City of Basketball Love

Jeff Griffith (@Jeff_Griffith21)
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At the opening tip of Friday night’s Inter-Ac showdown between Malvern Prep and Episcopal, two points separated Nick Alikakos from his 1,000th career point.

Those two points could have easily been scored as the clock winded down in EA’s last outing, a blowout win against Haverford; the junior forward held the ball for the final minute of play, just one field goal away from his milestone.

However, the thought of such a milestone completed slipped the mind of his head coach Craig Conlin as that game progressed.

“I wasn’t even thinking about it on Tuesday at Haverford,” said Conlin. “I knew that he needed 32 points in that game, but as soon as the game started, I didn’t know what was going on in the stands or what people were saying or anything.”

Of course, Alikakos was fed the ball on the first two possessions against Malvern, the latter of which saw him make his team’s first bucket, officially notching the 1,000-point mark, a feat earned by just eight other players in Episcopal Academy basketball history.

“It’s huge,” Conlin said of the milestone. “I absolutely love the kid, his competitiveness from the day he walked through our doors--he came up through our middle school. His passing skills, I think, are what impressed me the most, those are two great qualities I think he has. He’s extremely coachable, tough, fearless, and keeps going at it.”

Two points may have been the difference between Alikakos and history at the beginning of the night, but when the final buzzer sounded seemingly light-years later, it was one all-important point that separated his Churchmen from the host Friars, as EA eked out a thrilling victory by a final score of 70-69 in an electric, hostile environment.

“It was definitely a huge win, first off,” added Alikakos. “My teammates are definitely proud of me that I got it this early, because I missed fifteen games my freshman year, so I’m happy that I got it this early considering that. My teammates were really happy for me.”

While Alikakos led all scorers with 25, that crucial final point was scored by Conner Delaney, while Alikakos sat on the bench with five fouls.

When Delaney stepped to the free throw line with ten seconds left, Will Powers, who led the Friars (10-7, 2-1 Inter-Ac) with 21 points, had just drained back-to-back three-pointers to tie the game at 69.

“That was tough to deal with, mentally for myself and as a coaching staff it was tough to deal with,” said Conlin of the two clutch Powers treys. “We always want to present a strong front to the kids, say ‘alright, shake it, next play, we’ve got to dig in and get it done even more.’ Will Powers is a really strong player, he’s a tough kid, I love him.”

Delaney was huge the whole game for Episcopal (10-6, 2-1 Inter-Ac) with 18 points, but came up especially clutch knocking down that game-winning free throw and other key baskets down the stretch, making good on a promise he and his fellow teammates made to Alikakos after he fouled out with 1:36 to play.

“They told me, ‘Nick, we’ve got you,’ said Alikakos. “There was only like a minute left, we were up by five, and Conner told me that, and it made me feel really good to know that my buddies had my back.”

Alikakos’ teammates weren’t the only players who “had his back,” as almost the entire student section donned t-shirts made for the occasion, with the emblem, “N1KOS,” a combination of his school-wide nickname and the symbol “1K,” meaning one thousand.

The shirts also included the hashtag, “#Lionhearted,” which Alikakos and his team often embody, as was on display Friday night.

“That’s a great hashtag for Nick but this team as well,” said Conlin. “We talk to them a lot about when the stuff hits the fan, not falling apart, not screaming at each other, not fracturing, but if anything getting closer together. We realize that the sum of our parts together is much greater than just one guy going at it. We know that our strength is in our numbers, so we try to preach that to the kids about or toughness, physical toughness, mental toughness.

“‘Lionhearted’ really sums up Nick and all of our guys,” he added.

The Churchmen could have easily fractured and fallen apart following a recent double-digit loss to Penn Charter, who hasn’t been a problem at all for EA in recent years. Nonetheless, they found a way to band together and win in a hostile environment, without the services of their star in the final minute.

As for Malvern, this marks the second time in as many seasons that a matchup with Episcopal has been lost on the final possession. Many of the Friars top scorers played outstanding games, but were sunk by a 7-of-16 free throw mark in the final quarter.

On top of Powers’ 21, Mike Hollingsworth had 13 points and 15 rebounds, Tommy Wolfe had 19 points, and Brady Devereux dropped two key three-pointers on his way to a ten-point night.

“Tip of the hat to Malvern, what they do, they do well,” said Conlin. “They run, they press, they’re uptempo, and they shoot threes. You have to pray they’re not on.”

While such an intense battle proved that Malvern may be able to make some more noise this season in the Inter-Ac than they have recently, Episcopal proved they still have the edge over the upstart Friars.

Their upcoming showdown with defending league champion Germantown Academy will certainly require a great deal of toughness, but it’s been made clear Craig Conlin’s lionhearted team is up for the challenge.

While such an intense battle proved that Malvern may be able to make some more noise this season in the Inter-Ac than they have recently, Episcopal proved they still have the edge over the upstart Friars.

Their upcoming showdown with defending league champion Germantown Academy will certainly require a great deal of toughness, but it’s been made clear Craig Conlin’s lionhearted team is up for the challenge.