City of Basketball Love

Jared Leveson (@jared_leveson)
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BENSALEM — Archbishop Wood’s Jalil Bethea went airborne and slammed one down over a Lower Merion defender. 

The crowd at Bensalem High School erupted. Lower Merion called a timeout amidst the chaos.

It was another signature moment for the McDonald's All-American during a 66-64 win in the second round of the PIAA Class 6A boys basketball tournament Wednesday night. 

"That's like one of those plays that you gotta go back to the film and watch because I don't even know what happened," Bethea said. "I just saw him try to take a charge, and I knew they weren't calling no foul because I knew I was jumping as high as I could, so it wasn't even going to be no contact for him." 

Air Bethea scored seven of his 13 points in the fourth quarter. His dunk with more than six minutes left ignited his teammates. It pushed Wood over the edge to defeat a gritty and disciplined Lower Merion squad. 

"He's a McDonald's All-American for a reason," Wood head coach John Mosco said about his stalwart guard.

"Just late in the game, that [dunk was] definitely a confidence booster," Bethea said. "Because it was a close game the whole time, having a momentum play like that helps everybody on the team." 

The Vikings advanced to their third straight PIAA quarterfinal appearance and kept their championship hopes alive. 

Wood fell short of a trip to Hershey last season after losing to Roman Catholic in the semifinals. They haven't been to Giant Center since 2022, when they lost to Roman. 

Junior teammate Mike Green felt a little under the weather during the game, but Bethea's slam gave him the energy he needed to finish the game strong. 

The 6-foot junior went 3 for 4 from 3-point range in the fourth quarter and finished with a team-high 15 points. 

"It's a close game and we got a big momentum play," Green said. "(It) opens it up for the rest of us. We all get super energized after that." 

The Aces double-teamed Bethea all night and kept him in check until the final frame. Bethea dished out six assists, and four Vikings — Bethea, Green, Josh Reed (Drexel) and Deuce Maxey — finished in double figures. 

"Stay together [and] make the extra pass," Mosco told his team, which was trailing 32-31 at halftime. “They're doubling. We have to swing the ball both sides. We were swinging it once and shooting right away." 

"We work on it in practice, so when we get in a game I'm kind of used to it and I feel comfortable," Bethea said.

Wood opened the second half with a 7-0 run, outscored Lower Merion 12-9 and headed into the fourth with a 43-41 advantage.

Bethea knocked down a corner 3 to start the fourth quarter and followed it up with his emphatic dunk. Green followed suit with his first 3 of the quarter, and then Bethea broke out in transition and finished with a two-handed flush. 

The Vikings accrued a 53-43 lead with 5:27 left. Then Lower Merion burned its last timeout. 

Coach Gregg Downer's squad didn't back down. Owen McCabe hit four consecutive treys, going shot-for-shot with Green, whose clutch shot-making kept extending Wood's lead.

"I'm scoring, and the next thing I know, they've already made a 3 in the basket," Green said. “I couldn't even tell half the time, it was scoring so fast, but that's where we have to stay calm and not get too high or too low." 

Lower Merion senior Jayden Robinson scored six of his 15 in the final frame and brought the Aces within four twice at the 2:30 and 24-second marks. Still, Lower Merion couldn't make enough necessary plays down the stretch.

It's the third straight season the Aces have been bounced by a Philadelphia Catholic League squad in the state tournament. Roman Catholic bounced them from the second round last year and the semifinal in 2022. Wood knocked out Lower Merion in the 2021 semifinal, too.

Lower Merion finished with a 28-2 record, a Central League title and its third District 1 Class 6A title in four years. The loss to Wood was its only loss to a local team this season.

"For a bunch of unheralded Division III players running around to check in at 28-2 is pretty impressive," Downer said. "They're very upset. They thought they could have won. 

"But [this is] probably the best ride I've ever had in my 34-year coaching career." 

Bethea, Green and Archbishop Wood will face Ches-Mont power Spring-Ford on Saturday at a place and time to be announced. 

They know they can't get too far ahead of themselves. 

"I feel like just going into these last three games [we need to] just be humble," Bethea said. "That's the mentality you have to have. Stay to yourself and your teammates and hopefully come out (and) win."

By Quarter

Archbishop Wood: 15 | 16 | 12 | 23 || 66

Lower Merion: 18 | 14 | 9 | 23 || 64 

Scoring

Archbishop Wood: Mike Green 15, Jalil Bethea 13, Josh Reed 11, Deuce Maxey 10, Tahir Howell 9, Milan Dean 8

Lower Merion: Jayden Robinson 15, Owen McCabe 15, John Mobley 14, Carson Kasmer 11, Adam Herrenkohl 7, Justin Mebane 2 

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PIAA 6A Boys (local games)

First Round (Sat., March 9)
12-3 Archbishop Wood 81, 1-5 Methacton 73
1-1 Lower Merion 85, 3-6 Cedar Crest 55
1-3 West Chester Henderson 80, 2-2 Hazleton Area 73
3-4 Reading 65, 1-4 Chester 63
3-5 Central York 69, 1-2 Garnet Valley 60
12-1 Roman Catholic 63, 1-11 Downingtown West 37
1-6 Coatesville 57, 11-2 Liberty 46 (2OT)
1-8 Springfield (Delco) 59, 12-2 Lincoln 43
11-1 Parkland 65, 1-10 Plymouth Whitemarsh 35
3-1 Cumberland Valley 84, 1-12 Bensalem 59
1-9 Spring-Ford 55, 2-1 Scranton 52
3-2 Chambersburg 72, 1-7 Central Bucks East 41

Second Round (Wed., March 13)
12-3 Archbishop Wood 66, 1-1 Lower Merion 64
1-9 Spring-Ford 45, 1-8 Springfield (Delco) 32
12-1 Roman Catholic 47, 1-3 West Chester Henderson 40
1-6 Coatesville 52, 3-1 Cumberland Valley 37

Quarterfinals (Sat., March 16)
12-3 Archbishop Wood vs. 1-9 Spring-Ford
11-1 Parkland vs. 12-1 Roman Catholic
1-6 Coatesville vs. 3-4 Reading