City of Basketball Love

Justin Procope (@justinprocope)
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Sahin Rodriguez was not supposed to shoot the ball. 

With 3.4 seconds on the clock, his team trailing the North Penn Knights 55-57 and the ball on the opposite baseline, Engineering & Sciences needed a miracle. 

A play was drawn up for the 6-foot-3 Rodriguez to get the ball in the middle of the floor and quickly pass ahead to an open shooter. Instead, with his eye on the clock, the junior guard took one dribble and launched a hail mary at the buzzer from just beyond halfcourt.

The next thing he knew, he was being mobbed by teammates, coaches, and screaming fans with cell phones aimed at him. His heave splashed in the back of the cup as time expired, giving Engineering and Sciences a 58-57 victory and sending the North Philly crowd into euphoria. 

“We had to roll it and I’m like I don’t think we can get a shot out of this but I said I’ve got to take it,” Rodriguez said. “When I made it, I was surprised actually. I didn’t really think it was going to go in.”

“It was exciting, it feels like I accomplished something,” Rodriguez said. 

What’s the best way to make miracles happen? According to head coach Dustin Hardy-Moore, it’s simple, you practice them. 

While the stakes may not have been as high, this is not the first time Rodriguez has hit this shot. In fact, he’s done so four other times. Never to decide a game, but to determine who does the running at the end of practice. Rodriguez and the Engineers take half-court shots as a fun way to end every practice. If the players make it, the coaches have to run, and vice versa. 

“We do it every single practice,” Hardy-Moore said. “But that one was in his comfort zone, he knew where he needed to get to, and it looked beautiful coming off his hand.”

It was a fitting end to an exciting, back-and-forth game that had twists and turns until the very end. Moments before Rodriguez’s heave, it looked as if Ahmaar Godhania would be the hero for his team after a silky step-back three with seconds left capped off an 18-point night for the 6-1 senior. Instead, head coach Cordell Lord and the Knights have dropped their fourth straight game. 

“It’s hard because you do the things that we talk about in practice to get the job done, we do literally everything and it takes a Hail Mary to come up short,” Lord said. 

“But that’s a really well-coached team, they make great adjustments and when they get on a run, they’re pretty tough to guard.” 

For the engineers, the win moves them to 4-1 overall in their first season in division A of the Philadelphia Public League and marks yet another close game in which they managed to come out on top. Every one of the five games E&S has played so far this season has been decided by 10 points or less, none more dramatic than this.

“They’re mentally tough,” Hardy-Moore said about his group. “Last year they would’ve folded. They’re not folding at the end of games, they’re not putting their heads down.”

“They pick themselves back up and they encourage each other… even in the huddle on that last play they said ‘it’s not over, we got this’, and you see what happened with that.”

Rodriguez’s game-winner marked a defining moment for a player who has evolved into a standout for this E&S team. He earned significant minutes with the varsity team last season after spending his freshman season on JV and is now the team’s leading scorer. 

His development was on full display Wednesday night, with his impact felt way before his final shot. Rodriguez had his fingerprints all over the box score, finishing with 15 points, five assists, a handful of rebounds, and several key defensive plays. 

“I’ve grown as a player by shooting the ball more and becoming a more aggressive player,” Rodriguez said. 

“I’ve got to rebound because we don’t have nobody that’s 6’5 so I’ve got to get down there, get assists, and find an open teammate, but I also have to score at times.”

During Hardy-Moore’s time as an assistant and now head coach, he has watched Rodriguez grow since his freshman year. While Rodriguez may feel he’s just doing what is necessary, Hardy-Moore insists he is just scratching the surface of his potential. 

“He does a little bit of everything and that’s what is blossoming and beautiful about him because he hasn’t even touched or come close to his peak yet,” Hardy-Moore said. 

No matter how the rest of the season unfolds, his half-court winner will be talked about and remembered for years to come. But for now, Rodriguez and the Engineers know they have to stay focused if they want to continue to make their mark in the top division of the Public League

“We have to stay humble, I’m already looking forward to our next game,” Rodriguez said. 

Rodriguez and the Engineer’s encore comes Friday as they take on SCH Academy.

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By Quarter
North Penn: 10 | 17 | 15 | 15 || 57
E&S: 12 | 12 | 17 | 17 || 58

Scoring
North Penn: Ahmaar Godhania 18, Aiden Atkinson 15, Gabe Altimus 5, Lee Hammond 4, JC Wood 3

E&S: Sahin Rodriguez 15, Fareed Brown 12, Matthew Mcfield 9, Malcolm Musgrove Jr. 8, Aaron Williams 6