St. Joseph’s Prep Defeats West Catholic 65-55 in OT: Kehler on Hoops
Written by: Dell Jackson on January 16, 2023
St. Joseph’s Prep Defeats West Catholic 65-55 in OT
St. Joseph’s Prep defeated visiting West Catholic 65 to 55 in overtime in a fiercely contested Philadelphia Catholic League game on Monday afternoon. The game was close all of the way, with the biggest lead being seven points in the first quarter. There were eight ties and nine lead changes in the very well played contest.
St. Joseph’s Prep’s court, Kelly Fieldhouse, has the most difficult and unusual backdrop for shooters of any high school gym in southeastern Pennsylvania. There are large spaces between the baskets and the back walls, and one of those walls has three huge windows casting light onto the faces of shooters in afternoon games. The characteristics of the venue are significant when teams—such as these two—rely a lot on outside shooting.
This was an intense game. Despite West Catholic being the visitors, their fans predominated in the crowd on the afternoon of the King holiday. The game was uptempo, and both teams used pressure defenses as key strategic elements.
St. Joseph’s Prep get an early lead, with three different players making 3-pointers in the first quarter and 6’ 9” junior Tristan Guillouette scoring twice inside. West Catholic’s attack was also focused on the perimeter in the first frame, and three of the visiting Burrs made 3-pointers in the early going. St. Joseph’s Prep led 18 to 11 after eight minutes of play.
West Catholic took their first lead of the game at 21 to 20 after two consecutive 3-pointers early in the second quarter by 5’ 10” senior Adam “Budd” Clark, who had a superb game. From that point on, neither squad led by more than three points until a couple of minutes into the overtime period, as the teams exchanged leads, challenged each other relentlessly on defense, and crashed the boards. The quality of interior defense by both teams was notable in this game.
There were two ties and five lead changes in the fourth quarter. With 1:56 left in regulation, West Catholic’s Clark stole the ball and scored on a breakaway layup to give his team a 49 to 48 lead. The teams exchanged possessions, then another steal by Clark led to a free throw by 6’ 2” West Catholic senior Amyr Walker with 26 seconds left in regulation, making it 50 to 48. With his team on the brink of defeat, 6’ 1” Prep sophomore Jordan Ellerbee knotted the game at 50 on a drive to the hoop and sent the contest into overtime.
West Catholic scored first in the extra period on a free throw by Clark, but St. Joseph’s Prep quickly responded with a 3-pointer by Ellerbee and—following a West Catholic turnover—a jumper by Ellerbee. After another West Catholic turnover, St. Joseph’s Prep scored on a hoop inside by Guillouette, and the home side led 57 to 51. Then, West Catholic began to foul, ending any chance of their winning. The fouling strategy was a bit surprising, as West Catholic pressure had been so successful in the fourth quarter, causing seven St. Joseph’s Prep turnovers in the frame, and because the effectiveness of defensive pressure is cumulative.
For the game, St. Joseph’s Prep had a 32 to 27 rebounding edge. St. Joseph’s Prep had 17 turnovers, while West Catholic had 10. St. Joseph’s Prep was 13 of 16 from the free throw line, including their last six attempts in overtime, capitalizing on West Catholic’s late game fouling strategy. West Catholic was 13 of 19 from the stripe. St. Joseph’s Prep made eight 3-pointers, and West Catholic made six shots from beyond the arc, all of them in the first half.
St. Joseph’s Prep scoring: Jordan Ellerbee 20, Jaron McKie 13, Matt Gorman 12, Tristan Guillouette 12, and Jalen Harper 8.
West Catholic scoring: Adam “Budd” Clark 21, Zion Stanford 20, Amyr Walker 6, MJ Branker 5, and Micah Waters 3.
West Catholic 11 15 13 11 5-55
St. Joseph’s Prep 18 6 18 8 15-65
The PIAA classifications of these teams: St. Joseph’s Prep is 6A and West Catholic is 3A. West Catholic is one of the leading contenders for the PIAA Class 3A state championship this season. The Philadelphia Catholic League is unquestionably the top high school boys basketball loop in Pennsylvania, and each team plays every other league team once during the regular season. The top 10 teams in the final regular season standings in the 14 team league qualify for the playoffs which determine the league championship. St. Joseph’s Prep is now 10-2 this season, and the very talented West Catholic squad is 7-7.
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