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PIAA Class 4A: Green brothers play last high school game together as PJP II falls in first round

03/17/2021, 12:00am EDT
By Katie McNulty

Basketball players and coaches huddle around the head coach as he draws up a play on a white board

Pope John Paul II faced a familiar state playoff foe in Allentown Central Catholic. (Photo: Katie McNulty/CoBL)

Katie McNulty (@katiemcnulty23)
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Not only did a 43-40 Pope John Paul II loss to Allentown Central Catholic in the opening round of the PIAA state playoffs mark the end of the Golden Panthers illustrious season, but it also marked the end of what could most likely be the last time two brothers play together. 

Senior Justin Green, a small forward and guard, and a Catholic University basketball commit is the older brother of Kevin Green, a junior point guard. 

“The result wasn’t great, but it was nice to play with my brother in his last season,” Kevin said of the loss. 

Despite not getting the win they had hoped for, the Green brothers got to play one last time together, which wasn’t even a guarantee last week.

Justin has been dealing with an ankle injury this season. He’s only suited up for five games before today. When they defeated New Hope-Solebury on March 10, Justin was watching from the sidelines as Kevin scored 12 points to lead them to a District 1 4A Championship. 

Head coach Brendan Stanton said Justin needed to be out there tonight.

“He worked his butt off the whole season to try and play,” Stanton said. “It was an unfortunate break after an unfortunate break with injuries, but like always, it’s a pleasure to watch him play basketball. He means so much to this program and everything we’ve done these last three years. I couldn’t imagine us playing a state playoff game without him.” 

Stanton said Catholic University is getting an unbelievable player in Justin. 

“He can guard pretty much anyone,” Stanton said. “He can play pretty much any position, but he’s just super competitive, and he makes guys better just because of how hard he plays. He goes 100 mph all the time. Doesn’t take plays off. Doesn’t take practices off. Doesn’t take his rehab off.”

Stanton said seeing Justin grow in his four years has been one of the coolest things in his coaching career. 

“I can’t say enough positive things about him,” Stanton said. “I’m bummed the way his senior year went as a whole. But, it’s been an unbelievable ride watching him get better and sort of be that spark our program really needed.” 

Although it looked like the two would get at least one more game together, as the Golden Panthers were leading for the majority of the game, they couldn't get it done. Justin picked up three fouls in the first quarter, forcing Stanton to look to his bench. 

The Golden Panthers defense was the key to keeping the team in the game. They held the Vikettes to just two points in the second quarter, which put them up 19-13 at the half. Although they held Central Catholic to just two points, PJP only scored eight points in the second quarter, which ended up playing an integral part in their loss. They didn’t capitalize on the Vikettes' slow offense when it was critical. 

The teams picked up their offensive unit in the third quarter, with the Golden Panthers holding a 31-27 lead at the end.

The fourth quarter is where Justin’s foul trouble played a vital role. Justin is the team's leading rebounder, and without him, they struggled to contain 6-foot-5 forward Christian Spugnardi and 6-foot-6 center Liam Joyce. Spugnardi and Joyce got too many second-chance opportunities and outscored the Golden Panthers 16-12 in the fourth quarter. 

It was almost this time one year ago when PJP defeated Central Catholic in what would be their last game of the 2020 season before COVID-19 forced the world to stop. Unfortunately for the Golden Panthers, the result was the other way around this time. But it’s one this group doesn’t take for granted. At one point, no team was sure if there would even be a season because of COVID. 

“This is a resilient group,” Stanton said. “I know they’re sad, and they’re crying tonight, but they’ll be back to being awesome kids and happy kids tomorrow.”


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