Kehler on Hoops: Philly Catholic League Semifinals

Written by: Dell Jackson on February 24, 2022

ARCHBISHOP RYAN DEFEATS WEST CATHOLIC 59-55
NEUMANN-GORETTI DEFEATS ROMAN CATHOLIC 62-60

The greatness of Philadelphia Catholic League basketball was on full display on Wednesday night at the Palestra in front of a capacity crowd as the loop’s top two teams were upset in the semifinals of the league playoffs. The view from here is that the Philadelphia Catholic League playoffs will prove to be the top competition in boys basketball in Pennsylvania this season. The Catholic League, top to bottom, is stronger this season that at any previous point in this century. Wednesday’s doubleheader presented two intensely played close games of very high quality. Archbishop Ryan reversed a regular season loss to West Catholic, and Neumann-Goretti reversed a regular season loss to Roman Catholic. Although defeated tonight, both Roman Catholic, in Class 6A, and West Catholic, in Class 3A, are major contenders for PIAA state championship honors next month. However, for all teams in the Philadelphia Catholic League, the main objective is to win the league championship, a much more daunting task than winning a PIAA state championship.

In the opening game, the Palestra’s big floor was a factor in Nuemann’s win over Roman. Roman’s squad is immensely talented but not deep, and Neumann’s quickness seemed to wear down their opponents. For much of the game, Neumann had five guards on the court; otherwise, they played with four guards and 6′ 8″ junior Sultan Adewale. Neumann, traditionally, is a guard-oriented team, and this season is no exception. What was particularly noticeable was the quickness of Neumann’s guards getting to the boards to grab rebounds. Adewale was also an effective rebounder, grabbing 10 caroms in the game.

Roman and Neumann went back and forth all night. There were five ties, and neither team ever established much of a lead. The outstanding players on both teams had big games: Neumann’s Robert Wright III, a 6′ sophomore, scored 20 points, and his 5′ 11″ sophomore teammate, Kharfiq Myers, tallied 16. For Roman, senior Daniel Skillings had a spectacular game, scoring 25 points, and senior Khalil Farmer added 17. The game came down to Roman’s last possession, when a shot at the buzzer bounced off the from of the rim, and Neumann held on for a 62-60 win.

Roman Catholic 15 14 11 20-60
Neumann-Goretti 15 10 21 16-62

Archbishop Ryan got off to an inauspicious start against West Catholic, committing three turnovers in the first two and a half minutes of action, enabling West Catholic to jump out to a 16-7 lead. However, as they have in other games this season, Ryan settled down and battled back into contention. Ryan responded with a 7-0 run on jumper by 6′ 9″ sophomore Thomas Sorber, a drive by 5′ 11″ junior Michael Paris, and a three pointer by Paris, who had a superb game. West Catholic led 16-14 at the end of the first quarter. By the second quarter, Ryan’s plan of attack was clear: get the ball inside to Sorber. Sorber proved difficult for West Catholic to guard, and he scored seven points in the second quarter.

After halftime, West Catholic switched to a zone defense in an attempt to contain Sorber. In the third quarter, Ryan took what would be their largest lead in the game, 37-28, following a three point play by Paris and a three pointer by 6′ 4″ sophomore Darren Williams. West Catholic stormed back with a 12-0 run to retake the lead on a jumper by 6′ 3″ junior Shemar Wilbanks-Acqui, a drive by Wilbanks-Acqui, a hoop inside by 6′ 5″ junior Zion Stanford, a free throw by 5′ 9″ junior Budd Clark, a three pointer by 6′ 7″ senior Kaseem Watson, and a tipin by 6′ 7″ senior Nasir Griffin. That made it 40-37, West Catholic, and the momentum was all theirs. Ryan responded with a very clutch three pointer by 6′ 1″ senior Luke Boyd, and the game was tied at 40 going into the final quarter.

The teams exchanged leads in the early going of the fourth quarter. In the decisive sequence of the game, Sorber broke a 49-49 tie with a hoop on a pivot move and then another basket inside. West Catholic had repeated opportunities to tie the game down the stretch but were unable to do so.

Archbishop Ryan played a zone defense throughout the game. At times, it looked like a 2-3, and sometimes it looked like a 1-1-3. When West Catholic got the ball inside, Ryan’s defense collapsed on the ball. In Ryan’s previous game, in the quarterfinals of the Philadelphia Catholic League playoffs, Ryan ran with the very uptempo Archbishop Wood team. Against West Catholic, in this game, Ryan was far more deliberate and much more focused on getting the ball to Sorber close to the basket. Sorber was supported by excellent play by Paris and by 6′ 3″ senior Jalen Sneed. Sneed was a tough defender and an effective ballhawk, and Paris repeatedly came up with spectacular scoring plays. Ryan’s entire offense benefitted from Williams’ nifty passing.

The view from here is that offensive rebounding should receive much more attention than it does in high school basketball. West Catholic’s offensive rebounding in this game was insufficient. They had a total of six offensive rebounds in the game, and four of the six of were team rebounds. As the game came down the stretch and West Catholic launched outside shots, their players watched the flight of the ball but did not go to the hoop looking to rebound. In these critical late game moments, Ryan players got the rebounds.

Ryan out rebounded West Catholic 26 to 24. Ryan committed 14 turnovers, and West Catholic committed eight. Ryan was 10 of 14 from the free throw line, and West Catholic was five of 10. Ryan made five three pointers, and West Catholic hit six shots from behind the arc. There were four ties and nine lead changes.

Archbishop Ryan scoring: Thomas Sorber 17, Michael Paris 13, Luke Boyd 10, Jalen Sneed 10, Darren Williams 7, and Jaden Murray 2.

West Catholic scoring: Zion Stanford 19, Kaseem Watson 10, Shemar Wilbanks-Acqui 10, Budd Clark 8, Kareem Watson 6, and Nasir Griffin 2.

Archbishop Ryan 14 15 11 19-59
West Catholic 16 10 14 15-55

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