City of Basketball Love

By Jeremy Goode
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For the St. Joseph’s Prep basketball program, this season has been a bit of a last dance. 

The Prep is led by three seniors who have been together since their freshman year. And unlike those Chicago Bulls’ teams in the 90s, this Prep team has not won anything yet.

Jaron McKie, a Dayton commit, Jordan Ellerbee, a Florida Gulf Coast University commit, and  Olin Chamberlain Jr., who is still deciding where to play college basketball next year, have never been to the semifinals of Philadelphia Catholic League. 

That finally changed against Archbishop Wood in the Philadelphia Catholic League quarterfinals, as the Prep defended its home court 71-51 on Thursday afternoon. They play Father Judge, their only loss in PCL play from this season, in the semifinals next Wednesday night. 

Devon Prep and Roman Catholic play in the other semifinal.

“That was always one of the goals coming in; go to the Palestra and win a PCL championship,” Chamberlain said. “That is one of the main reasons people come to the PCL… to play in front of all the fans at the Palestra. It is definitely an experience I am looking forward to.”

For McKie, Ellerbee, and Chamberlain, it has been a long process to get to this point. Freshman year, the trio finished 2-11 in conference league play. 

Sophomore year, the Prep saw major improvements, as they finished 9-4 in conference, and lost to Wood in the quarterfinals of PCL in 2023. Better, but they still knew there were bigger accomplishments ahead. 

Last season, the Prep finished 10-5, good enough for fifth in the PCL during the regular season. But it was the quarterfinals that tripped them up again, this time losing at the buzzer to Archbishop Ryan at home. 

To make matters worse, it was a team that McKie and his teammates felt was conference champion worthy. 

“We thought that we would have been here a little sooner,” St. Joseph’s Prep head coach Jason Harrigan said. “Those losses built character and taught them about being connected at all times. I think they did a good job of staying together and we’re seeing the results.” 

This season, McKie, Ellerbee, and Chamberlain put everything together. They were 12-0 in conference play before losing to Father Judge in their last regular season game. Their 12-1 PCL record was good for a first-place finish in the PCL.

“The last two years, we were in the mix and in the middle of the pact trying to see what happens if a school lost ahead of us,” Chamberlain said. “Now, we’re at the top and wondering who is going to play us.”

The Prep had to wait a game before knowing their opponent. After Wood travelled to Bonner earlier in the week and beat the Friars by 12, their next date was against the no. 1 seed, Prep. 

Early on, both teams exhibited their fast pace of play. Wood and the Prep ran a lot, so opposing teams' misses turned into fast break opportunities for either team, even if they were starting at their own baseline. The Prep held onto a three-point lead heading into the second quarter, scoring a strong 19 points. They were able to extend their lead to seven at halftime, up 34-27 midway through. 

McKie led the way for the Prep in the first half, recording 15 points. He sank three shots beyond the arc in the first 16 minutes. McKie’s brother, Julian gave the Prep solid minutes off the bench early on, finishing second in scoring for the half with seven points as well as displaying tight defense on a Wood team that has a lot of scoring options. 

“I knew I had to give everything I had since it was going to be my last game at home,” Jaron McKie said. “I did not want to go out, I wanted to cherish this game because I’m not going to be back. So, why not keep playing?”

In the second half, the Prep took over. After the first 17 seconds of play, Wood already committed two turnovers, the first leading to an Ellerbee layup off the inbounds. The Prep rallied, kicking off the quarter with an 8-0 run a few minutes into the second half, leading 42-27.

 It remained all Prep. 

The Prep held steady, only giving up 13 points in the third quarter, leading by 12 going into the final eight minutes. 

“Ultimately, our inexperience showed,” Wood head coach John Mosco said. “We played like a young team, and you can’t do that on the road against a good team like that.”

In Wood’s win over Bonner two days before, junior Brady MacAdams and sophomore Caleb Lundy both had more than 20 points. Against the Prep, MacAdams had nine and Lundy finished with 12. 

The Prep closed out Wood in the fourth, outscoring the Vikings 19-11. Jaron McKie, Ellerbee, and Chamberlain combined for 51 of the team’s 71 points.

While the team is excited to play at the Palestra for the first time, they are still humble in acknowledging how difficult it was to get to this point and conquer this goal that they had in place four years ago. 

“It definitely is a full-circle moment and I’m just glad I can do it with my brothers who I love to death,” Ellerbee said. “This is something I’ve been looking forward to since I first entered the Catholic League as a freshman. It is a privilege to be in this position to go to the Palestra and play a game.”

By Quarter
Wood:    16   |   11   |   13   |   11  ||  51
Prep:      19   |   15   |   18   |   19  ||  71

Shooting
Wood: 18-46 (3-9 3PT), 12-14 FT
Prep: 26-56 (10-20 3PT), 9-14 FT

Scoring
Wood: Caleb Lundy 12, Brady MacAdams 9, Rowan Phillips 9, Malakhi Warren 6, Mike Green 5, Jadyn Jenkins 4, Karon Shedrick 3, Dylan Powell 3

Prep: Jaron McKie 24, Jordan Ellerbee 16, Olin Chamberlain 11, Julian McKie 9, Will Lesovitz 6, Mehki Robertson 5