City of Basketball Love

Zak Wolf (@ZakWolf22)
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Devon Prep isn’t used to playing games this late in the season. 

Before this year, the Tide last appeared in the PIAA state playoff in 2013, winning one game that appearance, a rare occurrence for a program not used to hoops success. Fast forward to this season, and Devon finds themselves two games away from their first ever state championship.

Jason Fisher, who’s in his ninth season, has helped grow the program, especially in the past few seasons since they moved into the Philadelphia Catholic League. Going from the Bicentennial League to the PCL has allowed Devon to level up and become a competitive force in Philadelphia-area hoops. 

Devon has put together a solid group of guys who have transformed the team over the past few seasons. After making a surprise appearance in the PCL semi-finals last year, Devon now finds themselves in the state semi-final after a 61-53 win over West Catholic. 

The Tide came out with a vengeance after losing to West two times during the season. Facing their Catholic league rivals for a third time, Devon wasn’t going to get bullied this time around. 

“We had to bounce back from the first two times they beat us,” junior Jacen Holloway said. “We all came ready to play and it was a neutral court, so we weren’t afraid of anything. We wanted to beat these guys so bad.”

The Tide scored the first five points of the ball game, off buckets from junior wing Lucas Orchard and senior guard IV Pettit, setting the tone for what was to come. Devon held West scoreless for the first five minutes of the game, executing their game plan of containing West’s drivers and forcing them to as many outside shots as possible.

“We did a good job of playing aggressive and not letting them bully us to the basket. We kept them out of the lane as well,” Pettit said.  

Devon held West to just 15 points in the first half, including outscoring the Burrs 18-8 in the second quarter on the way to a 13-point halftime lead. West shot just 7-of-23 shooting from the field including 0-6 from 3-point range in the first two quarters.

Devon was able to play at their own pace on offense, generating good looks from both inside and out. The Tide didn’t let the tight man-to-man defense deter them, driving the ball into the lane and kicking it out to open shooters, hitting four triples in the first half.

The Tide’s chemistry was evident for a group that’s played a lot of basketball together over the year. From spring league games to tough non-conference games at the start of the year before playing the Catholic League games, Devon has been building up to this moment. 

“When we talked at the beginning of the year we said each day you have to get a little bit better,” Fisher said. “I know it’s a cliché and everybody says it, but it’s the truth. Since I started coaching here, you build on good days, and you saw that this year.”

The process of playing every day and growing as a group together on the court, has also helped Devon off of it.

“It’s like a parent who has a lot of kids because we’re all brothers. We’re with each other 24-7 and we love each other to death,” Holloway said. “Our connection has grown so much and it’s impeccable and I don’t think any team has a connection like we do.”

Jacen Holloway (above) grabbed six rebounds in addition to his game-high 22 points. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Holloway came up huge for Devon, leading all scorers with 22 points, going 7-8 from the field (4-4 3PT), showing off his inside out game. The junior used his big body into the lane, but also showed off his touch from deep, knocking down three clutch treys for Devon in the second half when West Catholic tried to take over the game. 

The Burrs got hot from deep in the second half, shooting 7-15 from beyond the arc, with 3s from the Watson twins, Kareem and Kaseem, Zion Stanford and Budd Clark. Stanford led West with 14 points, adding in six rebounds and three assists, as well as a monster 1-on-1 block on Holloway. Clark and Kaseem Watson both had 12 as well. 

West Catholic got the lead down to 47-43 in the fourth quarter, thanks to a Kareem Watson three pointer, Holloway answered right back with a three of his own. Kaseem Watson then hit a three, only for it to be canceled out by Holloway again, who extended the Devon lead to 53-46 with just over two minutes remaining, giving them a big enough cushion for the rest of the game.

Holloway along with Pettit (21 points), combined to score 23 of Devon’s 32 points in the second half. The duo hit shot after shot and every time West threatened, they were able to answer either with a shot of their own or creating for one of their teammates. 

The backcourt duo’s knowledge of when to make the right play encapsulates their team's mentality of playing smart basketball when it matters most while being unselfish.

“They don’t really care who gets the headlines, they just want the team to be successful,” Fisher said. “They do a lot of fundamental things, and they really have gotten a lot tougher mentally and physically. They’re great basketball players too, but that’s what won the game tonight, mental toughness.

Susquehanna guard Allen Cieslak (10 points) added in two 3-pointers. Orchard, the team’s leading scorer on the season, only scored four points, taking just three shots, but contributed four assists and four rebounds, continually getting into the middle of the West Catholic defense and creating open looks for teammates.

Devon’s unselfishness allowed them to make the right plays while getting efficient looks all game long. The Tide shot over 50 percent from the field for the entire game, going 20-37 (9-20 3PT) and an efficient 9-14 in the second half, including hitting five of their eight attempts from three. Devon also went 9-10 from the free throw line in the second half to help ice the game.

For West Catholic, their great season comes to an end, finishing with a record of 21-6. West surprised a lot of people finishing as the two seed in the Catholic League, making it to the semi-finals at the Palestra, before losing to Ryan. West just couldn’t get the job done against Devon for a third time.

Devon is now in the state semi-finals, one game away from Hershey. Devon will take on Holy Redeemer who defeated Math Civics and Sciences in the quarterfinals. The Tide know that there’s still more work to do if they want to win a state title. 

“We don’t want to get too happy with ourselves,” Holloway said, “because the job’s not finished.” Holloway said.

“I haven’t even seen them this year, but we’ll get film tonight and start watching them and see what we’ve got to do,” Fisher said. “They’ve got to be pretty good if they beat MCS.” 

By Quarter
Devon Prep:    10 | 18 | 14 | 18 || 60
West Catholic:  7 |  8  |  21 | 17 || 53

Scoring
Devon Prep: Jacen Holloway 22, IV Pettit 21, Allen Cieslak 10, Ty Mishock 4, Lucas Orchard 4 

West Catholic: Zion Stanford 14, Budd Clark 12, Kaseem Watson 12, Kareem Watson 8, Marcus Branker 7