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Devon Prep tops Judge, navigating new PCL status

01/27/2022, 12:30am EST
By Matthew Ryan

Matthew Ryan (@matthewryan02)

After an unexpected 9-4 campaign in the Philadelphia Catholic League a season ago, things have changed for Devon Prep. The Tide are no longer the Cinderella story of the PCL; they are now the team that made it to the league semi-finals and have a target on their back. 

They’re not just happy with how things went a season ago; they want more.

“I don’t think we’re surprising teams anymore,” junior wing Jacen Holloway said. “Last year, we came out and shocked everyone ‘cause the year before we weren’t that good. So I think this year, people are expecting a good matchup with us.”


Lucas Orchard (above) and Devon Prep moved to 4-2 in the PCL on Wednesday night. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

“It’s also different as far as the [internal] expectations go,” Devon head coach Jason Fisher said. “For those guys in (the locker room), it’s not like ‘oh well, it’s great that we’re close’ anymore. People are expecting us to be competitive or win some of these games, so it’s a learning process for these guys to be able to play under different expectations than what they had before.”

While they’re starting this season a bit slower than last, Wednesday’s thrilling 71-67 victory over Father Judge put the Tide in fifth place in PCL with seven games to come.

Devon Prep (10-2, 4-2 PCL) was led to the victory by explosive performances from Allen Cieslak (26 points) and Lucas Orchard (24). Both players torched Judge from beyond the arc, with Cieslak nailing five 3s and Orchard knocking down four. The duo led the Tide to a quick start, combining for 18 points in the opening quarter, giving Devon a 23-16 lead after one.

Judge was able to cut Devon’s lead down to three entering the break, and in the third quarter, a wild sequence highlighted by an emphatic Holloway dunk and half court buzzer beater by Kyle Jones (22 points) put the game within four entering the final frame. But, down the stretch, the combination of Cieslak and Orchard proved to be too much. The two combined for 11 points in the final quarter, including a layup in the closing minutes from Orchard and two free throws by Cieslak to extend a two-point lead to four with less than 20 seconds remaining.

The loss was a tough one for Judge (7-6, 2-5 PCL). After starting 2-1 in the PCL, the Crusaders have lost four games in a row and now sit in the final playoff position. With six games to go, matchups against Archbishop Carroll (2-4) and Bonner-Prendi (1-4) will likely decide if Judge is in the top 10 come season’s end.

On Devon’s side, the game wasn’t necessarily the prettiest. There were double technicals, missed free throws and plenty of fouls. But through all that, there was no lack of camaraderie on the floor.

“We’ve been doing a lot of stuff like self-analysis with ourselves and then together to try and realize that we’re all going to make mistakes out there but it's okay we just have to move on and support each other,” Fisher said. “So you saw that out there a lot. A lot of times everybody would get together and just make sure that we were okay and moved on to the next play so it was good.”


Jacen Holloway (above) is one of several Tide underclassmen playing a big role. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

“We’re all there for each other. It feels like home,” Cieslak said. “The way we move, the way we facilitate for each other, the way we’re all unselfish, it’s like a family.”

Although Devon is in a solid position more than halfway through PCL play, the road ahead for the Tide is grueling. Arguably the toughest matchup to come is a rematch of the PCL semi-finals against Roman Catholic (6-1 PCL) at Devon on Friday. Last season, Roman narrowly edged out the Tide, 38-36, to advance to the PCL championship. 

The loss left a bad taste in the players’ mouths, one they certainly haven’t forgotten.

“We definitely want Roman ‘cause we lost (in) the semi-finals last year against them,” Cieslak said. “Definitely looking for that.”

Following the Roman game, Devon travels to Cardinal O’Hara (4-3) before returning home to face Archbishop Carroll. After that, two road games against Archbishop Ryan (5-2) and Neumann-Goretti (2-1), a home game versus Bonner-Prendie and finally a trip to West Catholic (6-1) to close the regular season.

In addition to Cieslak and Orchard, big pieces for this stretch are Holloway and IV Pettit. Both players are double-digit scorers this season, and Pettit was a starter on last year’s squad. The final member of the starting lineup is sophomore point guard Ty Mishock, who was also a starter a season ago.

While the seven games to come are extremely difficult, they are also incredibly important. There is a chance, albeit a slim one, for Devon to enter the top four, securing a home game in the PCL quarterfinals. There is a more realistic chance, but far from guaranteed, that the Tide will secure a top-six spot giving them a bye to the quarter-finals.

But as they enter this treacherous gauntlet, Fisher is only focused on one thing.

“Honestly we need to continue to get better, every game,” he said. “We need to work on fixing things that we need to fix and not necessarily worry about the results, and I know that’s tough, but it really is our goal.”

As the home stretch of the season comes for the Tide, that target on their back will remain, and potentially even grow. But its presence isn’t a burden, it’s an honor.

“People are definitely coming at us more ‘cause (we) definitely put ourselves on the map but we love it,” Cieslak said. “That’s what we want. We want teams to come after us ‘cause we can show what we’re able to do, what we’re capable of.”

By Quarter
Judge: 16 | 15 | 20 | 16 || 67
Devon: 23 | 11 | 21 | 16 || 71

Scoring
Judge: Kyle Jones 22, Terran Peete 15, Anthony Lilly 9, Jalen Flowers 8, Ernest Shelton 6, Kevin Kennedy 3, Jordan Rhinehart 2, Mike McCusker 2

Devon: Allen Cieslak 26, Lucas Orchard 24, Jacen Holloway 12, IV Pettit 5, Tyler Scarpulla 3, Ty Mishock 1


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