City of Basketball Love

By Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue)
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HERSHEY — The West Catholic boys basketball program won its first state championship in 2023. Then the Burrs had to hit the reset button, losing every starter from that squad heading into last season.

There were some hardships during a 6-18 campaign that featured a number of freshmen and sophomores in the rotation. There were also a handful of connectors that helped continue the culture seven-year head coach Miguel Bocachica has established.

Two years later, a very different Burrs group was at the Giant Center on Saturday. They left the same ways as they did two years ago, hoisting the PIAA Class 3A championship plaque once again after a 60-51 title game win over South Allegheny.

“It felt good to be a part of this group because this is a special group of young guys with only four seniors,” senior Naseem Perez said. “It felt good being one of the leaders and basically one of the veterans of the team who knows the culture of West Catholic basketball. It was fun winning it in 2023 and it’s fun doing it again this year. I wouldn’t want to do this with another group of guys.”

Sophomore Jayvon Byrd led the District 12 champion Burrs (16-13) with 20 points, while junior Drew Cook had 22 for the District 7 champions.

Saturday’s title game victory for the Burrs came a little harder earned than the 83-55 masterclass two years ago over Deer Lakes. Fueled by a pro-Gladiators crowd, South Allegheny (27-4) jumped out to a 17-5 lead after a quarter of play.

West Catholic didn’t score its first field goal of the game until sophomore Eric Scott banked in a shot more than seven minutes into the contest. The Burrs trailed 19-5 at the 7:26 mark in the second before a bucket by Perez began an 8-0 run that finally settled West Catholic into the game.

“Us going down by 14, it doesn’t do nothing to us but make us want to fight even harder,” said Perez, who noted the team’s defense is what turned the tide. “Our practices are hard every day of the week, so we just know. We get put in those scenarios already, so that we know to always fight back. We never quit. I appreciate our coaching staff for always telling us to keep chopping.”

Perez was one of the few remaining Burrs who saw the court during their previous trip to Hershey along with seniors Isaiah Muhammad and Jaden Banner and junior Kingston Wheatley. Wheatley is the only Burr to score in both state championship games.

“Going through adversity, it’s fun playing with these guys,” said Wheatley, who had three blocks in the game. “We’ve gotta build our own story. We can’t live off the other guys.”

Bocachica welcomed a strong class of 2027 last year, and after many of them played as freshmen, they had the chance to shine in Saturday’s state title game a sophomores.

Scott, whose older sister Amya won the Class 4A girls championship with Neumann-Goretti, was a spark off the bench with 14 points and seven assists. His triple at the buzzer cut the Burrs’ deficit to 27-23 at halftime.

Sophomore Rahmir Speaks canned a triple at the 4:47 mark in the third to give West Catholic its first lead, 33-31. He added onto an 18-2 run to give the Burrs a double-digit third quarter lead before a three by South Allegheny’s Cameron Epps made it 41-34 heading into the final period.

The Gladiators closed to four at the 6:13 mark before Scott answered back with a triple. They closed the gap to three at the 5:06 mark before sophomore Byrd answered with a jumper.

Perez pushed West Catholic up 51-43 on a three with 3:23 left and the Burrs made enough plays down the stretch to grab another state crown.

“I think we have an amazing 2027 class, a great class, kids that maybe in middle school were underrated or underloved,” Bocachica said. “They took a chance with me and they came here. I don’t coach anyone easy. They’ve all grown in some way shape or form.”

Zion Stanford (Temple) and Adam “Budd” Clark (Merrimack) starred two years ago in the state title game. Saturday it was Byrd, who went 8-of-13 from the field on the way to 20 points that seemed to come quite easily, making a name for himself on the state stage.

“I feel like my team needed me, so I wanted to help in every way,” Byrd said.

Perez, Banner, Muhammad and senior Saaid Lee, who has been an integral part of the program since arriving from Math, Civics & Sciences last season, leave quite a mark for the talented youngsters behind them.

Lee had nine points, four assists and two steals. His defense helped get the Burrs out of their early rut, and he knocked down clutch free throws in the fourth to help put the game away.

West Catholic’s senior class helped groom a group of young players who will look to continue ascending over the next two seasons and carry on the culture.

“It was really building a relationship with everybody,” Lee said. “I look at everybody as my little brother. I’m one of the lone seniors. We’re all just brothers.”

“They were the middle men,” Bocachica said of his seniors. “If Byrd’s having a rough day, and I’m coaching him up and he’s struggling with something, he’s got Naseem right there to kind of talk him through an experience that he’s been through. It’s huge. We’ve got the perfect combination, and I’m super proud of how selfless my seniors have been.”

Don’t expect a six-win season to follow this West Catholic state championship. Wheatley and sophomores Byrd, Speaks, Scott, Xavier Fauntroy and Ya’Sai Rozier are among those who hope the late-season run can fuel them to bigger things not just at the state level, but in the Philadelphia Catholic League next season.

“Just keep an eye out for these guys because these young guys are young and hungry,” Perez said. “They’re very hungry.”

By Quarter

West Catholic 5 | 18 | 18 | 19 || 60
South Allegheny 17 | 10 | 7 | 17 || 51

Scoring

West Catholic: Jayvon Byrd 20, Eric Scott 14, Saaid Lee 9, Naseem Perez 7, Kingston Wheatley 6, Rahmir Speaks 4.

South Allegheny: Drew Cook 22, Cameron Epps 15, Joshua Jackowski 6, Jake Uher 4, Camden Lewis 4.