City of Basketball Love

Andrew Robinson (@ADrobinson3)
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PHILADELPHIA — With the Inter-Ac again descending into chaos around them, all Penn Charter boys basketball’s Kai Shinholster and Jake West were worried about was finishing their game the right way.

Playing in front of a packed house against a Germantown Academy team that simply wouldn’t go away, the Quakers’ guards provided two of the biggest shots of Friday night’s clash in the fourth quarter. Unbeknownst to either, the rest of the league’s craziness had opened a door, and it was up to them to go through it.

Penn Charter held off GA 69-66, and the win, coupled with the Inter-Ac’s other outcomes, handed the Quakers no worse than a share of the league title.

“It’s for each other,” Shinholster said. “We stick together every game, and we know we have each other’s backs. Anywhere we play, whether we’re home or whether we play away, the only thing we can control is what’s between the lines.”

West buried the go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:24 left off an assist from Shinholster, and Shinholster’s driving layup with 16.1 left on the clock essentially sealed the deal by making it a four-point game. In a quarter where the Quakers connected on just 7-of-18 free throws and trailed with 90 seconds left, the hosts needed plays like that to avoid staying in the three-way tie for first they’d entered the day in.

With Malvern Prep knocking off Springside Chestnut Hill 60-56 and Haverford downing Episcopal Academy 65-62, all the Quakers had to do was knock off a Patriots team they’d beaten by 14 earlier this season to lock up a share of their third consecutive league title. Much easier said than done.

“It started with taking pride in defense,” West said. “We work really hard and we take pride in defense, so it started on defense tonight, it let us work on offense and we started to get a lot of energy.”

Penn Charter didn’t have much of an answer for GA’s Bryce Rollerson in the first half. The smooth-playing junior worked his way to 12 first-quarter points and had 18 at the break with Germantown Academy up 34-32.

Tyler Nolan gave the Patriots a boost off the bench in the first half as well, hitting for 10 points by halftime but also giving the PC coaches fits as he beat the Quakers to several offensive rebounds.

The Quakers knew they hadn’t played to their standard on defense in the first half, so they wanted to bring it after halftime.

They held Rollerson to seven points after halftime, all in the third quarter, and Nolan to five in the second half. Bryce Presley had a good fourth quarter for GA, including a three-point play that gave the Patriots a lead, but PC was able to string together some stops late.

“He makes a lot of tough shots, so we tried to get the ball out of his hands,” Shinholster said of the defense against Rollerson. “We wanted to force other people to try and score or take over.”

PC big man Matt Gilhool had a dunk in the first half but had otherwise been quiet through two quarters. It took him all of four minutes into the second half to change that, the 6-foot-11 junior ripping off 13 straight points for his team and a personal 13-5 run putting PC ahead 45-39 midway through the third.

The only thing that stopped Gilhool in the quarter was the whistle, his third foul putting him on the bench until the fourth. Still, his teammates felt the energy.

“When we see, not just his scoring, but Matt’s rebounding and him playing hard on defense, it gives everybody that idea of ‘Yo, we gotta back him up,’” Shinholster said. “When we pick up our intensity on the defensive end, offense comes easy.”

AJ Towsen’s free throw put the Patriots up a point with 1:33 on the clock after Penn Charter helped GA back into the game by misfiring on four of its previous six at the line. Off the make, Gilhool, who led PC with 19 points, ran the floor hard, which Shinholster said was the key to setting up what came next.

The junior guard brought the ball down and with Gilhool attracting attention inside, he made a pass to West on the wing. It was all net and Penn Charter had the lead for good.

“I’ve shot that shot multiple times in practice and in games, so I’m going up being confident in the shot,” said West, who scored 14. “Kai found me with a good pass.”

There was still enough time left that if Germantown Academy could get a stop, it would at least have a chance to either tie or take a shot for a lead. Instead, Shinholster went into the lane and dropped in a dagger.

“I was thinking I have to go aggressive to the basket,” Shinholster said of the drive that gave him his 17th and 18th points. “It’s either I get fouled or I get a bucket, and it was a bucket.”

The realization they’d locked up a share of the Inter-Ac title didn’t hit the Quakers until they got back to their team room, but they were quick to point out there’s work to be done. PC ends its season against Episcopal Academy. The Churchmen would love to play spoiler themselves, a win over the Quakers meaning they’d get to share that title.

West, who is new to Penn Charter this year, said the Quakers are planning to go into their finale like they’re the underdog team still fighting for their piece of the prize. It’s been a crazy season in the Inter-Ac, so what’s a little more potential madness to end it with?

“My boy Kai here told me it was as cool as the PCL — I didn’t believe him at first,” West said. “Now, being in this environment, playing in a game with their student section rocking, our student section rocking, parents screaming, I had a lot of fun.”

By Quarter

Penn Charter: 15 | 17 | 21 | 16 || 69

Germantown Academy: 18 | 16 | 12 | 20 || 66

Scoring

Penn Charter: Matt Gilhool 19, Kai Shinholster 18, Jake West 14, Jamal Hicks 9, TJ Bryson 4, Will Vieria 3, Carter Smith 2

Germantown Academy: Bryce Rollerson 23, Tyler Nolan 15, Flinn Brooks 11, Bryce Presley 9, Mick McKee 4, Ellis Johnson 2, AJ Towsen 1