City of Basketball Love

By Andrew Robinson (@ADRobinson3)
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NORTHEAST PHILADELPHIA — Milan Dean spent a lot of time in the air Saturday afternoon.

Whether it was a vicious dunk off a baseline drive in the second quarter or the back-to-back emphatic blocks on the same possession in the third, the Archbishop Wood sophomore’s aerial exploits were hard to miss. Even his unsuccessful forays off the ground turned out successful, after he bricked a dunk off the front of the rim in the third, Dean grabbed the rebound and found a teammate for a three.

On a day where the Vikings’ defense and offensive balance led the way, Dean’s ability to get it done on both ends — airborne or otherwise — propelled Wood past CB East 61-37 in a PIAA Class 6A first round game played at Archbishop Ryan.

“Always, always, always,” Dean said. “I’m always looking to make that big play.”

Dean had 11 points, three rebounds, four assists, a steal and two blocks all while churning his feet and using his strength to hound the Patriots out of their offensive rhythm. The 6-foot-3 guard scored four points in the first quarter, but between the six team fouls and some confident shooting from East, Wood trailed 12-10 going to the second quarter.

So, he made one of those big plays early in the frame, attacking the basket on a drive out of the left corner and nearly pulling the rim down with him for a 12-12 tie. Soon after, he drew the and-one on a take to the rim, giving Wood a brief 15-12 lead.

“He was really focused and played great on the defensive end against (Jake) Cummiskey,” Vikings coach John Mosco said. “He was really engaged trying to stop him and rebounding, then we were able to get him out in the open floor.”

Dean scored nine of his 11 points in the first half then spent the third quarter setting up his teammates. The sophomore had four assists in the quarter, the most notable being the one he salvaged after coming a half-inch short of another poster dunk.

Through the highlights on offense, the distribution to teammates and the energy, there was one aspect that Dean came back to as the difference-maker.

“The defense helped us keep going,” Dean said.

ARCHBISHOP WOOD 61, CB EAST 37

Jalil Bethea had a slow first half Saturday, scoring just three points in the first 16 minutes but that shot did give Wood a lead it wouldn’t give back.

Bethea, playing in front of several members of Syracuse’s coaching staff sitting in the baseline stands at Ryan, had a much more dynamic second half. The junior scored 10 second-half points including a steal and dunk and a floating, double-pump layup while continuing to hit the glass hard for eight rebounds.

That the PCL’s MVP didn’t need to go supernova spoke plenty about Wood’s efforts on both ends of the floor.

“We’ve been preaching it all year, we’re better sharing the ball and it’s not one guy scoring and dominating the ball,” Mosco said. “That’s a result of the maturity factor and we have to keep growing on that.”

Aside from Bethea and Dean, senior Carson Howard and sophomore Deuce Maxey also reached double-figures with 15 and 10 points respectively. Howard was particularly effective, the 6-foot-8 forward not missing in seven attempts from the floor and adding one big, high-flying block of his own while doing well to stay in front of East’s bevy of ball-handling guards and wings.

Wood played defense for 96 seconds on its first possession on that end. There were a few other long stretches of guarding, something Howard said the team was prepared for coming in and the Vikings just needed to keep their focus until the opportunities they wanted emerged.

“It started with the defensive boards,” Howard said. “Taking it off the glass and not letting them get offensive boards led to us being able to push the ball in transition and move the ball well.”

The Vikings held East to just three points in the second quarter to take a 22-15 lead to half. That wasn’t even their best stretch of the day.

Wood’s defense, coupled with a couple unfortunate rim-outs and misses from the perimeter by East, helped hold the Patriots scoreless from the 5:04 mark of the third to the 4:02 mark of the fourth. In that span, the Vikings went from a precarious 27-26 lead to a 50-26 advantage — a 23-0 run.

That span included Dean’s block, recovery and second block that led to an outlet for a Bethea and-one, Howard sending a shot into the stands, a few threes, Bethea’s steal and slam and a lot of balance.

"I think it's extremely dangerous," Howard said. "We have guys who can go. It's hard to guard us, we're going to go every single game and try to score and play tough defense."

The final score doesn’t reflect on the year CB East put together. On top of capturing a third straight SOL Colonial division title, East made its first SOL Tournament title game, finished fifth in the district and set a new program record with 24 wins.

Senior Kyle Berndt noted the difference Saturday was in shots — Wood made a lot of its looks and his team didn’t make nearly enough of its own — but his thoughts were more on what he and his teammates did this winter.

"It's our bond. We loved each other, we always played for each other and had each other's back on and off the court,” Berndt said. "I'll say it 100 more times, I love this group, love this coaching staff. I'd run through a wall for any of these guys and I'm sure they'd do the same for me."

Wood moves on to the second round, the Vikings looking to make a third straight trip to Hershey and get the final win that’s eluded them the last two years. Up next is Chambersburg, the District 3 sixth seed fresh off a shocking win over District I champion Plymouth Whitemarsh.

The Vikings players and coaches all knew about that result walking off the floor Saturday, but their focus was on themselves.

“I’m not worried about anybody else but us,” Mosco said. “We have to keep moving forward and only worry about ourselves.”

By Quarter

ARCHBISHOP WOOD 10 | 12 | 17 | 22 || 61

CB EAST 12 | 3 | 13 | 9 || 37

Scoring

AW: Carson Howard 15, Jalil Bethea 13, Milan Dean 11, Deuce Maxey 10, Gus Salem 3, Josh Reed 3, Ihsan Beyah 2, Eric Gardner 2, Grady Burt 2

CBE: Jake Cummiskey 14, Joey Giordano 8, Tyler Dandrea 8, Ryan McDonald 4, Dhruv Mukund 3