City of Basketball Love

Michael Bullock (@thebullp_n)
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HERSHEY — Fast forward one full year and it’s entirely possible those fans who check into Giant Center for the PIAA’s string of boys’ basketball championships — there’ll be six of them from here on — will be watching Math, Civics & Sciences.

A far-flung reach? Hardly.

Not for those who were on hand Friday afternoon and saw Dan Jackson’s Mighty Elephants compete for 32 minutes against an experienced Kennedy Catholic side before falling 71-60 in the PIAA’s Class A championship game.

And a return trip to Chocolatetown for Jackson’s Elephants (15-15) should not be summarily dismissed for one particular reason — underclassmen spent 147 of a possible 160 minutes bouncing up and down Giant Center’s spacious floor.

Juniors, sophomores and freshmen also accounted for 57 of MCS’ 60 points.

Junior Malik Archer banked 21 points for Jackson’s scrappy Mighty Elephants, while sophomore big man Edward Croswell pocketed 10 points and six boards while battling gamely against KC’s 6-8, 250-pound hammer Sagaba Konate.

Croswell picked up two early fouls and was forced to sit early.

Still …

“I think overall he did a good job playing today,” said Jackson, whose club was outboarded 45-34. “He’s just a sophomore. He held his own and stood his ground against [Konate].

“If he wasn’t in foul trouble, things might have turned out differently because we would have had somebody on the glass rebounding and other stuff.”

MCS’ guard-driven lineup also picked up 10 points from junior Tymair Johnson, while junior guard Saheed Peoples tacked on nine points — seven in the second quarter. Sophomore Kwahzere Ransom, the final youngster in the MCS starting five, was the hero in Tuesday’s overtime victory over Constitution.

Freshman Ja’Quill Stone even hopped off the bench to add five points.

So, with those things squarely in mind, a spot in next season’s 2A final is hardly a stretch. Not when one considers how much these guys gained the past two weeks while making a daring run to Hershey — when no one anticipated that sort of thing.

Only the guys in MCS uniforms or those on the coaching staff may have believed they'd have been playing in March.

That belief was evident, even when the Elephants were trailing by 16 (55-39) early in the fourth quarter. Two minutes later, MCS was down 57-49.

“We called a timeout and we told them we’ve been here before this year,” said Jackson, who guided the 2011 Elephants to state gold and the 2014 edition to a runner-up finish. “We’re not gonna die without fighting, that’s what we told them in the huddle.

“We’re gonna leave everything out on the floor and we’re not gonna give up just ‘cause the score is what it is. And they came out and pushed a little harder.”

And the Elephants did push — even absorbed another Kennedy Catholic burst before slicing their deficit to nine in the final moments.

Another reason to believe more heroics could be in store a year from now.

“They listened. They were very coachable and they listened,” Jackson said of his youthful bunch. “They did whatever we asked them to do, no questions asked.

“And they played with a chip on their shoulder, because most of them before this run they weren’t known. No one knew Ed Croswell. No one knew Kwahzere Ransom. They were playing with a chip knowing that, ‘Hey, we’ve got something to prove.’

“So it was fun. It brought me back to life, coaching.”

A summer full of positive growth on the court — along with everything the Elephants gathered while playing in March — might lead to even more fun.

Maybe even in Hershey.

“Most of our guys are underclassmen,” Jackson said. “They did something that no one thought was possible. We weren’t ranked all season long. … No one expected us to be in Hershey in December.

“To build on this, [we can say], ‘Hey guys, we were able to accomplish a lot.’ We didn’t get the gold, but we were here.’ We got the experience of what it’s like, bright lights, big stage, so we need to build on that all summer,” Jackson added.

“Hopefully we can end up here next year — and with a different outcome.”