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MCS continues to play "underdog" role in win over Chester, Westtown stays hot

12/24/2016, 2:15am EST
By Will Slover

Will Slover (@WillSlover31)
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After starting last season a dismal 5-13, but then rallying to go 11-3 over their final 14 contests to make the PIAA A State Championship game, the Mighty Elephants of Math, Civics and Sciences Charter School have gotten used to playing, and performing, in an underdog role.

In most cases, coming into a season off of a state championship appearance wouldn’t indicate being an underdog, but after losing forward Edward Croswell to St. Joseph’s Prep over the offseason, MCS found itself back in that ever-familiar underdog role entering the 2016-17 season.

Fast forward to December 21. The Mighty Elephants are 6-0, fresh off of a victory over perennial state power, Martin Luther King, and had already beaten another state top dog, La Salle College High School, to start their season. At this point, they were ready to shake the ‘underdog’ title.

But yet again, coming into their clash with Chester, who also entered the contest without a loss,  in the Play-by-Play Classic event hosted at the home gymnasium of their opponent, Math, Civics, and Sciences was not the squad favored to win.

In front of a packed gymnasium on Friday night, MCS did what they have gotten so accustomed to doing, and beat another Goliath, as they topped Chester by a score of 65-53, with a crowd of Chester faithful looking on.

“This year, they’ve said we haven’t played anybody,” senior guard Malik Archer said.“But we played a school that was ranked over us, again and we beat them, again. It feels good.”

Archer, who finished with a game-high of 24 points and took home one of the game’s MVP awards, was a huge reason for his team’s second-half comeback.

After trailing 18-8 after the first quarter, and things looking like they were going to turn from bad to worse for the visiting Mighty Elephants after senior guard Saheed Peoples was assessed a technical foul and sent to the bench, halftime rolled around, with MCS still trailing 31-26, but the intermission allowed them to regain their composure.

“We had a couple of bonehead plays, a technical foul by one of our players, that got us off to a slow start,” MCS head coach Dan Jackson said. “But we went in the locker room and had a tough conversation and came out and executed what we wanted to do defensively.”

Out of the intermission, it was all MCS, as they outscored the Clippers 16-10 in the third quarter, taking the lead on a Kwahzere Ransom layup just before time expired in the third frame, and continued to outplay the host team for the rest of the game.

Clinging to a small four point lead, 53-49, with 2:03 to go, MCS used a quick four-point burst out of a timeout to put Chester away for good and seal their seventh win of the young season.

“This is a big win for us,” Jackson said. “They’re a well-coached, well-disciplined team. Coming in here, some of our guys at the beginning of the game were a little nervous with the atmosphere and everything, but once we settled down we built confidence and we feel like this is a big win for us.”

Archer’s effort was aided by senior guard Tymair Johnson, who finished with 13 points, five rebounds and four assists.

For Chester, who is now 4-1 on the season, it was the 6-foot-8 Jordan Camper who caused problems for MCS, taking advantage of the lack of height presented by the Mighty Elephants. The senior forward finished with 15 points and seven rebounds, en route to taking home the game’s other MVP award.

Dealing with a size disadvantage has been something that MCS has gotten used to over the seven games they’ve played this season.

“All season long, so far, we’ve been having to deal with size differentials as far as height,” Jackson said. “Our guys have been playing hard, been playing tough, boxing out, and just playing with some heart.”

With Public League heavyweights Constitution, reigning champion Del-Val charter, and a loaded Imhotep team awaiting them within the first two weeks of the New Year, along with national powerhouse St. Benedict’s Prep, MCS knows that a tough road still awaits them and that some people might still overlook the undefeated squad.

It was good. We knew that we were the underdogs,” Archer said of the most recent win. “It feels really good, but we’re not done yet.”

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Westtown keeps it rolling with win over Atlantic City

It has been a hectic last few days for the Westtown School.

After winning the Signature Series of the City of Palms Classic in Fort Myers (Fla.) with a 55-52 in a revenge game over Putnam Science Academy (Conn.) on Tuesday, the Moose had to travel home and venture off to New Jersey on Thursday, where they topped Life Center Academy (N.J.) by a score of 80-40.

More of the same happened on Friday night, as Westtown once again had to travel, although this time a much shorter distance, to Chester High School, as participants in the Play-by-Play Classic event, to take on another unfamiliar foe in Atlantic City (N.J.).

And once again, they left victorious, as Westtown used a strong start to topple Atlantic City by a score of 67-43.

“It's been alright,” junior guard Cameron Reddish said. “We’ve been together a lot so we try to have a lot of fun. We basically just try to go out there and try to play hard on the court and try to get W’s.”

After just a quarter of play, Westtown led visiting Atlantic City 24-6, and looked as if they were going to run away with the game.

Atlantic City had other plans though, as the Vikings held Westtown to just six points in the following quarter to cut the deficit to 13 heading into halftime.

“Tonight’s team defended,” Westtown head coach Seth Berger said. “They were up under our guys, they played hard the whole time so there was no rest until the final buzzer.”

Out of halftime, Westtown found themselves again and outscored Atlantic City 24-9 in the third quarter to put the game out of reach for the visiting squad.

Reddish, a five-star guard who was named to the All-Tournament team in Florida, finished with 13 points, six assists and four rebounds in the win, while senior guard and Arizona signee Brandon Randolph cashed in for 21 points on his way to taking home the MVP award for the victor.

For Atlantic City, junior guard David Aikens took home the other MVP trophy as he scored a team-high of 10 points on an efficient 4-of-6 shooting.

Westtown, who will enjoy a five-day break before heading down to Lewes, Del. to participate in the Slam Dunk at the Beach showcase event, will take on Gray Collegiate Academy (S.C.) in their next contest.

“It's been fun,” Berger said. The kids are playing great. We've had a few lapses, but for the most part they’re playing hard and defending. The last four games we’ve given up 43, 40, 52 and 42 points so if our kids keep defending like that, we’ll stay fine.”


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