City of Basketball Love

Rich Flanagan (@richflanagan33)

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Chris Roantree was part of the last Father Judge team that captured the Philadelphia Catholic League title 27 years ago. 

He can recount how the game played out with Jim Reeves posting a double-double and the community rejoicing as legendary head coach Bill Fox secured the last of his three league championships. Winning a game of that magnitude in a league that has established itself as the very best southeastern Pa. has to offer means a bit more to the surrounding neighborhoods and parishes that feed into Solly Avenue. When he was named head coach of his alma mater in 2021, the Crusaders program was in need of a shift and his enthusiasm and track record preceded what has played out since that inaugural season.

“Even when I started, the gym was packed because people were excited to see the change,” Roantree said. “Now it’s hard to get a seat in our gym on a Monday night no matter who we play.”

Before Roantree led Father Judge to the semifinals last season, the last time the Crusaders made it to the Palestra was his senior season in 1999. After dropping its matchup to Roman Catholic a year ago, the Crusaders entered Wednesday night’s semifinal matchup with a newfound focus and ire that few teams have been able to match this season. This current semifinal was far more meaningful than the last and showcased one of the most impressive shooting displays in the history of the league.

Kevair Kennedy posted a triple-double with 17 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists while Rocco Westfield nailed six three-pointers and finished with 20 points as Father Judge cruised past St. Joe’s Prep, 89-61 to advance to the Philadelphia Catholic League championship game on Sunday (2:30 PM, Palestra). The Crusaders will face Roman Catholic, which routed Devon Prep in the first semifinal matchup of the evening. 

Westfield accounted for six of his team’s dozen 3-pointers as the Crusaders shot 64.8% from the floor but even more incredibly 60% from behind the arc. The senior wing hit two threes in the opening quarter as Father Judge (18-6) ran out to a 13-6 lead. After sinking four shots from deep against the Cahillites on this floor last February, he one-upped himself for perhaps the best performance of his career.

“These guys always tell me to stay confident and they find me,” Westfield said. “I simply try to make the shots.”

League MVP Jordan Ellerbee had eight of his 15 points, including the 1,000th of his career, in the first and helped close the gap for St. Joe’s Prep (18-6), which trailed by four entering the second. That second quarter would put the Hawks away before they had a chance to truly answer. Kennedy scored the first four points of the quarter then Nazir Tyler (12 points) converted a basket inside and Westfield two more threes to put the Crusaders up, 36-23 with under four minutes to play until halftime. Will Lesovitz’s two free throws and an Ellerbee layup were the only points St. Joe’s Prep would score the rest of the half as a 22-4 run was capped by yet another Westfield perimeter jumper to give Father Judge a 19-point advantage at the break.

Kennedy, who became only the third Father Judge player ever to score 1,000 points earlier this season, put together a masterful game in his ability to get Westfield and Derrick Morton-Rivera, who hit three three-pointers and scored 15 points, in their spots on the outside while setting up 6-10 senior big man Everett Barnes (14 points, seven rebounds) inside for multiple two-handed dunks. He was the catalyst who ushered in a new era at Father Judge then kept this group fixated on a return to this stage.

Kevair Kennedy and Father Judge are out for revenge on Sunday (Photo: Mark Jordan/CoBL)

“Last year, everybody was sad, and some guys had tears in their eyes after we lost here,” Kennedy said. “I feel like that pain carried on throughout the offseason and into this season. We remained focused because we knew how to get here. We beat Neumann in the quarterfinals and last year we would’ve been jumping around after winning that but this year we remained level-headed and remembered the mission. We wanted to compete for a championship.”

Kennedy converted an and-one at the 4:47 mark of the third quarter to give Father Judge a 53-30 lead then Westfield did what he had continually done all night: drain a three-pointer and metaphorically suck the life out of the Hawks. Olin Chamberlain Jr. led the way for St. Joe’s Prep with 22 points including four threes of his own and in his final game, he attempted to spearhead a comeback. He knocked down a trey from the top of the key to cut the deficit to 64-43 then later hit another from deep to bring Father Judge’s advantage to 70-50. Barnes' two-handed throwdown on the ensuing possession ignited the crowd into a frenzy and the feeling of elation that was 27 years in the making began to percolate. 

The loss ends a terrific three-year run for the Hawks and the 2025 class of Chamberlain, Ellerbee (Florida Gulf Coast) and Jaron McKie (Dayton) will move on to its next endeavor as Father Judge also secured the second bid for the PIAA Class 6A Tournament for the Philadelphia Catholic League with the victory. St. Joe’s Prep made three trips to the league quarterfinals with this lone semifinal berth capping off the careers of those accomplished seniors.

Roantree and Father Judge are on the cups of history, and the possibility of winning a monumental title while also enacting revenge on Roman Catholic for last season plus stopping a potential three-peat adds dimension that will make Sunday’s matchup even more satisfying.

“To have the opportunity to get back to the championship, something we haven’t won since ’98 and I was on that team, it’s important for these dudes,” Roantree said. They trusted us and gave us a chance when Judge was the laughingstock of the league. We built and changed our culture. Kevair came in as a freshman in 2021-22 then Derrick came in a year after. It means the world to all these guys and it’s important to get back to the championship for the program, school and alumni. These guys talk about a Judge guy, and you look out there and see a lot of blue.”

By Quarter

FJ:  22 | 24 | 22 | 21 || 89
SJP: 18 | 9 | 18 | 16 ||  61

Shooting

FJ: 35-54 FG (12-20 3PT), 7-16 FT

SJP: 23-48 (8-19 3PT), 3-3 FT

Scoring
FJ: Rocco Westfield 20, Kevair Kennedy 17, Derrick Morton-Rivera 15, Everett Barnes 14, Nazir Tyler 12, Kevin Beck 5, Kiev Rucker 4, Rahkiy Mason 2

SJP: Olin Chamberlain Jr. 22, Jordan Ellerbee 15, Julian McKie 9, Will Lesovitz 5, Mekhi Roberson 4, Jaron McKie 2, Connor Patackis 2