Archbishop Ryan and Roman Catholic Advance to the Semifinals of the Philadelphia Catholic League Playoffs: Kehler on Hoops
Written by: Dell Jackson on February 17, 2024
Archbishop Ryan and Roman Catholic Advance to the Semifinals of the Philadelphia Catholic League Playoffs: Kehler on Hoops
Article by David Kehler
Archbishop Ryan edged St. Joseph’s Prep in a thriller and Roman Catholic overwhelmed Cardinal O’Hara on Friday in quarterfinal games in the Philadelphia Catholic League playoffs. The winners advance to the Catholic League semifinals to be played on Wednesday at the Cathedral of Basketball, The Palestra, on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania. The view from here is that the Philadelphia Catholic League playoffs are the highest level of competition in Pennsylvania boys basketball and that it is more difficult to win the Catholic League championship than to win a PIAA state title.
St. Joseph’s Prep hosted Archbishop Ryan on Friday afternoon in a spectacular game between two of the ten top squads in the state. The game was close all of the way, with consistently high level of play, superb coaching, and a host of clutch performances. Ryan won, 49 to 47, on a jumper by 6’ 3” senior Darren Williams with two seconds left in the fourth quarter. It was a great tactical battle.
From the outset, a key question was how The Prep, which is guard oriented, would try to check Ryan’s 6’ 10” senior, Thomas Sorber. Sorber, who will play at Georgetown next season, is the top big in eastern Pennsylvania and probably in the entire state. What the Prep did was to front Sorber, often with two men, and edge him back to the baseline. Sorber has great hands, and he caught every pass thrown to him, but he often was not in a position for an easy attack on the hoop. Prep senior Jackson Maguire had a terrific game fronting Sorber. Although Maguire didn’t score, he had a major impact on the contest.
Ryan’s defensive challenge was to counter The Prep’s superb outside shooting and to make it hard for The Prep’s excellent slashers to get to the hoop. Significantly aided by several sensational blocks by Sorber, particularly three in the first quarter, Ryan did a great job defending the paint. However, four Prep players scored from beyond the arc at least once, and the home side came up with 3-pointers time and again at critical junctures. The contrasting styles of the two teams made for a fascinating and absorbing contest.
Ryan’s two big guys, Sorber and 6’ 6” senior Jaden Murray, combined for all 12 of their team’s first quarter points. Sorber was fouled shooting couple of times and in both instances he made both free throws. With 5:26 left in the second quarter, Ryan went up 18 to 10 on a jumper by Williams, and that would prove to be the game’s largest lead. The Prep called timeout, and, when play resumed their Aaron McKie, a junior, hit a three. Attesting to the sharpness of The Prep’s bench, on four consecutive occasions, they scored out of time outs. Although Ryan led throughout the second quarter, The Prep tied the game at 27 with 6:11 left in the third quarter on a 3-pointer by junior Olin Chamberlain. From this point, neither team led by more than six points.
With 3:05 left in the third quarter, The Prep took their last lead of the game, at 32 to 31, on a fast break layup by McKie. Ryan quickly responded with a 3-pointer by Williams to go ahead 34 to 32, and they never trailed from that point. With 2:59 left in the contest, Ryan’s Williams hit a step back 3-pointer where he stepped back on an angle. That very difficult shot put Ryan up 46 to 41. A minute later, Prep junior Jordan Ellerbee sank a 3-pointer to cut Ryan’s lead to 46 to 44. After Ryan’s Sorber made a free throw, The Prep’s McKie tied the game at 47 on a 3-pointer from a feed by sophomore Will Lesovitz. There was 1:11 left in the game, and Ryan held the ball, playing for the last shot. It’s very, very difficult for even an excellent high school team to hold the ball for over a minute, but The Prep didn’t apply pressure. Ryan called timeout with seven seconds left. When play resumed, Ryan got the ball to Sorber up high, and he passed the ball to 6’ 1” senior Ryan Everett. Although he didn’t score, Everett had a terrific floor game, capped by his assist to Williams for the winning jumper with two seconds left. The Prep called time out, but, when they inbounded the ball, they committed a turnover, and the game was over.
St. Joseph’s Prep, a 6A squad, has one of the very best teams in Pennsylvania, clearly capable of winning the PIAA state championship this season. However, by virtue of this loss, they will not qualify for the state championship tournament. This top flight team’s season is over, as not more than two Philadelphia Catholic League Class 6A teams can participate in the PIAA tournament. Of the six St. Joseph’s Prep players who saw action on Friday afternoon, only two are seniors.
For the game, Ryan out-rebounded The Prep 34 to 24. Ryan committed nine turnovers, while The Prep had 10. Ryan was only five of 10 from the free throw line, while free throw shooting is long a strength of The Prep. In this game, they were eight of 10 from the stripe. Ryan made four 3-pointers, all of them by Williams. The Prep scored seven times from beyond the arc, and four of their players made 3-pointers. There were three ties and six lead changes.
Archbishop Ryan scoring: Darren Williams 22, Thomas Sorber 17, Jaden Murray 8, and Brandon Russell 2.
St. Joseph’s Prep scoring: Jaron McKie 16, Jordan Ellerbee 13, Jalen Harper 9, Olin Chamberlain 7, Will Lesovitz 2
Archbishop Ryan 12 13 14 10 – 49
St. Joseph’s Prep 10 11 12 14 – 47
Cardinal O’Hara never had a chance against defending Philadelphia Catholic League champion Roman Catholic on Friday night in a game played on Roman’s alternate home court, Holy Family U. Roman led for the entire game and won 71 to 32. The mercy rule was triggered late in the third quarter. O’Hara fell behind early, committing six turnovers in the first quarter, and never really contended.
This season’s edition of the Roman squad is quick, deep, smart, unselfish, and determined to move the ball both on breaks and in half court sets. They press, play ferocious man-to-man defense, and are effective when playing zone. They have slashers, a bunch of outside shooters, and a powerful inside presence in 6’ 7” junior Shareef Jackson. They are a prime contender for this season’s PIAA Class 6A state championship.
For the game, Roman out-rebounded O’Hara 35 to 26. Roman committed just seven turnovers, three of them when reserves were on the floor late in the game. O’Hara had 11 miscues. Roman made all six of their free throw attempts, and O’Hara was five of eight from the stripe. Roman made nine 3-pointers, and five different Roman players made threes. O’Hara scored once from beyond the arc.
Roman Catholic scoring: Bobby Cottrell 16, Travis Reed 12, Shareef Jackson 12, Sammy Jackson 11, Hunter Johnson 7, Kabrien Goss 5, Sebastian Edwards 4, and Malik Hughes 4.
Cardinal O’Hara scoring: Pearse McGuinn 10, Aasim Burton 9, Miles Johnson 8, and Tygee Clark 5.
Cardinal O’Hara 5 11 7 9 – 32
Roman Catholic 14 17 30 10 – 71
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