City of Basketball Love

Jared Leveson (@jared_leveson)
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Sebastian Edwards is making significant strides and opening some eyes in his first year starting for Roman Catholic boys basketball. 

The 6-foot-2 guard was unknown when he arrived at the Philadelphia Catholic League powerhouse three years ago but has worked his way up through the program. He started on the freshman team and then split time on junior varsity and varsity last year. 

Edwards has waited for his opportunity, and now he's taking advantage. On Friday night, the junior put together a stellar performance on both ends of the floor in a packed gym at Holy Family University. Edwards and a great team effort shut down Jalil Bethea and outplayed Archbishop Wood (4-6, 1-1) in the second half, securing a dominant 67-49 victory. 

With the win, Roman Catholic improved to 11-0 on the season and 2-0 in PCL play. 

"It's a high school coach's dream to see guys come through the program [on the] freshman-JV team, and now he gets his shot," Roman head coach Chris McNesby said. "He's making the most of it."

"I'm just playing for my teammates," Edwards said. "That's really my main goal."

Edwards finished with 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field, including 2-of-4 from 3-point territory. The junior has a quick release and a knack for finding soft spots in the defense. He's athletic enough to finish at the rim through traffic and fast enough to outpace opponents in transition. 

He's a quiet kid off the floor who's selective with his words, which translates into a calm demeanor and short memory on the floor. Combine all this, and you have a lethal offensive option. 

"He has a guppy fish mind," senior Hunter Johnson said. "He messes up one play, [then] he onto the next one. He's not gonna let the last play affect his next one, no matter what. That's a great aspect to have."

"His heart doesn't beat too fast," McNesby said.

Edwards entered the contest wanting to impact the game on the defensive end. 

He did just that and recorded three steals. 

"My main goal was defense," he said. "Our goal was to give them no 3s. Just play as hard as you can. We played together." 

He set the tone in the first quarter. With the ball moving up and down the floor, back-and-forth, Edwards got matched up with five-star Bethea (University of Miami), who's ranked seventh in the Class of 2024 by ESPN

Bethea went at him with a couple of crossovers but couldn't shake Edwards, who guided Bethea into a double team and then proceeded to get picked up by Edwards. 

With Roman up 29-26 at the beginning of the third quarter, he continued to make plays on the defensive end. He snuck up behind Josh Reed at the free-throw line and picked his pocket, taking the rock down the floor and flying to the rim for a two-handed slam. 
 
Edwards and Johnson combined for 12 in the quarter as the Cahillites outscored the Vikings 21-10. 

"(He) stepped up," Johnson said about Edwards. "From going to JV, to not touching the floor last year, to a varsity [starter this year] and playing really well, I'm really proud of him."

Roman led 50-36 at the start of the fourth quarter, but Wood responded and scored the first seven points of the period, cutting the Cahillites' lead to seven. Shareef Jackson’s and-one layup pushed the lead back to 10; then a Robert Cottrell 3 slammed the door shut on Wood, which couldn't get back within 10 points for the remainder. 

Roman's defense limited Bethea to 13 points on seven field goal attempts. The Cahillites knew it would take a team effort on the defensive end. They wouldn't let Bethea get his way. 

"I feel like we really locked in," Johnson said. "We knew where he was at all times on the court because he can shoot. We made sure we found him in transition, in halfcourt, and (tried) to let everyone else beat us." 

"He's one of the best players in the country," McNesby said. "Sometimes, for him, it's hard because he gets so much attention."

Drexel commit Reed led the way for Wood offensively. The senior finished with 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field, but his efforts weren't enough for Wood. 

John Mosco's defense struggled defending Jackson, who compiled an 18-point, 10-rebound (three offensive) double-double. Jackson forces the defense to collapse with the ball in the post, leaving shooters like Edwards open outside. 

Roman's selflessness makes the ball move fluidly. 

"That's the way they've been playing all year," McNesby said. “[They are] trusting each other. There wasn't one guy who looked for their own. [The] ball moves where it should and you feel really fortunate with that." 

Edwards happened to be that guy tonight. 

"Most teams like to do the iso ball," he said. "But we pass the ball around, [and] it helps us out a lot.

"It's real fun."

By Quarter

AW: 15 | 11 | 10 | 13 || 49 
RC: 19 | 10 | 21 | 17 || 67 

Scoring

AW: Josh Reed 17, Jalil Bethea 13, Deuce Maxey 6, Mike Green 6, Tahir Howell 5, Brady McAdams 2

RC: Shareef Jackson 18, Sebastian Edwards 17, Travis Reed 10, Hunter Johnson 8, Robert Cottrell 5, CJ Miller 4, Malik Hughes 2