St. Joseph’s Prep Defeats Roman Catholic with a Buzzer Beater: Kehler on Hoops
Written by: Andy Herr on January 9, 2025
Article by David Kehler
St. Joseph’s Prep defeated Roman Catholic 40 to 38 on Wednesday night on a close range shot as time expired by 6′ 3″ senior Jordan Ellerbee in a game between two of the top squads in Pennsylvania. The Philadelphia Catholic League contest was played at Bensalem and was Roman’s home game.
The thriller was a tense, tactical, largely defensive game between two ancient rivals. Both teams have multiple future Division 1 players, and both offenses are high-octane with ability to score both from outside and from slashes to the hoop. The game was close throughout, with the largest lead of the night being an eight point margin for Roman in the early going. Both squads played at a deliberate pace for the entire game. The teams often switched defenses during the contest, with both playing a fair amount of 2-3 zone. That’s unusual for Roman, which traditionally plays man-to-man defense.
Roman had a height advantage, and they exploited it early by getting the ball repeatedly inside to 6′ 8″ senior Shareef Jackson, a Lafayette recruit. Jackson scored twice inside during the first quarter, but Prep collapsed on him repeatedly throughout the contest. The Prep tied the game at 10 late in the first quarter on outstanding play by Ellerbee and by 6′ 3″ senior Jaron McKie.
Roman’s best sequence was in the second quarter, as they held the Prep to two 3-pointers in the frame while capitalizing on outstanding play by 6′ 2″ sophomore Tyler Sutton, one of the most highly touted Class of 2027 players in the nation. Sutton scored seven points in the second quarter, including sinking a shot from beyond the arc. Apart from the tie at 10, Roman led throughout the first half.
The Prep was much more effective in the second half, particularly on defense. Both teams were tenacious, but the Prep was able to battle Roman evenly on the boards in the second half. Roman maintained small leads in the third quarter and were up by two points going into the final frame.
The Prep’s Ellerbee had a strong fourth quarter, scoring eight points, including the decisive basket, in the frame. The Prep also made two 3-pointers in the final period, one by Jaron McKie and one by junior Mekhi Robertson. Still, Roman led until a hoop by Ellerbee gave the Prep the lead at 38 to 37. Roman’s Sutton was able to tie the game at 38 with a free throw. With 10 seconds left in the game, the Prep had the ball, and Roman had some fouls to give, and Roman gave them. Then, with three seconds left in the game, the Prep inbounded the ball, and Ellerbee was able to score inside as time expired.
For the game, Roman out-rebounded the Prep 36 to 29. Roman committed 12 turnovers to nine miscues by the Prep. Always a great free throw shooting team, the Prep made all six of their attempts from the stripe, while Roman was four of six. The Prep made four 3-pointers, and Roman scored five times from beyond the arc. There were two ties and one lead change. The Prep led just twice in the contest, at 38 to 37 and at the final score of 40 to 38.
St. Joseph’s Prep scoring: Jordan Ellerbee 20, Jaron McKie 10, Will Lesovitz 4, Olin Chamberlain 3, and Mekhi Robertson 3.
Roman Catholic scoring: Sebastian Edwards 13, Tyler Sutton 8, Elijah Guer 7, Shareef Jackson 6, and C.J. Miller 4.
St. Joseph’s Prep 10 6 10 14-40
Roman Catholic 10 12 6 10-38
These teams are leading contenders for the PIAA Class 6A state championship this season.
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