City of Basketball Love

Matt Allibone (@Bad2theAllibone) 
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Adam McDonald saw his decision backfiring in slow motion. 

Seconds remained of the overtime period in Holy Ghost Prep’s home opener against Neshaminy Friday night. The Firebirds led by two and Neshaminy tossed up a 3-point attempt that harmlessly bounced off the back of the rim. 

Rather than grab the rebound, McDonald tried to smack the ball down the other end of the court to run the clock out. He ended up knocking it right back into the hands of the opponent for an extra shot. 

Thankfully for McDonald and the Firebirds, it once again missed the mark. Holy Ghost Prep held on for a thrilling 66-64 overtime win over Neshaminy Friday to improve to 2-0. The Firebirds will play Pope John Paul II in the finale of their opening tournament Saturday. 

“It was such a crazy game with a huge crowd,” McDonald said of the ending. “We just had to find a way to push through."

A senior point guard, McDonald pushed through both physical and mental challenges Friday on his way to scoring a game-high 30 points. He sprained his ankle in practice a week ago and was questionable to play Friday night. He said he was “50-50” on suiting up Thursday night but felt good when he arrived at school the next morning. 

He didn’t score in the first quarter and went into halftime with just four points. He didn’t hit a three-pointer all game. And he went just 8-of-15 from the free throw line. 

But the smooth and crafty guard kept willing himself to the basket and hitting off-balance shots from awkward angles. He scored 19 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter and overtime. 

“(McDonald) stepped up big-time especially since he’s dealing with an injury,” Holy Ghost Prep coach Tom Heston said. “Anytime we needed a basket he got it. That’s why he’s a three-year starter. He was phenomenal. We don’t win that game without him.” 

McDonald saved the game for the Firebirds at the end of regulation — and then had to bounce back when he wasn’t able to end it. 

After a back-and-forth fourth quarter, Holy Ghost Prep trailed by two with nine seconds left. Neshaminy sophomore Marlon Yon had just hit free throws after grabbing a huge rebound off a missed freebie. 

Holy Ghost Prep inbounded the ball to junior center Jack Polek at the top of the arc, who dribbled and handed off to sophomore Kevin Rhodes. The obvious choice to take the last shot, McDonald looped around the arc and navigated traffic until he came free for a pass from Rhoades and drove toward the basket.

He absorbed contact and hit the tying layup, but missed the free throw that would’ve ended the game. 

McDonald shook off the disappointment to go 5-of-6 from the line in the final period. 

“I need to make that, but my teammates and coaches kept reminding me we had four more minutes,” McDonald said. “We just needed to go win the game.” 

The 5-foot-10 McDonald is a three-year starter, but he’s in unfamiliar territory this year as the only returning starter in Holy Ghost Prep’s lineup. He’s embraced the challenge of leading the Firebirds back to the District 1 Class 5A title game after they came up short last season. 

Friday night proved the Firebirds might be inexperienced, but they have talent and the ability to win close games. It was an extremely physical contest with Holy Ghost Prep getting called for 25 fouls and Neshaminy getting called for 32. Even despite having five players foul out, Neshaminy still had a chance on the final possession. 

All in all, lead changes were a feature of Friday's contest; Neshaminy controlled the game early, though and led by one at halftime. Neshaminy was also able to transition; star junior guard Logan Gale (21 points) was swiping Holy Ghost Prep passes all over the court. 

Heston noted that, though he likes for his teams to play fast, he decided to switch to a zone defense to slow the game down. The Firebirds trailed by five entering the fourth quarter but quickly went on a 9-1 run to take the lead 90 seconds into the final frame. 

Polek finished with 15 points and had several huge plays down the stretch. His three-point play cut the deficit to one early in the fourth, and he scored the first five points of overtime. 

Ultimately, Neshaminy played relentlessly and never let the Firebirds put the game out of reach, but a few little details — and a couple dozen points, and then some, from McDonald — made the difference in an exciting early-season atmosphere. 

“That was great high school basketball,” Neshaminy coach Mark Tingle said. “It was a great atmosphere. I just told our guys to keep playing through (the foul trouble). Both teams had runs, it was looking doom and gloom for us and then we tied it. We both had our chances.” 

By quarter 

Holy Ghost:   10  |  13  |  14  |  19  |  10  ||  66
Neshaminy:   10  |  14  |  18  |  14  |   8   ||  64

Scoring 

Holy Ghost Prep: McDonald 30, Polek 15, Albright 10, Farrell 5, Duffy 4, Stearn 2 
Neshaminy: Gale 21, Amrhein 11, Gold 10, Leiva 10, Amati 7, Yon 4, McCarthy 1