City of Basketball Love

Andrew Robinson (@ADrobinson3)
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HUNTINGDON VALLEY — Tobe Nwobu came across the river to win championships.

The energetic guard found a program that shared his championship mindset at Academy of the New Church, making the jump to the Friends School League for his sophomore season.

But to win a championship, a team must first reach a championship game. And as the fourth quarter began against Friends Select on Tuesday, that wasn’t a certainty.

Nwobu came alive in the final frame, sparking the top-seeded Lions to a 53-45 win over No. 4 FSS in an FSL semifinal.

“It’s my first year, I wanted to make it to the championship at La Salle and play the best competition,” said Nwobu, who tallied 13 points in the win. “My teammates kept edging me on, kept telling me to shoot the basketball even though they weren’t falling in the first half.

“They told me at the half, ‘Keep shooting the ball, we know you’re going to make it.’”

Nwobu spent two years at Camden Catholic across the river in New Jersey before coming to ANC and reclassifying to the 2026 class. He had a quiet first three quarters Tuesday with just one basket, a 3-pointer, an assist and a steal. Getting his energy from the defensive end, Nwobu popped off for 10 points and two steals in the fourth quarter, starting with the go-ahead 3 for a 37-36 lead with 6:44 left.

The 6-foot-2 guard had eight points in a 9-0 ANC run that started and ended with him hitting treys for a 43-36 lead with 3:56 left in regulation. That still wasn’t enough to put away FSS, the Falcons having pushed the Lions to the limit in the regular season and doing it again when back-to-back Owen Coughlin 3s sliced the lead to 45-44 with 2:14 on the clock.

After missing a short jumper with 1:42 left that would have extended the lead on the following possession, Nwobu made up for it by picking the ball away and going back down the floor for a layup and a three-point cushion.

“My teammates kept telling me to shoot the ball, I fell down but they kept bringing me back up,” Nwobu said. “Being aggressive, my coaches kept telling me, ‘Take the ball from them, take the ball from them.’ I knew I had to lock in on defense and see if I could get some steals.”

Nwobu, who has an offer from Radford and has been in contact with a few other mid-major programs including Robert Morris, Lafayette and Holy Cross, came to ANC as a strong scorer. The guard averaged 17.7 points per game last year at Camden Catholic, and earlier this season he scored his 1,000th point.

Part of what drew him to the FSL and ANC in particular was sharpening his defensive acumen against a challenging schedule. Tuesday, Nwobu guarded several different players on the FSS roster, and his energy showed in his aggressive pressure on the ball.

“The most important thing for him is that this is a developmental year for him,” ANC coach Kevin Givens said. “He’s getting better; what we’d like to see more of is him getting some more steals, anticipating passes and all that, but his on-ball defense has gotten a lot better.”

The entire first half was back and forth, a six-point ANC lead in the second quarter the largest either team was able to enjoy as both sides shared the wealth on offense. A buzzer-beater by Friends Select guard Jay Chiles pulled the No. 4 seed, which was playing in the FSL semis for a second straight year, within 29-27 at the break.

While neither team had a prolific third quarter, the Friends Select zone was a bit more effective slowing down the Lions. Combined with five ANC turnovers in the quarter, the Falcons held the hosts to just four points and grabbed a 34-33 lead going to the final frame.

ANC decided to repay the favor defensively in the fourth.

“We said we had to play way better defense,” Nwobu said. “We were letting too many easy points, letting them get too many rebounds, so that’s what we did in the fourth quarter.”

Chiles was the Falcons’ leading scorer at half with nine points. He’d finish the game with nine points, the Lions paying extra attention to the talented guard who had lit them up for 33 points in the regular season while also keeping Tiko Morris-Louis in check with just two of his eight points coming after halftime.

Isiah Marshall led Friends Select with 15 points, scoring 10 of them in the second half. The Falcons had a chance down three with a bit more than a minute left, but ANC was able to hold its ground and get the stop.

Bahsil Laster, the Lions’ top scorer with 14 points, knocked down a pair of free throws after the stop, then for good measure Nwobu came up with his second steal of the quarter that led to another set of Laster free throws.

“We’re poised on defense, but we can also be aggressive,” Nwobu said. “We have very good big men, so if we get beat, they’re going to get the blocked shot. We have a great defensive team, and I’m really proud of that.”

Forward Ryan Warren had 10 points, including a pair of thunderous dunks, and Cameron Smith added nine off the bench as ANC’s post duo turned in another strong outing.

Friday night, ANC will face No. 2-seed Friends Central for the FSL title. It’s familiar territory for the Lions, who had played in but lost the last four championship games.

For Nwobu, it’ll be a new experience both in playing for an FSL title and in a college venue at La Salle’s Tom Gola Arena.

“I’m looking forward to the atmosphere,” Nwobu said. “I played in some crazy atmospheres in south Jersey, but I’ve never played in a college arena. Everybody’s goal is to play D-1, so I’m looking forward to running up and down that floor.”

By Quarter

Academy New Church: 12 | 17 | 4 | 20 || 53

Friends Select: 15 | 12 | 7 | 11 || 45

Scoring

Academy New Church: Bahsil Laster 14, Tobe Nwobu 13, Ryan Warren 10, Cameron Smith 9, Dior Carter 3, Nolan Waldon 2, Oganna Obayi 2

Friends Select: Isiah Marhsall 15, Jay Chiles 9, Owen Coughlin 9, Tiko Morris-Louis 8, Ahmiel McLauren