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2024 Kobe Bryant Classic: Day One Standouts (Dec. 7)

12/08/2024, 11:00pm EST

By Chad Graham

By Chad Graham (@cgrahamsports)
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PHILADELPHIA — The first day of the annual Kobe Bryant Play-by-Play Classic took place at the Alan Horwitz “Sixth Man” Center, featuring nine area teams plus three from outside. Here are the results, followed by the standouts:

George School (Pa.) 2026 G Peyton Miler. (Photo: Chad Graham/CoBL)

Lower Merion 64, Methacton 31
Father Judge 69, Reading 37
Plymouth Whitemarsh 72, Neumann-Goretti 64
College Achieve, N.J. 58, Westtown 56
Roman Catholic 46, Sanford, Del. 28
George School 62, Archbishop Ryan 57

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Kevin Beck (2025 | Father Judge)
Beck got the start for the short-handed Crusaders and wound up leading them in points versus Reading. He scored their first 6 on a catch-and-shoot three and an and-1 layup in transition. The uncommitted stretch forward also put in work on the glass before going off in the third quarter. In that period, he knocked down three treys and a deuce on his way to 17 points, 8 rebounds, and the win.

Malik Hughes (2026 | Archbishop Ryan)
In the final game of the day, Hughes gave George School all they could handle inside the arc. Other than a duck-in and a fastbreak lay, he was pretty quiet in the first half. But that all changed in the third. With his feel and skill, the 6-6 forward got hot by playing off of two feet and getting offensive rebounds to notch 10 points in a short stretch. The Raiders couldn't pull out the victory, but Hughes managed to contribute 21 points and 9 boards.

Shareef Jackson (2025 | Roman Catholic)
The Lafayette-signee was inevitable against Sanford (Del.). Little by little, Jackson chipped in with a post-up here and a rebound there to keep the Cahilites steady. And along the way he was being a pain in Sanford’s with his ability to draw fouls. The Warriors started to put some defensive possessions at the end of the third quarter. But Jackson beat the buzzer with a halfcourt three to regain momentum. By the time Roman pulled away, Jackson had totalled 19 points, 10 boards, and 2 blocks.

Lower Merion (Pa.) 2025 G Carson Kasmer. (Photo: Chad Graham/CoBL)

Carson Kasmer (2025 | Lower Merion)
A recent Gettysburg-commit, Kasmer immediately applied pressure on the Methacton defense. He got started off with a three, then proceeded to get the rest of his 22 points at the basket. Kasmer slithered his way into the paint and scored with inside-hand finishes and reverse layups. A terror in the open floor, he capitalized on five separate fastbacks to open up the day with a big win for the Aces.

Daniel Marcellinus & Tobe Nwobu (2025 & 2026 | College Achieve, N.J.)
Marcellinus, the not-so-gentle giant, and Nwobu, the shot-maker, were essential for the Knights in their upset win over Westtown. A yoked up 6-11 center, Marcellinus was a wrecking crew in the paint with the way he tore through Moose defenders for dunks and rebounds. Defensively, he may have officially blocked a shot or two, but his sheer size and activity dissuaded the opposing offense from trying to score around the basket. Nwobu complimented the big man’s effort with his own play from the perimeter. He really got going in the second half with a pair of pull-up three and third triple off the catch. That paired well with his point of attack defense that stifled the Moose offense. He tallied 14 points and 3 assists to go along with Marcellinus’s 15 points.

CJ Miller (2025 | Roman Catholic)
Down their starting wing, the Cahilites thrusting Miller into major minutes made all the difference in their low-scoring affair with Sanford. He instantly got active with an and-one putback and a rejection on defense. Even when Roman came up short on offense, Miller’s hustle and motor never waned. He continued cutting off-ball and making defensive plays. Then the 6-7 wing put together a big fourth quarter to help the Cahilites pull away. His effort accounted for 15 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks.

Peyton Miller (2026 | George School)
The Jersey guard finished the Archbishop Ryan game like he started it — with on-ball defense and paint touches. On one of the very first possessions, he stole the ball and took it the other way for a dunk to set the tone. The takeaways and his drives set up opportunities for Miller to get his teammates involved. Ryan tried to blitz him on ball screens, but Miller maneuvered around them and snaked his way toward the basket. His rim-pressure also set him up with trips to the charity stripe where he shot 8-for-11. In a contest that came down to the final minute, Miller’s 24 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists, and 6 steals tipped the scale in GS’s favor.

Max Moshinski (2026 | Father Judge)
Judge’s 30-point win was powered by a well-rounded performance from Moshinski. The 6-5 wing made athletic plays all over the place, highlighted by his steal for a fastbreak jam. He racked up another dunk and additional points as the trailer on fastbreaks. More importantly, his connective passes extended advantages and set others up to score. Moshinski put up 14 points, 7 boards, a team-high 6 assists, and 1 steal before finishing the game off with a block.

Michael Pereira (2026 | Plymouth Whitemarsh)
Without scoring a ton of points, Pereira gave Neumann-Goretti a lot to handle in the post. He maximized his height advantage with multiple putbacks off of his offensive rebounds. The 6-9 center also did a good job screens and sealing in the post. With his long arms and strong upper body, Pereira was a bouncer around the paint, denying the Saints slashers access to the rim. His impact amounted to 12 points, 12 boards, and 2 blocks, but was innumerable.

Plymouth Whitemarsh 2026s Michael Pereira (L) and Mani Sajid (R). (Photo: Chad Graham/CoBL)

Mani Sajid (2026 | Plymouth Whitemarsh)
The 6-4 Sajid got rolling early against Neumann-Goretti. After a tough pull-up two, he cut backdoor for a two-hand slam. He pulled up for another jumper, this time a three, before hitting his second and third threes off the catch for 18 first-half points. The Colonials continued to feed their shot-maker in the second half, so he gave them two more threes to keep the Saints at a distance. Sajid scored a game-high 28 points.

Adam Walker (2026 | Westtown)
After only delivering a putback (plus the foul shot) in the first half against College Achieve, Walker had a loud 16 points in the second. His dunks and overall intensity energized a Moose team that couldn't get its threes to fall. And when the paint was clogged, Walker showed the touch to knock down jumpers, including one three of his own. His team couldn't pull out the win, but Walker paced them with 19 points and a couple blocks.

Gus Wright (2025 | Lower Merion)
In the first game of the event, Wright just kept making plays that kept the momentum in LM’s favor. He led the Aces on defense with boards and takeaways that got them out on transition. And his teammates found him for three triples. The Catholic University baseball commit finished with 15 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals, before sitting down at the end of the third.