City of Basketball Love

Ty Daubert (@TyDaubert)
—

It’s a season of significant change for Bonner-Prendergast boys’ basketball, and the moving parts have come together early for the Friars.

With first-year head coach Billy Cassidy — a former Friends’ Central and Neumann University standout — at the helm, Bonner is a transformed team, powered by three key additions in junior transfers Reggie Selden, Kevin Rucker Jr. and Nelson Lamizana. And the new core of Friars hoops has run out to a great start to the year.

“We’re doing good so far,” Selden said. “We know what we have to do, and I feel like now we just have to do it. We have all the pieces, and now we just have to put it together.”

The strong start to the season continued on Sunday night as the newcomer Selden played hero, scoring seven of his team-high 20 points in overtime to help Bonner outlast Math, Civics & Sciences, 62-56, in the final matchup of the All-City Classic John Chaney Memorial Showcase at Benjamin Franklin High School. The point guard was named the game’s MVP as Bonner improved to 4-0 on the year. .

“It’s a great win for our program,” Cassidy said. “Our kids competed today. We knew this was a challenge early in our season, which we needed because we need to find out who we are as a team.”

It’s still not perfectly clear who the Friars will be through the season, but the early-season results are looking quite good; Bonner’s new contributors are making a difference, bringing a new dynamic and elevating the team.

“I think we've seen signs of who we can be defensively,” Cassidy said. “We're big, we're athletic. Then, we have good guard play too. We can switch it up defensively, and offensively we have guys that can make plays. We feel real confident in our team.”

All those factors were at play against MCS (1-3), a Philadelphia Public League squad that reached the PIAA Class 3A state quarterfinals last season. While the Mighty Elephants did have significant roster turnover this year, they’ve added emerging junior wing Nasseem Wright to the mix.

Led by Wright’s 22 points, MCS pushed the pace to put pressure on the Friars and provide a test for the new-look team.

“Historically, they’re always very good,” Cassidy said of MCS. “Obviously, they have a lot of talent. They have athletes, they’re able to get up and down. They want to make the game chaos at times, trying to speed you up. I thought at times we handled it pretty well. At different times, we went through a couple stages where we had to regroup. But for the most part, we’re happy with the way we competed and handled the pressure and the big moment.”

As the Mighty Elephants forced overtime, Selden took control for Bonner, handling the ball methodically and nailing 5-of-5 free throws in the four-minute period. He also played a key role in getting stops down the stretch.

“He plays both sides of the ball,” Cassidy said. “He's a big-time point guard. He knows how to slow down, he knows when to push, he knows when to get his, he knows when to get others involved. And he’s shown that all season so far. He's a big-time player.”

While Selden took over late, it was the 6-foot-5 forward Rucker who got things going for the Friars for three quarters. He attacked the rim over and over, throwing down several dunks in an 18-point performance and going 7-of-8 on free throws in the third.

“I thought he came out and showed who he was to set the tone for the team,” Cassidy said.

MCS responded by throwing multiple defenders at Rucker to slow him down in a back-and-forth fourth quarter as the teams finished regulation tied at 48. That’s when Selden took over the show to start overtime with an and-one and continued from there.

It wasn’t just newcomers who helped out for Bonner, though, with senior Brady Eagan, one of a few Friars with experience playing in Philadelphia Catholic League competition, scoring 11 and hitting the free throws to seal a physical game that reminded his team what the PCL could look like this year.

“These are how Catholic League games are played,” Cassidy said. “Like tonight, back and forth, coming down to the last possession.”

After going 5-9 in the PCL last year to make the playoffs as the No. 10 seed, Bonner is hoping to keep developing as the season moves along and the team builds more chemistry to find better results in the league.

“That’s really the main thing,” Selden said. “Playing together. Since we’re all new faces, we haven’t seen each other a lot — new coaches, new transfers.”

But with the Catholic League as talented as it is, that will not be an easy task. The Friars don’t have any set expectations for their upcoming league schedule, only hoping to compete in each matchup with their revamped roster.

“It’s gonna be really, really difficult,” Selden said. “But everyone wants to win. We really have to come out here and play our game. I heard they got some big players in the PCL, but I think we’re right with them.”

By Quarter
Bonner:    13  |  14  |  13  |   8   |  12  ||  62
MCS:       11  |  11  |  16  |  10  |   8   ||  56

Scoring
BP: Reggie Selden 20, Kevin Rucker Jr. 18, Brady Eagan 11, Deuce Ketner 7, Nelson Lamizana 4, Randy Cooper-Mukuro 2

MCS: Nasseem Wright 22, Chauncey Presley 12, Rashan Locke-Hicks 12, Isaiah Griffin 4, Azeem Murphy 3, Kevin Carter 3, Lamar McCullough 2