City of Basketball Love

Sean Barnard (@Sean_Barnard1)
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It was as if the packed house was on top of the court at Penn Wood with every jeer, chirp, or chant being heard loud and clear. 

“This environment is special,” Chichester head coach Clyde Jones put it. “I think the gym helps you build character. It’s a major advantage learning to play in this environment. This is practice for anything later on in playoffs and districts and so forth.”

It was a playoff-like atmosphere in the Thursday night Delaware Valley Conference matchup which came down to the final minute. Chichester managed to secure the hard-fought 63-57 victory despite the late-game effort of Penn Wood. 

Chichester jumped out to a 16-12 lead after the first quarter before Penn Wood answered with a 10-0 run to kick off the start of the second quarter. Both teams traded blows throughout the matchup with each defense finding a way to impose itself. It was a defensive matchup in which both teams were held to under 44% shooting from the floor. 

The game was tied at 45 with 6:46 remaining after each team showed flashes of taking control. When it mattered most, Chichester came through on the defensive end and hit some key free throws. They shot 18-26 at the charity stripe overall including 13-17 of these attempts in the fourth quarter. The Eagles leaned on their core of seniors with a strong finish spearheaded by Vince Wildrick who led the team in scoring with 20 points. 

A 6-foot-3 senior wing, Wildrick is an undersized ‘4’ man who does most of his damage via the jumper, though he’ll also finish around the rim when he gets in advantageous position. He did a nice job moving off the ball to create looks for himself throughout the matchup. Wildrick stepped up when it mattered most, scoring 10 of his 20 points in the final quarter. 

“Vincent is a sponge,” Jones said of Wildrick. “I don’t think he shoots enough. He’s really developed over the years and we want him to be an assassin. Any time he gets a look, we’re still imploring him to shoot the ball more. But he’s starting to really put stretches together where he’s getting his shots.”

Wildrick had no trouble dealing with the intense crowd and went as far as to say it brings out the best in him. 

“I love playing away,” Wildrick said. “I like playing away more than I like playing at home because I like hearing it all, all the trash talk and all that. It doesn’t bother me at all, I just try to stay in my game and silence them.”

The Eagles scored 21 fourth-quarter points which was too much for the Patriots to keep up with. While late-game free throws inflated this number at the end, Chichester made them when it counted most and secured the narrow victory. 

Akhir Keys was right behind Wildrick in scoring with 19 points of his own. Eight of these points came in the fourth quarter including connecting on all six of his free-throw attempts. His twin brother Zaiyin Keys tallied eight points in the win. Mazen Sayed also added seven points and played a key role in running the offense. 

This core has played together since they were in fifth grade and credits their chemistry for their on-court success. 

“We know everyone’s strengths and weaknesses and it really pays off,” Wildrick said. 

The standout went on to explain how much this comes into play on the offensive end and knowing where each player will be. They have become the pillars of the program and their growth together has translated to team success. 

“They're extremely coachable,” Jones said. “They listen, they study, they had a great summer of training. We're a twelve-month-a-year program, maybe eleven, I might give them a month. But we work and it’s paying off for us so I'm just glad to see that.”

Penn Wood was led by Nasir Washington who scored 17 points. The Patriots also got a notable boost from Mekhi Shillingford who added 14 points and blocked three shots on defense. 

Chichester has now jumped out to a 2-0 start in conference play and 9-2 on the season overall. This is a statement win for the Eagles as Penn Wood came into the matchup with a 2-0 conference record and 8-2 on the season. Chichester now leads the conference but the work is far from over. 

“Every game in the Del Val is a rival game,” Jones said. “There’s always good teams so we’re just trying to compete. I got the guys focused on ‘compete at your next game.’ We work hard to prepare our team for games. Like I said, that group out there listens and they’ll play the bulk of the minutes because they listen. I can run multiple things with them.”

Chichester does not have much time to rest as they will be back in action against Brandywine (1-6) on Jan 14 and Springfield (Delco.) (5-8) on Jan 16. They will then return to conference play against Academy Park (1-8) on Jan 17 and Chester (6-6) on Jan 19. They also have a rematch with Penn Wood on Jan 31 which will play an important role in the conference standings. 

This may have been the statement win of the season so far, but the Eagles believe they still have room to grow which speaks to the team they aspire to be.

“Honestly, I feel like we've got a long ways to go,” Jones said. “We can play a lot better.”

By Quarter
Chichester: 16 | 14 | 12 | 21 || 63
Penn Wood: 12 | 16 | 17 | 12 || 57

Shooting
Chichester: 19-44 FGA (7-17 3PA), 18-26 FTA
Penn Wood: 19-49 FGA (2-15 3PA), 17-34 FTA

Scoring
Chichester: Wildrick 20, A. Keys 19, Z. Keys 8,Sayed 7, Thomas 3, Anderson 3, Gordy 3

Penn Wood: N. Washington 17, Shillingford 14, Fountain 10, Murray 7, Hairston 4, Taylor 3, P. Washington 2