City of Basketball Love

By Owen McCue
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POTTSTOWN — It became pretty apparent to Lucas Pekofsky this summer he was going to have ready himself for an important role for the Pope John Paul II boys basketball team.

What exactly that role is depends on the night.

Pekofsky earned his way from swing player into the varsity rotation this season, oscillating between a starter and top option off the bench as he wears a different hat from game-to-game.

“I told people at the beginning of the year, you’re not going to know who he is and halfway through the season you’re going to know his name,” PJP coach Earl Wise told CoBL. “He does everything for us. He rebounds. He shoots. He defends. He can defend ‘2’ through ‘5’. He’s been everything that we’ve needed, and it’s been great.”

Even throughout the course of the game, Pekofsky, a 6-foot-4 junior wing/forward, can mold his game to match his team’s needs. He did a little bit of everything for Pope John Paul II in a 72-63 road Pioneer Athletic Conference Crossover victory at Pottstown on Thursday.

While seniors Jason Green and Ayden Wise led the offense with 20 and 14 points, respectively, Pekofsky had 10 points, igniting a stagnant offense at times. He added six rebounds, extending multiple positions on the offensive glass. There was playmaking with three assists. He rounded the statline with an emphatic block as part of a tenacious team defensive effort in the second half.

“I just try to do everything, try to be a glue guy,” Pekofsky said. “Try to score, try to get rebounds. Tonight, my shot wasn’t falling, so I really tried to get on those boards.”

While he appreciates Pekofsky’s versatility, Coach Wise thinks Pekofsky’s role goes beyond ‘glue guy’.

“He’s more than a glue guy,” he said. “He’s one of our best players.”

With Green and Wise somewhat quiet offensively in the first half, Pekofsky, who scored a career-high 21 points on Saturday against Samuel Fels, was one of the ones who got the Golden Panthers going. He had seven points in the second quarter, including a stretch of five in a row that put PJP up 30-27 before the Trojans finished the period strong to go up 39-33 at half.

The six-point halftime advantage for Pottstown (5-8, 4-1 Frontier 4-2 PAC) matched the Trojans’ largest in the game, helped by senior Elias Butler, who had 12 of his 19 points before the break. Sophomore Malachi Robbins added 13, and seniors Syncere Whitehurst and Kamrin Robinson both chipped in 10 apiece.

But Green had six points and three steals in the first two and a half minutes of the third quarter to spark an 8-2 run and even things back up. PJP had seven steals in the second half, forcing the Pottstown ball handlers into mistakes.

“Just pressure the ball more,” Ayden Wise said. “They were kind of getting into the actions, getting into the post, but that ball pressure definitely helped us get steals and get in transition and kind of brought that fire back in the second half.”

Even though the score stayed tight, PJP played catch up throughout Thursday night’s contest, trailing 16-15 after the first, 39-33 at half, and 54-51 after three. Pottstown gained its edge earlier in the game by finishing each quarter strong. 

The Trojans scored six unanswered to end the first quarter. They went on a 10-3 run to end the first half and then added another 6-0 run to regain the lead at the end of the third. The Golden Panthers finally closed strong in the fourth.

PJP senior Jack Kessler, who finished with 10 points, gave his team a 63-62 advantage a little before the three-minute mark and PJP never trailed again as it closed the game on an 11-1 run.

Along with the defensive pressure, Pekofsky, Kessler, senior Zahaid Edwards-Boone and even the backcourt of Green, Wise and Jude Schuberth (nine points) earned extra possessions on the offensive glass and separate the teams down the stretch.

“That energy on the court, boxing out, rebounding and pushing the ball,” Ayden Wise said was the difference.

Pekofsky’s older brother Zach played at Phoenixville, graduating in 2022, so he had an idea of what the Pioneer Athletic Conference had in store for him. Earning a role on a Pope John Paul II squad that won the league last season added some personal expectations.

“We’re the defending PAC champions, so we know we’re getting everyone’s best shot,” Pekofsky said. “Stepping into this role, we have great leaders behind us and it’s been great.”

Along with playing with the Golden Panthers this offseason, he honed his game with Pure Game Hoops on the grassroots circuit. He said he grew a little bit and felt himself get bigger, stronger, faster.

The Golden Panthers only went eight deep on Thursday night, but they can get as many as 10 into the rotation on any given night. Coach Wise has a group he thinks can be used dependent on matchups.

Thursday night they called on Pekofsky to contribute on multiple fronts, and he delivered — as has been the case several other times this season.

“He’s definitely done it consistently and he definitely helped us out today,” Ayden Wise said. “We were back and forth with Pottstown, a really good team, but he definitely helped as that glue guy. He was getting boards, boxing out. He was doing his role.”

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By Quarter

Pope John Paul II 15 | 18 | 18 | 21 || 72

Pottstown 16 | 23 | 15 | 9 || 63

Scoring

Pope John Paul II: Jason Green 20, Ayden Wise 14, Lucas Pekofsky 10, Jack Kessler 10, Jude Schuberth 9, Zahaid Edwards-Boone 5, CJ Hestick 4.

Pottstown: Elias Butler 18, Malachi Robbins 13, Syncere Whitehurst 10, Robinson 10, Jahmir Lofton 6, Yashir Wood 6