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District 2 Boys 5A First Round: West Philadelphia 54, West Scranton 50
 

District 2 Boys 5A First Round: West Philadelphia 54, West Scranton 50

Written by: Jon K on March 12, 2023

 

 

March 11, 2023

 

Speedboys’ Magic Returns

 

West Philadelphia 54, West Scranton 50

 

By Phil T.

SCRANTON – Many knew about the annual Saint Patrick’s Day Parade dominating outdoor activities on Saturday afternoon throughout Scranton, but there was also some incredible action going on inside the Scranton High School Center for Living Gymnasium as West Philadelphia and West Scranton kicked off their Boys 5A PIAA State Tournament run with a bang.

While the Invaders were in full control for 28 minutes, it was the last few minutes that counted the most.  The Speedboys erased an opening scoreless period, double-digit deficits, foul troubles, and more as they took home a 54-50 comeback victory over West Scranton.

Both teams took their time feeling each out following the tip-off.  Sloppy turnovers, contested shots, and quality defense kept the scoreboard blank for the first 1:49 of the contest.

Tristian Lee would break the deadlock with a two-for-two trip to the foul line and an ensuing triple.

The Speedboys’ offense would be self-destructing in the opening stanza as they turned the ball over three times and could only get one shot attempt off as West Scranton began to build their lead.  West Philly would ultimately keep a goose egg on the board throughout the opening stanza as they failed to convert any of their 11 chances from the field.

A Chris Ogden triple and an Evan Laybourn-Boddie runner would propel West Side to a 10-0 advantage at the end of the first quarter.

It would only take Jabrill Jackson 12 seconds to find the bottom of the net to start the second stanza for the Speedboys.  Two drives and a foul shot from Elijah Hester would give them a much-needed boost as they started the frame on a 7-0 run.

A Zach Price field-goal would end the WP run and an ensuing Lee jumper would allow the Invaders to double their opponents score at 14-7.

A Hester trip to the charity stripe would whittle the deficit down to five, but West Scranton would then become very accurate.  Josh McConlouge followed Hester with a triple for the Invaders, and then following another Hester bucket, Ogden would drain back-to-back triples to boost the Invader lead back to double-digits, 23-11.

The Spoeedboys increased their defensive intensity and it paid immediate dividends as Jayden Mckie and Hester would each pick loose balls and finish at the rim.  However, a Lee floater and Laybourn-Boddie layup would neutralize West Philly buckets as both teams headed off for the locker rooms separated by 12 points, 27-15.

To make up some ground, the Speedboys maintained their defensive pressure to start the second half.  It allowed them to cut the gap down to single-digits, but in doing so their foul count increased very quickly.

After a blocking foul was called on West Philly, tempers began to boil over.  A technical foul would ensue, followed by another foul called during the upcoming Invader inbound pass.  The incident left the Speedboys with five team fouls just over two minutes into the second half.  Two game minutes later, the Invaders would move into the one-and-one bonus as the Speedboys would end the third stanza with nine team fouls.

Following the initial dust-up with the officials, West Philadelphia got back to business and kept their scoring spree rolling as they started the second half on a 11-3 scoring advantage.

Two Lee field-goals, foul shots from Laybourn-Boddie and an Ogden triple would reboot the Invader advantage, 39-25.  This would be their largest lead of the game and mark the last time the Invaders maintained any momentum.

Two Hester buckets and another from Jackson enabled the Speedboys to end the stanza on a 6-1 run that cut the deficit to single-digits, 40-31.

Makel Butts set the tempo to start the final stanza with a steal and finish at the hoop.  The bucket sparked two additional scores, one from Khabir Washington and another from Butts that gave the Speedboys an 8-0 scoring spurt over that spanned the final two quarters.

An Ogden triple would temporarily halt the West Philly attack, but foul shots from Hester and a mid-range jumper from Betts would turn the once 14-point spread into a three-point deficit, 43-40.

With 4:25 remaining in the game, Ogden would get fouled putting the Invaders into the double-bonus, but a one-for-two trip to charity stripe would prevent West Scranton from gaining much needed ground.

A Mckie bucket would cut the deficit to one score, but it would be Betts who would send the gym into a frenzy as he slammed home the game tying bucket, 44-44.

Laybourn-Boddie quickly put West Scranton back in front from the foul line, but there was no stopping the Speedboys at this point.

A Hester layup would knot the game back up and, not long afterwards, Jackson would clean up his teammate’s miss with a putback bucket to give West Philadelphia their first lead of the contest, 48-46.  A Hester triple and foul shots from Mckie and Jackson would cap a 9-0 run for the Speedboys as they erased the deficit and built their lead to seven points, 53-46, with less than 30 seconds left on the clock.

Lee would make an additional foul shot and McConlogue would hit a triple that cut the deficit down to 53-50 with 3.1 left to play.  Following the bucket, West Scranton would use their final timeout to prevent West Philadelphia from burning off the final seconds during the inbound pass.

After failing to steal the ensuing inbound pass the Invaders were forced to foul.  Xavier Howard set off to the line needing to make at least one attempt to give his side a decisive two-score lead.

Although Howard would miss his second attempt, the pressure had already been lifted as he drained the first attempt allowing the Speedboys to celebrate their 54-50 comeback victory.

Elijah Hester led all scorers with 28 points, before leaving due to injury, and made five steals for West Philadelphia.  Makel Butts added nine points, including four field-goals in the fourth quarter, in the contest.  Jabrill Jackson scored eight points, brought down seven rebounds and made three steals in the Speedboys’ victory.

Chris Ogden led West Scranton with 17 points, on five triples, in the game.  Tristian Lee finished a rebound shy of a double-double as he recorded 14 points.  Evan Laybourn-Boddie was a factor throughout the court as he finished with eight points, six rebounds and five assists.

With the win West Philadelphia advances to the Boys 5A PIAA Second Round where they’ll face undefeated District 1 champion, Radnor (28-0), at Bensalem HS on March 14.  Radnor defeated District 3’s Warwick 70-59 in their first round matchup.

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