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PIAA Class A: Girard College hopes championship loss a learning moment

03/23/2017, 5:45pm EDT
By Michael Bullock

Daiquan Copeland (above) and Girard College fell short in their first state championship game in eight years. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Michael Bullock (@thebullp_n)
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HERSHEY — Sometimes one has to learn by experiencing a difficult setback before roaring back a bit later to snare the ultimate prize.

Unfortunately for an inexperienced Girard College side with no seniors on its 10-youngster roster and just one player who’d soaked up state playoff experience, getting so close yet not succeeding was the difficult lesson the Cavaliers had to absorb.

And a determined Kennedy Catholic group that returned four players from a sparkling rotation that captured a state championship one year earlier — and was aiming for a second straight title — was the outfit standing between GC and gold medals.

Let’s just say Kennedy is still in GC’s path.

Yet Clyde Jones’ Cavaliers (24-9), despite absorbing a 73-56 setback Thursday at Giant Center that generated all sorts of learning points, stowed away the experience and are determined to come back better than ever some 12 months from now.

Especially since Girard College has seen first-hand what it takes to prevail when one is belly-button deep in Pennsylvania’s season-ending hoops spectacle.

“One of the things that I just finished telling the guys is you learned the difference tonight of a team that was extremely hungry, that has been here before and came with a desire and passion to outwork you,” Clyde Jones admitted.

“They really wanted to seize this moment and we were playing like it was going to happen,” Jones continued. “Whereas Kennedy Catholic came out and made sure they beat us to most loose balls, that they beat us down the court just running the floor hard and they really got physical with us in the paint.

“They made sure they did the things they needed to do.”

And it didn’t take long for Kennedy Catholic to grab the upper hand as an 8-0 spurt at the end of the opening quarter turned into a 16-9 lead. Outboarded 39-31, forced into 20 turnovers and beaten to a number of 50-50 balls by the Eagles, Girard College never got closer than six points the rest of the way.

“They were a good opponent,” Clyde Jones added. “I’m extremely proud of my guys as to what we accomplished here together, and these guys not knowing each other and playing together without knowing much.

“For Girard College to be playing in this last game is a testament to what they’ve done and what my staff has done to try to get them together. We just weren’t ready for this game yet. I think they had to go through it first.”


Mikeal Jones (above) and the rest of the Cavaliers rotation is all slated to return next year. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

While 6-4 junior Daiquan Copeland racked up 26 points and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds and 6-8 freshman Mikeal Jones added 16 points and six boards, Kennedy put four players into double digits before collaring its second straight state title.

Not to mention its eighth PIAA championship overall.

“Our coaches came up with a great game plan,” Copeland said. “We took some shots we shouldn’t have taken. Last couple games we had a togetherness and we played together as a team. Today, we took the gas off and underestimated them a little bit.

“We just gotta come back and learn from it, that’s all we can do,” Copeland continued. “Of course, we wanted to come out and win. Nobody wants to lose, but sometimes losing is the best thing that can happen [from an experience standpoint].”

And while Jones fouled out with 4:22 to play — he was part of Roman Catholic’s state championship celebration last season before relocating to GC and reclassifying to the 2020 graduating class — the Cavaliers were down by 16 at that point.

Although Thursday’s bid for a state championship may have been all but over for Jones’ Cavaliers, they’re already looking ahead to returning to Hershey in 2018.

All of them, too, since Copeland and Craig Logan (7 points/5 rebounds) are the only juniors on GC’s roster that play. Point guard Kasim Toliver (5 assists) and Brandon Smith (4 points/5 boards), meanwhile, are merely sophomores.

Jones and the diminutive Aquil Stewart (3 points), as well as Samir Logan, are freshmen.

So, there’s plenty of reason for optimism going forward since all of Girard College’s players are underclassmen. Plus, Clyde Jones just wrapped up his first season with the Cavaliers after arriving from Penn Wood and he’ll be more familiar with his youngsters.

“I want them to remember this feeling, but I also want them to be grateful they had an opportunity to play for a state championship when there’s hundreds of other schools that didn’t,” Clyde Jones said. “But I do want them to understand what it takes to win.”

“Just getting that opportunity is special for these guys.”

“I can promise you when we come back, it’s going to be different. I’m proud of my brothers and we’re all brothers,” Copeland continued. “When you get into a fight, you’re not gonna win every time. You may lose the first fight, but you can win the second and the third and so on.

“Some of us are juniors and most are younger, so we’ll all be coming back smarter, better, stronger.”


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