 from the free throw line, and Wood was nine of 14. Roman made seven 3-pointers, and Wood made three from beyond the arc. There were four ties and four lead changes.

Roman Catholic scoring: Xzayvier Brown 25, Jermai Stewart-Herring 22, Shareef Jackson 12, Anthony Finkley 11, Sebastian Edwards 3, Eric Oliver-Bush 2, and Bobby Cottrell 2. (Brown also had seven assists.)

Archbishop Wood scoring: Jalil Bethea 24, Milan Dean 13, Carson Howard 9, Josh Reed 8, and Grady Burt 2.

Archbishop Wood 16 14 15 11-56
Roman Catholic 18 13 25 21-77

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