City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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When Roman Catholic lost two of its first four Catholic League games, there was certainly some concern in the third-floor gym of the century-old building at Broad and Vine.

It wasn’t just that the Cahillites fell to Neumann-Goretti and Archbishop Carroll, two extremely good programs and contenders for the league crown this year. It was how the they looked; there wasn’t quite the same toughness and energy that carried them to the PCL championship a year ago.

A preseason top-25 ranking in the country (according to USA Today) and the presence of three future high-major Division I seniors certainly played into that.

“We were just cruising through the season, we were kind of cocky,” admitted senior point guard Tony Carr, one of those three seniors all bound for Penn State. “Those two losses made us come down to earth, we went back to the drawing board and started from scratch.”

Now, Roman like it’s hitting their stride at the right time--especially on the defensive end. The defending Catholic League champion looked like the Cahillies squad that went all the way last year, ruining Archbishop Wood’s senior night by holding the Vikings to a season-low in scoring for a 52-37 win on Friday night.

That makes it eight league wins in a row for the Cahillites, who locked up the No. 3 spot in the league playoffs with the victory.

“No question, I think we’re just committed to it a lot more, I see guys’ focus level is a lot higher,” head coach Chris McNesby said. “Now we’re playing together, sharing the ball, different guys are stepping up and it’s good to see us with a rhythm both offensively and defensively.”

Part of the Roman learning process has been working in senior wing Lamar Stevens, who transferred to the school over the summer after spending the last two years at The Haverford School.

Stevens and fellow wing Nazeer Bostick, who earned the nickname “Horse” for his relentless effort inside last playoff run despite a 6-4 frame, looked like the pieces they were expected to be against Wood. Stevens had 16 points and 10 rebounds, coming up with back-to-back 3-point plays in a decisive third quarter, while Bostick had eight points and 12 rebounds of his own, including seven on the offensive end.

Both will join Carr at Penn State in the fall.

“Lamar’s coming along, Nazeer’s coming along, looking like the Horse again,” Carr said. “We’re all hitting our stride at the right time.”

A normally sharp-shooting Wood couldn’t find its shot on the night the school honored five seniors, including Army-bound point guard and two-year captain Tommy Funk. Wood was just 3-for-19 (15.7 percent) from 3-point range and 16-for-49 (32.6 percent) overall, not nearly enough against the length and athleticism Roman has on the perimeter.

"They’re like playing a college team," Wood head coach John Mosco said. "They’re big, strong and athletic."

In the first half, Wood was able to keep it close despite the rough shooting night, coming out of the first quarter in a 9-9 tie thanks to six forced turnovers, and it was 24-18 Roman at the midway point.

But the Cahillites set the tone on the first two possessions of the third quarter with buckets by Bostick, both finishes in a crowded interior including one off a teammates' miss to drive the margin up to 10.

"They were playing us tough in the paint, they were doing a good job of boxing me out and not letting me get a second chance," Bostick said. "To come out in the second half and get those two buckets was exactly what I needed.”

A 41-31 Roman lead at the end of the fourth quarter was never threatened as Wood was 2-of-12 from the floor in the final stanza, including 1-for-8 from 3-point range. Roman's Dakquan Davis, who finished with 11 points, hit key 3-pointers in the third quarter and fourth quarter to keep Wood's momentum at bay.

Junior guard Collin Gillespie was the only Viking in double figures, finishing with 10 points; Funk added seven while lanky 6-9 sophomore center Seth Pinkney had eight points, 10 rebounds and six blocks.

The loss means Wood is eight the No. 8 or No. 9 seed in the Catholic League playoffs, with a first-round game against Father Judge locked in. The host will be determined the by the final game of the regular season; Judge, who’s 5-7 in league play after losing to Neumann-Goretti on Friday night, has a tiebreaker over Wood thanks to a 80-71 win that was the midpoint of a five-game losing streak for the Vikings back in January.

In order to host that playoff game, Wood will have to win on the road at an Archbishop Carroll squad that is locked into the No. 2 slot in the league playoffs thanks to an 11-1 record. And no matter what, the winner of that first-round playoff game gets rewarded with a trip to Neumann-Goretti in the quarterfinals.

“Just have to take one game at a time. I think we’re good enough, people picked us early, we had a little downspell,” Mosco said. “If we can compete, make shots, doesn’t matter. We’ll see what happens, it’ll be a tough game anyway.”