City of Basketball Love

Joseph Santoliquito (@JSantoliquito)

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ASTON, PA — The squeaky, high-pitched voice still resonates inside Sammy Jackson’s head. The 6-foot-7 Roman Catholic senior guard misses the way his older brother Shareef used to yell at him, get on him about the little things, and always urging him to take over games.

With Shareef now at Lafayette, the Cahillites are now Sammy’s team this season, and it’s his turn to be the face of the storied program.   

Sammy is putting his early stamp on Roman this year with games like the one he had Saturday against PIAA state-title contender Plymouth-Whitemarsh, dropping in a game-high 18 points to yank the Cahillites away with a 57-48 victory at the Kobe Bryant Play-By-Play Classic at Neumann University.

Jackson was named Roman’s MVP, while Jack Hayes took the honors for Plymouth-Whitemarsh with 11 points.

This is a transition year for the Cahillites, who have four new starters since last year (RJ Smith, Semaj Robinson, Bryce Presley and Al-Jalil Bey-Moore), along with a new head coach Brad Wannamaker.

Jackson is going to be counted on in high-level games like the one against Plymouth-Whitemarsh, which features Penn-bound Michael Pereira and Towson-bound Mani Sajid.

“I had to be patient and wait my turn,” Jackson said. “I definitely miss playing with Reef, and his squeaky voice. We have a great group of young guys, and lot of guys who come with a lot of energy. I feel like I’m ready for this role.

“I’ve been working for this. It’s a great thing speaking up. I have a greater voice and I am looking forward to leading this team.”  

The VCU-bound Jackson has grown an inch and added 15 pounds since last season, and that has translated on to the court in how he is playing through contact, playing in a measured, controlled way, and sustaining the moments when the game is in the palm of his hand.

“That’s what makes Sammy special, if he wanted to score 30 points, he could, but he gets other guys involved, and he understands when he is making reads, getting other guys shots, we are a better team,” Wanamaker said. “He’ll take shots when he needs to, and this year he is in the fire and he’s ready for it. Sammy has grown into the role of being a leader, and this year he came into the season with a different mindset.”

Roman broke a close game open with a 9-0 run in the third quarter, led by Jackson and Smith. It pushed the Cahillites from a 32-31 lead to a 41-31 lead late in the quarter. The closest the Colonials got was within 46-39 with 5:47 to play.

“My coaching run during the successful times, and I have been coaching some wonderful teams, is when I barked, they responded and there was a gear that we hit,” Plymouth-Whitemarsh coach Jim Donofrio said. “In today’s social media craze, everyone is getting praised, and given the talent we have back, Michael Pereira and Mani Sajid need to be pushed to prepare them for next year, and at the same time, we need to play a tough schedule.

“I want to see a competitive fire in our eyes. Jack Hayes will always be the example of great hustle, and our kids play with guts, but we are designed to be very dangerous in a half-court offense. I thought there was a look in our eyes of doubt, and we played against loaded teams like Roman Catholic, Archbishop Wood, and Imhoteps. You play to get a preview of what the state championship will be like. We’re playing for the end game now.”

By Quarter

Roman Catholic (2-1):      10  | 11  |  23  |  13  ||  57
Plym.-Whitemarsh (2-2):  12  | 11  |  10  |  15  ||  48

Scoring
Roman Catholic: Sammy Jackson 18, Dwayne Ruffin Jr. 11, RJ Smith 10, Bryce Presley 10, Brad Wanamaker Jr. 6, Semaj Robinson 2.

Plymouth-Whitemarsh: Michael Pereira 11, Jack Hayes 11, Buddy Denard 9, Terron Davis 7, Mani Sajid 6, Micah Thompson 4.

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Game Two: Bonner-Prendergast 76, Coatesville 49

Jakeem Carroll did an amazing job of fronting and denying Coatesville sophomore star Colton Hiller, and Kam Jackson and Korey Francis went wild offensively, combining to score 40 of the Friars’ season-high 76 points.

Bonner-Prendie was faster, suffocating on defense and leaped over the top with uncanny shooting in the second quarter, when the Friars busted the game open. They went on an 11-0 run, cracking open what had been a close game into a 32-16 lead. Bonner-Prendie made 7 of 9 shots in the quarter, while holding the very dangerous Hiller to just 3 points and two shots in the first half.  

“We were definitely motivated for this game, and it had a lot do with going against (Hiller),” said Jackson, who scored 17. “We’ll celebrate this win and build off of it. After this win, we have to get back in the gym and prepare.”

Friars coach Billy Cassidy may have the fastest team in the area. With tiny, quick guards Jackson, Carroll and DaShaun Holden on the court together, Coatesville could not keep up. Cassidy saw his team rise to the challenge.

“Colton Hiller, Larry Brown, we have a ton of respect for John Allen, Coatesville is a great team that will be playing in March,” Cassidy said. “Our guys stepped up to the occasion and stayed with them. We stayed disciplined, and it was a lot of fun. We expected to win this game. We have a real tough game up next against Malvern Prep. As long as we could secure the ball, we wanted to get out and run. We have enough playmakers on this team, and we need to concentrate on making the simple play.”

By Quarter

Coatesville (3-1):          14  | 12  |  14  |  9   ||  49
Bonner-Prendie (3-0):  21  | 20  |  25  |  10 || 76

Scoring

Coatesville: Jahlil Thedford 13, Max Hiller 9, Jahmaad Williams 7, Isaiah Hicklen 7, Larry Brown 6, Zeric Allen-Brown 3, Jonas Chester 2, Kevin Norman 2.

Bonner-Prendie: Korey Francis 23, Kam Jackson 17, Jakeem Carroll 16, DaShaun Holden 7, Masen Price 5, Aydin Scott 4, Charlie Quackenbush 2, Tyrie Davis-Winn 2.

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Game One: Academy New Church 64, Tatnall School (Del.) 59

ANC’s Cam Smith feels set, having committed to Kutztown last week, and that is showing in his play. The 6-foot-7 senior forward dropped in a team-high 21 to lead the Lions by Tatnall, handing the Delaware school its first defeat this season.

“I think this is definitely the best we have played as a team this season,” Smith said. “I feel like I have a lot of pressure off knowing I am going to Kutztown, and I can be more relaxed. I remember at times last year, I tried to force things in some games, but now that I am set, it’s about winning.”

Lions’ coach Kevin Givens has seen his team be up and down, especially on the defensive side. Against Tatnall, the Lions played defense at the right time, and ANC had some big shut down moments, like in the third quarter, when the Lions took a 50-37 lead.

But a lull hit ANC, which went from leading 53-41 midway into the fourth quarter, to a 53-51 lead, after a 9-0 Tatnall run, pushing the Lions’ poise button. But senior guard Bryce Rollerson stepped forward with five points in the fourth quarter to get the Lions to the finish line. 

“I think we have a lot more in offensively, and finally executed the ball in the last three minutes,” Givens said. “Bryce came through, and Cam had a monster game, and we were getting the shots that we wanted, layup, after layup, after layup.”

By Quarter

Tatnall (3-1):  10  | 12  |  15  |  22  ||  59
ANC (3-3):     11  | 15  |  24  |  14  || 64

Scoring

Tatnall: Mason Collins 30, Ayinde McClendon 10, Ellis Jarrett 7, Jalen Littlejohn 6, Nolan Parsons 3, Conor Hall 3.

ANC: Cam Smith 21, Bryce Rollerson 17, Ryan Warren 15, Dior Carter 8, Antonio Lazardo 3.

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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.