City of Basketball Love

Joseph Santoliquito (@JSantoliquito)

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PHILADELPHIA — His Roman Catholic teammates call Semaj Robinson “Unc” for his facial hair and old-man’s game. It’s also derived from the old-school way the energetic 5-foot-9 junior guard thinks.

For a while there on Sunday, “Unc” wasn’t doing so well against Devon Prep. The Tide allowed him to be open, with Reece Craft cheating away from him for back help on Roman’s 6-foot-7 Shareef Jackson. Robinson had missed a couple of free throws in a big moment.

Though when the game mattered most, it was his teammate’s trust in him that found Robinson for the game-winning basket in the closing seconds of the Cahillites’ thrilling 70-67 double-overtime victory over Devon Prep at Holy Family University.

Roman now moves to 13-4 overall and 6-2 in the Catholic League, while the Tide fell to 11-4 and 6-2, with its two league losses coming by a combined 9 points.

This was a pivotal game for Roman. The Cahillites were coming off a 55-51 league loss to Father Judge on Thursday in which they saw a 44-37 lead entering the fourth quarter shrink to nothing.

Against Devon Prep, Roman led by 12 three times in the third quarter, 40-28, 42-30 and 44-32, then disappeared under a 12-0 Tide run that made it competitive for another 16 minutes.

This is a young Roman team that coach Chris McNesby is still working on fitting the pieces together. Sunday’s double-overtime victory was another good step toward maturing.

The Cahillites weathered two cutting shots that could have demoralized them. The first dagger came on a Shane Doyle three-pointer with 50 seconds left in regulation that sent the game into its first overtime. The other was by Mason Thear with 3.3 seconds left that sent the game into double overtime.

All through it, Robinson played his role as a scrappy defender and someone counted on to spot up. But his four points did not come until overtime, and at crucial moments. He would hang in the far corner, and then drift to the lane, with Craft keeping tabs on him through the corner of his eye.

With 50 seconds left in the first overtime, Robinson cut to the basket for a layup and a 61-58 Roman lead. With 45 seconds left in the second overtime, Shareef Jackson found him cutting to the basket for a 68-67 lead and the eventual winning difference.

“In my opinion, you have to trust everybody, and we definitely trust Unc,” Shareef said. “People make it seem like the really good players in the league can carry an entire game, and they can, to a certain degree, but in double- and triple-team scenarios, you have to trust those guys cutting and moving. It is the only way to win.”

Robinson used Devon Prep’s defensive tactic as motivation.  

“I’m getting used to other teams laying off, but I stay confident,” he said. “I missed two free throws (in the first overtime) that I was kicking myself over. My coaches told me to stay with it. When other teams lay off, that motivates me. I had to be ready. When other teams are off, I knew I was going to make that cut and my teammates would find me.

“I’m the old head on the team and they trust me. I think like I’m 25. Sammy came up with the nickname. Look at me, I look like an old man on the team with the beard (laughs). I’m the energy guy who has to get everyone going.”

Roman sophomore Tyler Sutton led all scorers with 23, followed by Sammy Jackson’s 16 and Shareef Jackson’s 13. Devon Prep’s Zane Conlon moved like a slow glacier, but once the very formidable senior got moving, he was tough to stop.

He and Shareef Jackson were banging into each other all afternoon, making it a battle within a battle. Conlon finished with 20 before fouling out with 1:43 left in the second overtime. Once he departed, that seemed to affect the Tide.

Sammy Jackson scored 13 of his 16 in the fourth quarter and the two overtimes.

“We believe in Unc, and we trust him in important times,” Sammy said. “We should have stayed together more in the stretch against Judge. We stayed together today and it showed. Everyone stayed together. Devon Prep is an amazing team and have an amazing coach. This win was a big statement in the league.”

McNesby embraces players like Robinson. He is a glue program player that are foundational pieces to a program like Roman. He is a selfless conduit that connects the team’s talent.

“Semaj never knows what his role is going to be, some games he plays, some games he does not play, and it’s not an easy thing,” McNesby said. “Semaj is a tough Philly kid who loves the game. He knows his role and knows where the guys want and like the ball.

“Devon Prep is a great program that have won a couple of state championships, and I know people think Roman, we should dominate, but we still have young guys in putting this team together. This game showed what we need to do to win games late.”

By Quarter
Devon Prep (11-4, 6-2 Catholic League):  10 | 11  |  21  | 14 | 7 | 4 ||  67
Roman Catholic (13-4, 6-2 Catholic League): 11 | 19 | 14 | 12 | 7 | 7 || 70

Scoring
Devon Prep:  Zane Conlon 20, Shane Doyle 17, Reece Craft 14, Mason Thear 8, Calvin Smith 6, Mike Pergolis 2.

Roman Catholic: Tyler Sutton 23, Sammy Jackson 16, Shareef Jackson 13, Sebastian Edwards 9, CJ Miller 5, Semaj Robinson 4.

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Joseph Santoliquito is an award-winning sportswriter based in the Philadelphia area who began writing for CoBL in 2021 and is the president of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be followed on BlueSky here.