City of Basketball Love

Tyler Sandora (@Tyler_Sandora)

Winning the Philadelphia Catholic League, the District 12 championship, and its first ever state tournament win, Archbishop Wood is having a successful year to say the least.

Sure, they boast star players that include Division I recruits Collin Gillespie, Tyree Pickron, and 7-footer Seth Pinkney, but according to coach John Mosco, the most important players on the Vikings squad usually don’t fill up the stat sheet on a nightly basis. 

Players like Julius Phillips, Karrington Wallace, and Keith Otto have been vital in Wood’s historic season. 

Whether it is pulling in 50/50 balls, making key shots down the stretch, or locking up the opponent’s best player on defense, these players always seem to play an important role in the team’s success. 

Wood was able to utilize these unsung heroes to defeat Mechanicsburg 80-56 on Thursday night at Pottstown High School in the second round of the PIAA 5A state tournament. 

After trailing 13-11 three minutes in, Mosco called a timeout, and stressed the need to pick up the pace and start playing their brand of basketball. 

“We didn’t look interested,” Mosco said. “Julius and Keith both brought energy off the bench.”

The timeout proved meaningful, as the Vikings never once trailed after regaining the lead a few moments after play resumed. Wood was able to dominate the rest of the game, extending its lead to 50-26 at halftime. 

Gillespie led the way with 24 points, while running the show at point guard for the Vikings. The Villanova commit connected on three 3-pointers and dished out numerous assists to his teammates. 

While Gillespie was running the offense from outside the key, Wallace was seemingly everywhere in the paint, scoring 12 points, and recording numerous blocks. 

“We have big guys and scorers, teams have a difficult time matching up with us,” Gillespie said. “We played different teams in the Catholic League and we had trouble scoring, but now I think we have found our rhythm and we can run our offense.”

The performances of the bench stars don’t go unnoticed, as Gillespie recognizes the importance of their roles. 

“Coach called a timeout and told us to step it up and we got some more energy,” he said. “The bench guys did a great job tonight, we want them to keep playing that role.”

Pickron added 12 for the Vikings, while also ripping down seven boards. The junior and Division I recruit will likely be a main catalyst in Wood’s success in the games to come. Joining Pickron on the stat sheet was senior Matt Cerruti, who chipped in 11 points. 

For Mechanicsburg, senior Cade Alioth scored 23 points and secured 11 rebounds for the District 3 runner-ups. The Wheaton College recruit picked up right where he left off from his previous game against Springfield (Delco.) where he recorded 18 points and 18 rebounds. 

They were also guided by senior Shane Homick who added eight points in his final high school game. 

Mechanicsburg looked lost in parts of the second half, as Wood kept its foot on the gas and made it very difficult for the Wildcats to get any sort of offense going, leading to 10 turnovers.  

With the win, Archbishop Wood will advance to the quarterfinals of the PIAA 5A state tournament, and they will take on the winner of Spring Grove/East Stroudsburg North which will be played on Friday. 

After recording the first state tournament win in school history, Wood is hoping to continue its season all the way to Hershey for a PIAA 5A state title. 

Boasting a nine man rotation, the Vikings have the confidence they can make a historic run.

“We need to keep playing the same way, coach preaches ‘never too high never too low’,” Cerruti said. “We have our own mindset and we are going to stick to that moving forward.”