City of Basketball Love

By Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue)
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PHILADELPHIA — Go back through last season’s Philadelphia Public League Playoff bracket and you could very easily skip right over Dobbins Tech.

To be honest the Mustangs would likely be OK if you forgot they were in last year’s tournament after taking a 50-point drubbing from Math, Civics & Sciences in their lone playoff game.

It’s been pretty hard to ignore Dobbins this season though, first piling up a plethora of non-league victories then win after win in the Public League ‘C’ Division. 

Wins over Mastery North and Overbrook in the first two rounds of the playoffs raised some eyebrows. Thursday night’s Philadelphia Public League quarterfinal against MCS at Imhotep — a rematch of last year’s beatdown — gave the Mustangs a chance to show how far they’d come. 

Lifted by a passionate fan base, Dobbins knocked off the Mighty Elephants, 56-50, to reach the Public League semifinals for the first time in at least a decade, leaving their stamp on this year’s PPL tournament with an upset run to the Final Four. They will face defending champion Imhotep at the Liacouras Center on Tuesday.

“We worked our butts off in the  summer, and everybody thought that we wasn’t gonna do it, but now we here,” said junior Zach Campbell, who finished with 18 points and 15 boards. “We deserve all the respect.”

Dobbins got out to a 20-6 lead after a quarter of play behind 10 first-period points from junior Saleem Hudson, who finished with 14 points and had three 3-point makes in the first eight minutes. MCS went on a 12-2 run to start the first quarter and eventually went ahead 31-28 heading into the half. When Hudson drilled a three to tie the game at the start of the third quarter, it was pretty clear an exciting 16 minutes of hoops was set to come. 

The Mighty Elephants went up by four, 39-35, late in the third quarter on junior wing Nasseem Wright’s (11 points) second alley oop slam of the quarter. It was 39-38 MCS heading to the fourth before Mustangs’ sophomore Jarrell Wright and Campbell reversed things with a pair of threes and put Dobbins ahead 45-41 with 5:40 to left.

It didn’t take long for MCS, which was led by 15 points from junior guard Nayeem Johnson, to take back the lead on six straight points from Johnson and Wright, 47-45 with 4:23 to go. Both teams were feeding off the lively energy in the gym.

“It’s been a while since we made it far in the playoffs and the energy in that gym, our fans were there,” said senior Kareem Diaz, who added eight points and 10 rebounds of his own. “I was tired. I was dead, but the energy was giving me a boost up to not give up on offense and defense.”

Johnson appeared ready to expand the MCS lead before his shot was swatted away by Dobbins junior Samuel Thomas shortly after the 6-0 run. Hudson pushed the ball up the floor to Cambell, who decided to pull-up from deep instead of taking the ball to the hole in transition. 

He knocked it down —the biggest shot of the game — to give the Mustangs a 49-47 lead with 3:12 to play.

“It was like a momentum thing and it went through the net,” Campbell said. “It helped us get the win.”

Thomas added another big basket in the final minute and a half. Little and Diaz both drilled a pair of free throws — the last pair by Diaz putting the Mustangs up 54-50 with 25.7 seconds left. After one more stop and a breakaway layup by Diaz, the celebration was on, players and fans running every which way around the court.

“It’s a great feeling, man,” Campbell said. “Everybody counted us out. We were the underdogs. It was a great feeling, great one.”

Dobbins Athletic Director Jackie Castorino lauded the impact Mustangs’ second-year coach Derrick Stanton’s had on his group both on and off the floor since taking over, marveling at how the ascent on the hardwood has mirrored an ascent in the classroom as well.

Stanton said he gave his team two weeks off after last season’s 50-point loss to MCS. Then came a busy offseason that included 101 games in spring, summer and fall leagues and showcase events. They included victories over some Public League programs with more recent tradition, but even then Stanton wasn’t sure what lay ahead this season. 

“I think in the beginning of the season you always spout things out, establish goals, but I don’t think that any of us ever thought that we would get to a Final Four,” Stanton said.

“I thought that an Elite Eight was something that was achievable for us,” he added. “I did see that our schedule was easy, so I did expect a 20-win season, but a Final Four and the chance to play Imhotep? That’s the icing on the cake for me. That’s who we wanted to play and it’s coming true for us now.”

The Mustangs got a chance to watch their semifinal opponent Imhotep roll through Fels in the first game on Thursday night. They’re honest about that task at hand, but also excited about the opportunity to step on the floor with one of the best teams in the country.

“We already know they’re nationally ranked and stuff, but that’s not gonna stop us from playing hard,” Diaz said. “Even though they’re more athletic than us and more skilled, our chemistry is there. I believe we can hang with Imhotep for a little. Win or lose, we still made it far and I know when I leave my team is going to do great and I’m going to leave with something great at Dobbins.”

By Quarter

Dobbins 20 | 8 | 10 | 22 || 56

MCS 6 | 25 | 8 | 11 || 50

Scoring

Dobbins: Zach Campbell 18, Saleem Hudson 14, Samuel Thomas 11, Kareem Diaz 9, Jarrell Little 2, Haneer Davis 1.

MCS: Nayeem Johnson 15, Nasseem Wright 11, Chauncey Presley 8, Azeem Murphy 5, Isaiah Griffin 5, Rashan Locke-Hicks 2, Mohamed Sesay 2, Saaid Lee 2

Nowell reaches 1,000 as Imhotep routs Fels

Imhotep junior Ahmad Nowell wanted to make sure the 1,000th point of his career was memorable during Thursday's Public League quarterfinal against Samuel Fels.

Knowing he needed a bucket to reach the milestone and the game already out of hand late in the first half, Nowell decided to take off in the lane and try a windmill dunk over multiple defenders. While it was athletically impressive, the dunk attempt came up well short and Nowell headed to the locker room still sitting short of 1,000 and getting a few jokes cracked at him from his teammates.

“I really wanted to end it with a windmill,” Nowell said with a smile on his face. “I got the opportunity at the end, but it didn’t go good.”

“Coach Kev was like, ‘Just got for the regular dunk,’ and I was like, ‘Nah, I gotta do something epic.’”

Nowell, who finished with 14 points in the Panthers’ 79-17 win, missed a stepback three to start the second half, but picked someone’s pocket not long after before breaking down court. 

After ensuring he was all alone, Nowell rose up and cocked back the ball before slamming it through the net. He flexed in celebration before his teammates came over to enjoy the milestone occasion with him.

“I ended my 14 points with a dunk and it was pretty amazing,” Nowell said.

“That’s how I predicted it. I wanted to get the steal and the fastbreak. It went how I planned.”

Nowell, who started his career at ​​Houston High School (Tenn.), has been one of the lead guards for the Panthers the last two seasons. He’s the top-ranked junior in PA, playing up an age group with Imhotep teammates Justin Edwards and Rahmir Barno this past summer for Team Final.

He has a complete game with the ability to get to the basket or knock down shots from deep (two threes on Thursday), so it’s pretty easy to see how he reached the milestone with likely several more games to go in his junior season.

“It’s amazing. I’m glad that my hard work paid off with the 1,000 points,” Nowell said. “I know a lot of people get it in four years, and I achieved it in three. It was just an amazing opportunity.”

Edwards scored 19 points on 7-of-8 shooting to lead the Panthers. He tossed down five dunks and his lone miss came off a dunk attempt he got too high up on. Nowell added six assists, all in the first half as Imhotep led 27-7 after one and 52-15 at halftime. 

Barno was the team’s other double-figure scoring, getting up to 15. He is within 15 points of the 1,000-point milestone as well.

Unsurprisingly, the Panthers have rolled in their first three PPL playoff games — an 83-34 win over King, a 74-32 win over Central and Thursday night’s 55-point win. They will play Dobbins with a chance to book another Public League championship appearance.

“Public, City and States, three-peating again,” Nowell said of the team’s goals. 

By Quarter

Samuel Fels  7 | 8 | 2 | 0 || 17

Imhotep 27 | 25 | 17 | 10 || 79

Scoring

Naeem Colston 6, Justin Reed 3, Rodney Shelton 3, Sam Etienne 2, Noah Scurry 1, Shamar Parker 1, Stanley Parker 1

Imhotep: Justin Edwards 19, Rahmir Barno 15, Ahmad Nowell 14, RJ Smith 8, Yahmir Satterfield 6, Henderson 3, Jeremiah White 2, Hunter 2