City of Basketball Love

CoBL Staff (@hooplove215)

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The Play-By-Play Classics came to Cristo Rey on Tuesday for a five-game affair, which saw 10 teams from the area match up for a series of inter-league affairs. 

Here’s a brief recap of all five; click here for our staff standouts from the event:

Game One: Episcopal Academy vs. Bartram

Traffic on the Schuylkill Expressway did its best to slow down Episcopal out of the gate, but the Churchmen survived an initial flurry of 3s from Bartram, then found their feet and pulled away over the course of the second half for a 75-43 win.

It was 19-9 Bartram after one quarter, the Philadelphia Public League squad knocking down its first three 3-pointers as EA started off 1-of-11 from deep.

“We showed up late and everything, it was hard to get going,” junior guard Tyler Beaulieu said. “Beginning of the second quarter, we got two or three stops in a row and we made a few shots [...] and that’s when we started going.”

Episcopal controlled the second quarter (18-4) to go up 27-23 at the break, and the momentum didn’t end there, the shooting finally catching up. The Churchmen were 7-of-8 from deep in the second half, outsourcing Bartram 27-7 in the third quarter to turn that four-point edge into a 24-point advantage, and got the lead to 30 points early in the fourth, triggering a running clock.

Freshman wing Lateef Lorenzo-White led Bartram (2-6) with 22 points, the 6-4 left-hander scoring 16 of his in the second half, his team’s only source of offense for long stretches.

Beaulieu, a 6-foot-1 junior guard who’s committed to Cornell for baseball, finished with a team-high 21 points on 7-of-10 shooting, including three 3-pointers and a pair of old-fashioned 3-point plays. Classmate Kevin McCarthy — one of the few basketball-first guys on the team at a school full of multi-sport athletes adding 15, plus eight rebounds. Senior T.J. Lamb added 11 points, six rebounds and three assists, while six others joined the scoring column for the Churchmen (6-5), who have literally alternated wins and losses all season.

“I really like the athleticism we have,” Beaulieu said. “We don’t have a ton of basketball guys but we have a lot of great athletes who hustle, dive on the floor; that’s what I like about us.”

By Quarter
Episcopal:  9   |  18  |  27  |  21  ||  75
Bartram:    19  |   4   |   7   |  13  ||  43

Shooting
Episcopal: 27-61 FG (11-27 3PT), 10-13 FT
Bartram: 16-47 FG (4-21 3PT), 7-11 FT

Scoring
Episcopal: Beaulieu 21, McCarthy 15, Lamb 11, Dennis 9, Szoradi 8, Demyun 3, Pereira 3, King 3, Jones 2

Bartram: Lorenzo-White 22, McCutchen 8, Atwell-Fisher 3, Dia 3, Pelzer 1

~~~

Game Two: Cristo Rey vs. Friends’ Central

Led by sophomore Devin Booker and senior Lafayette commit Josh Wyche, Cristo Rey topped Friends Central 71-60. Booker’s outside shooting and Wyche’s play in the paint was enough for the pride to get by the Phoenix, each scoring a game-high 21 points. 

Booker was 3-5 from beyond the arc, continuing his hot start from three this season, shooting over 50%. The transfer from Imhotep has played a key role for Cristo Rey this season along with Wyche, who established himself in the paint. He grabbed seven boards, also dishing out five assists. 

“Josh gives us flexibility for a lot of things we can do offensively,” Cristo Rey head coach Kyle Sample said. “I like to put him in hand offs, ball screens, we like to get it to him and at the elbow and ISOs. I feel like he's just a matchup problem for anybody.”

Cristo Rey led 17-10 after the first quarter, but Friends Central didn’t go away. Led by juniors Reid Belcher and Fazl Oshodi (12 points each), the Phoenix cut the lead to four at halftime. A tight third quarter finished with Cristo Rey leading 51-46. Friends Central had a run at the end of the third quarter that continued in the fourth. Friends tied the game at 51 with seven minutes left. 

Key buckets from Wyche down the stretch and a clutch 3-point shot from Saige Henderson gave the pride a six point lead with under two minutes to go. Cristo Rey locked down on the defensive end before Wyche iced the game at the line. The senior went 10-12 from the free-throw line, with eight of his attempts coming in the fourth quarter, missing only one. — Zak Wolf

By Quarter
Cristo Rey:         17 | 15 | 19 | 20 || 71
Friends Central: 10 | 18 | 18 | 14 || 60

Scoring
Cristo Rey: Booker 21, Wyche 21, Nelson 9, Lovett 6, Tolbert 6, Henderson 5, Patterson 3

Friends Central: Belcher 12, Oshodi 12, Muhammad 11, Foley 10, Moore 6, Bowman 5, Green 4

~~~

Game Three: Unionville vs. Collegium Charter

There wasn’t one specific run or moment that defined Unionville’s 56-33 win over Collegium Charter, just a momentum shift that began in the second quarter and never stopped, flowing the Longhorns’ way until the deficit was too big for the Cougars to overcome.

It was tied 13-13 after one quarter, Unionville’s typically-snappy offensive attack not quite clicking, while Collegium senior Duce Jackson scored all but one of his team’s points, the 6-6 wing forward continually getting his way inside. 

Though Unionville starts three juniors and a freshman, junior guard Ryan Brown wouldn’t let youth be an excuse.

“Most of us played last year [...] It’s not really because we’re young,” he said. “I think we just weren’t getting our mindset right. Every starter needs to get in their zone, get in their mindset right, and we’ll be able to play out of that.”

A slow start cost Unionville (8-1) in its only loss, when the Longhorns fell behind by double digits early in a loss at Garnet Valley earlier in December. This one, they were able to recover from; though the lead was just 24-20 at halftime, the momentum was turning. 

Brown’s 3-pointer early in the third quarter helped Unionville continue to expand the lead, as did five free-throws by George Napolitano and a couple buckets from junior forward Nick Diehl, and the advantage was 40-29 going into the fourth. The Longhorns locked down from there, holding Collegium to four points in the final frame, Brown’s 3-pointer with just over four minutes remaining expanding the advantage to 16.

Brown led the way with 16 points, adding in seven rebounds, three assists and two steals. Senior guard Robbie Logan joined him with 10 points, hitting three 3-pointers; junior point guard James Anderson stuffed the stat sheet with 5 points, 6 steals, 5 assists and 4 rebounds. Jackson finished with 25 of Collegium’s 33 points, shooting 11-of-16 from the floor, adding in eight rebounds.

Unionville only hit six 3-points on the night, below their season average, but they did pick up 13 assists on 17 buckets, Chris Cowles’ squad moving the ball well no matter who in its top eight was on the floor. It’s that versatile offensive attack that has them in the frontrunner’s spot in the Ches-Mont American early in the season.

“I feel like we’re getting downhill and being able to kick out for wide-open 3s, I feel like that’s our best, what we’re doing best right now,” Brown said. “That, and when we’re able to step up our defense, then we’re able to go in transition and make shots.” — Josh Verlin

By Quarter
Unionville:  13  |  11  |  16  |  16  ||  56
Collegium: 13  |   7   |   9   |   4   ||  33

Shooting
Unionville: 17-47 FG (6-21 3PT), 16-22 FT
Collegium: 14-40 FG (0-8 3PT), 5-7 FT

Scoring
Unionville: Brown 16, Logan 10, Diehl 8, Kammeier 7, Napolitano 7, Anderson 5, Carson 2, Brenner 1

Collegium: Jackson 25, Mack 4, Story 2, Pitt Jr. 1, Warren 1

~~~

Game Four: Father Judge vs. West Chester Henderson

In what was probably the game of the day, Father Judge outlasted West Chester Henderson 82-69 in a game where the final score didn’t signify how close and exciting this one was throughout. 

Both teams weren’t afraid to let it fly from three, shooting a high volume from beyond the arc. A combined 51 attempts didn’t mean there were a lot of misses, with Judge hitting 16 of their 29 attempts from long ranges, while Henderson hit 11 of its 22. 

“We’ve got a lot of guys that can shoot the basketball,” Judge coach Chris Roantree said. “We often joke and say, how many 3’s can we shoot? 

“We might live and die by it sometimes, but we get good looks.”

The Crusaders were led by LaQuan Byrd who finished with a team-high 24 points. Mostly known as a driver, Byrd has shown his improved 3-point shot, going 5-6 from three. When defenders backed off him in the first half, he made them pay by knocking down his shots. 

Kyle Jones scored 22 points for Judge, finishing 4-6 from beyond the arc. Jones’ ability to find open shooters was also key for Judge. The senior constantly got penetration and pushed the ball, finishing with nine rebounds and four assists. 

A back-and-forth first half had Judge (4-1) leading by five (42-37), after the two teams combined to score 43 points in the second quarter. An explosive third quarter by Henderson (6-3) where they scored 24 points gave them a 61-57 lead. Henderson junior Nyle Ralph-Beyer scored 12 of his game-high 26 points in the third, including an emphatic dunk in transition.

The Crusaders were locked in on defense in the fourth, outscoring Henderson 25-8. Jones switched onto Henderson’s other high-scoring junior, Connor Fleet, who had 19 in the first three quarters, but was held scoreless in the fourth. Judge sent multiple bodies at Ralph-Beyer, who had one field goal and three points in the fourth. 

Jones had eight in the fourth quarter, making smart plays down the stretch with the ball in his hands. Judge was able to limit turnovers and generate open looks while Henderson did the opposite, allowing the game to flip.

“We did a good job of loading up the lane,” Roantree said. “We helped off other guys, not allowing them to get all the way to the rim which slowed them down.”  — Zak Wolf

By Quarter
Father Judge: 20 | 22 | 13 | 25 || 82
WC Henderson: 16 | 21 | 24 | 8 | 69

Scoring
Father Judge: Byrd 24, Jones 22, Kennedy 10, Shelton 9, Riviera 6, Brennan 4, McCuster 3, Peete 4

WC Henderson: Ralph-Beyer 26, Fleet 19, Smith 15, Surowiec 6, Bell 2, Nelson 1

Game Five: Academy New Church vs. Abington

The last game of the evening was decided in the second quarter, as ANC heavily outscored Abington to roll away to a 68-39 win.

ANC started off with a full-court press and converted to man-to-man for the entire game, putting pressure on the Abington guards; the Ghosts handled it well enough in the first quarter, trailing 15-10, but a 16-4 second quarter had the gap at 31-14 midway through, and the Lions (7-1) didn’t look back. 

The Friends’ Schools League runner-ups forced 24 turnovers between picking the pockets of the guards and intercepting multiple passes.  The turnovers transitioned into easy points on the other end of the floor even though their 3-point shots were not falling. 

“The entire game for four quarters we play pressurized basketball,” ANC coach Kevin Givens said. “We like to press, but we like to have a little discipline at times… our average is about 22 [forced] turnovers a game per team.” 

ANC was led by junior Bahsil Laster with 18 points; the 6-5 point guard put pressure on the Abington guards on the offensive end by getting to the foul line multiple times, hitting a couple open threes, and using his large frame driving into the lane and finishing around and above the rim. 

Freshman guard Dior Carter finished with nine points by converting at the rim on multiple occasions, the 6-3 wing adding 10 rebounds and three blocks. Senior Jerell Keel had eight points, five rebounds, three assists and two blocks and helped push the energy of ANC’s team causing charge calls, steals, and multiple unselfish passes for his teammates to get easy shots and layups.  

Throughout the game ANC dominated the boards even though their team wasn’t the biggest, their physicality, scrappiness, and tenacious defense were some of the main reasons why the game was so one-sided.

Riding a four-game win streak, ANC’s next game is in conference play, against Abington Friends at on home on Jan. 4; they welcome Westtown, which has won the last decade’s worth of league titles, to the school on Jan. 13 in their first real measuring stick game. — Taimar Stubbs

By Quarter
ANC:       15  |  16  |  17  |  20  || 68
Abington: 10  |   4   |  12  |  13  ||  39

Scoring:
ANC: Laster 18, Carter 11, Waldon 11, Tavarez 9, Medley 9, Keel 8, Wade 2

Abington: Lee 12, Ingram 8, Young 7, Miller 4, Brashar 4, Glants 2, Jones 2