City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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MALVERN — Ryan Williams got to celebrate his 1,000th point twice.

When the Malvern Prep senior’s floater dropped midway through the second quarter of a Wednesday night games against Bonner-Prendergast, putting him exactly on the milestone, a classy timeout by Bonner coach Billy Cassidy allowed Williams’ parents to join him on the court for a picture with a banner.

It wasn’t until after the game that the large Malvern student section in attendance got to swarm Williams, a court rushing like they’d just won the Inter-Ac for the third straight time, just five games into the season. 

“It (means) a lot,” Williams said. “That’s a big thing about Malvern, the brotherhood, they were celebrating me the way I’d celebrate anybody who had a big accomplishment.”

Williams became the latest Friars player to get his name on the 1,000-point banner in the O’Neill Sports Center, scoring 22 points as Malvern Prep beat Bonner 49-44 in a battle of Friars. 

A Malvern Prep student since he was in seventh grade, Williams was in attendance when Deuce Turner scored his 1,000th point early in his sophomore year on his way to becoming the Inter-Ac’s all-time leading scorer with more than 2,070 career points; he was a member of the JV team when Rahdir Hicks passed the 1,000-point barrier three years back. 

It didn’t take long for the 6-foot-3 Northeastern commit to get there on Wednesday, fresh off a 34-point night Saturday in a win over Lehigh Valley powerhouse Parkland. Williams had six in the opening quarter, then went the first few minutes of the second without getting a shot off. He finally broke free for a layup to get him two shy, and wasted no time getting the last bucket. 

Williams’ milestone shot came the very next possession, taking a dribble hand-off at the top of the key, taking one dribble and letting a floater fly from the top of the key, putting it right through the net. It was clear from Williams’ immediate fist-pump that he knew the significance of the shot; the Malvern student section was well-primed beforehand by his mother, Tina Williams, who’d given them their own banner and signs to wave.

“I knew I had eight, I was like ‘alright, let’s get this done,’” he said, “because that was really the goal, to get it done as early as I could so I just could play the game, take a deep breath and play the game like I normally would.”

Paul Romanczuk, who’s been Williams’ coach each of the last three years, has seen his star senior go from a slender, quiet, 6-2 3-point specialist to an athletic, 6-3 combo guard who’s not only capable of doing whatever he wants on the court but it also an off-court leader who’s become much more comfortable finding his voice.

“I’m really proud of him,” the former Penn standout and Archbishop Carroll head coach said. “Throughout my two-and-a-half years of knowing him, he’s grown just physically and emotionally, more than I think that we expected, and [more] than any player that I’ve ever coached. The whole Malvern community is very proud of where he’s at right now.”

Williams’ milestone bucket, as it turns out, wasn’t his most nerve-wracking moment of the night. In a game which saw Bonner lead by three at halftime and by two after three quarters, Williams went to the line four times in critical situations in the final three minutes of the game: down two with 2:40 left, down one with 2:17 left, up one with 31.6 seconds, up one with 20.2 seconds. 

He went 8-for-8.

“Just breathing, try to remember all the shots and free throws I shoot all week” he said, mentioning how frustrated he was at going 10-of-15 from the line in Saturday’s win over Parkland. “I spent all week in the gym with my dad, trying to get more lift on my free throws, I was kind of shooting a flat ball, I really needed to work on bending my knees.”

Williams was the only Malvern Prep player in double figures as the Friars improved to 5-0, beating a Bonner team that came in with a 3-0 record. Romanczuk said it was the first time he could remember in his 18 years as a head coach that his team had beaten an undefeated team in each of his first five games. They’re back in action on Saturday against the Hun School (N.J.); Bonner hosts Lincoln on Friday.

Bonner got 22 points, seven rebounds and three blocks from senior forward Deuce Ketner, who hit four 3-pointers on six attempts, scoring 18 points in the second and third quarters. 

Malvern got a big bucket from junior wing forward Junior McFadden, whose put-back with 1:20 left made it 43-42. McFadden, who’s dealt with a minor injury and illness early in the season, contributed an important six points and four rebounds overall. 

“Junior had such a great summer for us and really grew as a player and really did a great job for us, and our expectations were high and he got off to a little bit of a slow start,” Romanczuk said. “Bonner’s got athletes and length and size and stuff and we needed him to play well and we’ve responded.”

By Quarter
MP:  15  |   4   |  14  |  16  ||  49
BP:   9   |  13  |  13  |   9   ||  44

Shooting
MP: 17-46 FG (1-5 3PT), 14-14 FT
BP: 14-40 FG (5-16 3PT), 11-20 FT

Scoring
MP: Ryan Williams 22, Nick Harken 6, Andrew Davis 6, Junior McFadden 6, Marvin Reed 4, Taig McErlane 3, Ennis Udo 2

BP: Deuce Ketner 22, Kevin Rucker 14, Reggie Selden Jr. 4, Kyree Womack 2, Kenny Gaitling 2