City of Basketball Love

Andrew Robinson (@ADRobinson3)
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WEST CHESTER — Marv, go hoop.

That’s about the extent of what Malvern Prep’s veteran players told freshman Marvin Reed going into his first high school season. Reed’s taken that short but direct message to heart, not only stepping into a starting role but handling it extremely well for a Friars team looking to contend for the Inter-Ac title.

Reed’s been hooping, especially on defense, and he put together an all-around solid game as Malvern Prep downed a good Unionville team 57-35 at West Chester’s Hollinger Fieldhouse as part of the Ches-Mont Challenge on Friday.

“I got taught defense-first, because defense is what wins games,” Reed said. “If your shot’s off, you play defense. The way to go is defense, if you get stops, then everything will come together.

“I think with the way I play defense, the whole team gathers up around me and the energy bounces back to them.”

Reed scored seven points, but his impact did and has gone beyond scoring all season. Friday, he guarded the length of the floor, made good decisions with the ball and the Friars won.

For Malvern Prep coach Paul Romanczuk, those are the three most important things a point guard needs to be graded on. The Friars had minimal turnovers as a team and Reed wasn't charted with any of his own. On defense, Reed was like a shadow chasing Longhorns through screens and a pest while pressuring the ball up the floor, Malvern’s overall defense seeming to get Unionville off its rhythm early on.

“With point guards, the only stats that matter are: do you win, can you defend your position and assist-to-turnover ratio,” Romanczuk said. “That’s all you should care about, and I think he hit a home run on all three of them tonight.”

Reed’s best play of the night wouldn’t even go on his team’s side of the stat book. Late in the third quarter, one of Unionville’s best players was trying to bring the ball up the floor but was hounded at every dribble by Reed.

Keeping his feet moving and his hands ready, Reed stayed in front of his man. He seemed to give some ground by letting his mark get to the rim, only to quickly get his hands on the ball, knocking it off the Unionville player to not only prevent a layup but get a turnover off the deflection.

“I use my speed and I’m always sliding my feet,” Reed said. “I’m not really worried about playing against seniors, I just see them as another regular person, we all do the same things on the court.

“As long as I’m sliding my feet, staying with them and I don’t reach, I know they’re definitely going to give up the ball to me while I’m hounding them and pestering them.”

Both teams had good-sized and very, very vocal student sections which Reed said made the gym a little loud. However, he felt his team made up for it by communicating well and credited the scouting report the coaches put together for having the Friars ready for Unionville’s offensive sets.

The Longhorns gave up the first basket, then hit back to back threes for a 6-2 lead with 5:54 left in the first quarter. That would be the high point for a Unionville team that had started the season strong coming off last year’s run to the District 1 5A final and had already picked up a win over a strong Spring-Ford side.

Ryan Williams, who led all scorers with 21 points, had 11 tallies in a 13-0 run that not only put Malvern Prep back in front but gave the Friars control of the game. The other hoop in that run came from Reed, who has started to settle into the high school game.

“The game’s more fast-paced but it’s getting easier by getting my teammates involved,” Reed said. “It’s definitely a big jump, but I’m liking it so far.”

Unionville only had five field goals in the first half, although they were able to get into the bonus with a good amount of time left in the second quarter and got four trips to the foul line in the latter half of the period. Reed avoided foul trouble but a few of his teammates weren’t so lucky.

Fortunately for Malvern Prep, the Friars believe in their depth and it helped them big time on Friday. The Inter-Ac side went nine deep until the final minutes and senior Ennis Udo in particular was a spark off the bench with 10 points.

“This was a game where if they wanted to dictate pace, it would give us problems,” Romanczuk said. “We had to stop them from running plays and make them make plays, that was our goal. I thought our quickness defensively really wore them down a little bit, they really only play six guys and I think we’re a little deeper at this point in time.”

James Brenner paced Unionville with 11 points, Ryan Brown and James Anderson each posted 10 points.

Reed’s highlight play was defensively oriented while his defense led to the team’s big highlight later on. The freshman’s hands might be as quick as his feet and Reed was able to force an outright steal off his pressure defense that led to an outlet pass to Williams in the late stages of the fourth.

Williams rose up and slammed the ball down for his final points, giving the Friars students reason to break into yet another chant.

“I have teammates that are in the right spots, so they make it easy for me,” Reed said. “They just say ‘Marv, go hoop’ and I take that as a big thing. I just go out there and do what I have to do.”

By Quarter

MALVERN PREP 15 | 17 | 11 | 14 - 57

UNIONVILLE 8 | 12 | 8 | 10 - 38

Scoring

MP - Ryan Williams 21, Ennis Udo 10, Achilles Turner-Tucker 9, Marvin Reed 7, Taig McErlane 5, Nick Harken 3, Hanif McFadden 2

U - James Brenner 11, James Anderson 10, Ryan Brown 10, Jack Robbins 4, Charlie Kammeier 2, Nick Diehl 1

~~~

Constitution 58, Coatesville 54

Constitution (2-1) gave Coatesville (2-1) its first loss of the season in a statement win. Seniors Amir Speights (15 points) and Kyree Latimer (11 points) led the offensive charge, but it was a well-rounded effort on both ends with foul trouble forcing both squads to rely on their benches throughout.

The Generals looked out of sorts early, digging themselves a 10-2 hole in the first quarter before climbing ahead 16-15 after the first eight minutes of action. Coatesville junior guard Amon Fowlkes led the Raiders with 18 points, and senior guard Zuri Harris added another 12. Fowlkes, who scored all of his points in the final three quarters, had six in the second to give Coatesville a 31-27 halftime lead.

Six different players scored for Constitution in the third quarter and the Generals held Coatesville to just seven points (all from Fowlkes) as they reclaimed a 44-38 lead heading to the fourth. 

Generals senior guard Kory Jones scored eight points and senior Perry Fields, who played at Boys Latin last season, scored another seven, making big plays on both ends throughout, including a clutch rebound late.

A three by Harris cut the Constitution lead down to two with 30 seconds left, but Speights was clutch at the line to finish off the win.

By Quarter:

CONSTITUTION: 16 | 11 | 17 |14 || 58

COATESVILLE: 15 | 16 | 7 | 16 || 54

Scoring: 

CONSTITUTION: Amir Speights 15, Kyree Latimer 11, Kory Jones 8, Perry Fields 7, Flowers 6, Khaleek Johnson 5, A Loney 4, White-Blaylock 2.

COATESVILLE: Amon Fowlkes 18, Zuri Harris 12, Dior Kennedy 9, Marquis Peoples 9, Will Fowlkes 3, Tristan Jackson 2, P.J. Miles 1.