City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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Just as he had been all afternoon, Malik Edwards was in the perfect spot to make a play. 

With only seconds remaining in a tied Del-Val League contest against Academy Park, Penn Wood junior Jaden James dribbled to the right elbow, rose up and fired. His shot was off to the left — right into the hands of Edwards, who in one smooth motion popped the ball off the glass and through the net. 

It wasn’t exactly what Penn Wood coach Matt Lindman had drawn up — “we were trying to get downhill and get a dump-off to Malik,” he said — but it worked all the same. 

“They can’t stop me,” Edwards said. “It’s me just going up, catching it and doing what I do.”

The 6-foot-7, 205-pound Edwards had done it all game long, putting up 22 points and 12 rebounds in leading Penn Wood to a come-from-behind, 48-45 win at the Shoebox on Thursday afternoon. 

Edwards’ bucket put the Patriots up 47-45, the referees putting one second back on the clock. Academy Park got a technical foul during the clock stoppage, and Penn Wood sophomore Bell Smith tacked on one foul shot for the final margin. 

It was only fitting that Edwards ended the game on a put-back. The physical forward grabbed eight of his boards on the offensive end, leading all scorers in a contest that saw the visiting Knights hold the lead most of the way before the Patriots (13-3, 4-1) won it in the final 90 seconds.

“It just (comes) natural to me,” he said. “Positioning, knowing where to be, where the ball’s coming off the rim.”

A Kingston, Jamaica native who moved to Darby with his family last year, Edwards has emerged as a force to be reckoned with for the Patriots, who’ve already out-paced last year’s win total and are pushing for a top-eight seed and first-round bye in the District 1 6A bracket. 

Edwards said he played multiple sports growing up in Jamaica, naming soccer, field hockey — which is not primarily a girls’ sport in many countries — and track as three early athletics interests. He picked up basketball during the pandemic, and eventually played with PHASE 1, a Jamaican travel hoops program. 

He and his family moved to Delco in the summer of 2024, a welcome addition for Lindeman, now in his 10th year as the Patriots’ boss. He already had 6-5 Nafi Davis, then a rising junior and returning starter, and suddenly found himself with real size up front. But it took time for that addition to pay off.

“I’ll be honest, last year — he played basketball over there, but the speed here is way different,” Lindeman said. “Last year, it was too fast for him. He had a couple moments, but it took him a little while to get adjusted to it. And then this offseason you could finally see his skill level and the game slow down for him, and you’re like, alright, I think he’s ready to be a main contributor. That’s been fun, to watch him put in the work and get rewarded for it, it’s great to see.”

Now poised and confident with the ball in his hands, Edwards is more than just a put-back specialist. He got to work on post feeds as well, showing good touch around the rim with both hands; he also took a couple jumpers and got to the rim a couple times from the perimeter. His combination of upside and physicality has several small-college programs involved; Edwards mentioned Gwynedd Mercy as one area suitor.

Edwards and Davis — who contributed seven points and six rebounds to Thursday’s win — now present a potent 1-2 punch up front for opponents to deal with. It’s a major reason why they’ve beaten the likes of Garnet Valley and Wilson West Lawn this year, along with wins against a number of Public League opponents and several other District 1 squads. 

“That’s who we are, we try to play inside-out,” Lindeman said. “That’s our strength because of who we have and their skill level. It’s really big that he’s inside to help out.”

They’ve also been getting quality guard play from Smith, a talented 5-11 combo guard, but Smith’s jumper wasn’t ‘falling against Academy Park (8-9, 2-3), whose zone defense and quick backcourt prevented the Penn Wood guards from doing much in terms of dribble penetration. 

Despite Edwards scoring 14 points and grabbing eight first-half rebounds, Academy Park led 23-20 at the break. The Knights really poured it on to open the third, with junior wing Ricardo Lovelace scoring nine of his team-high 17 points in the quarter as his team opened up a 36-23 lead midway through the period. 

The Patriots got quality contributions from several reserves to help themselves get back in it. Senior guard Haji Ali scored five of his nine points to help Penn Wood close the third on a 13-4 run, with James knocking down a 3-pointer and fellow junior Marquan Sampson dishing out four assists off the bench as well. 

“I think that’s what makes us have our success this year, we have nine guys who can play,” Lindeman said. “Some nights you don’t have it, and we had a couple guys that didn’t have it tonight, and those guys bailed them out.”

Penn Wood senior Haji Ali (11) slices to the hoop during the first half of Penn Wood's 48-45 win over Academy Park on Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

The fourth quarter was close, but Academy Park still led all the way into the final two minutes. Academy Park committed a couple turnovers, giving it up with 1:50 left which led to a James layup that tied it with 75 seconds to play. After running the clock down, Academy Park traveled with 30 seconds left, setting up Penn Wood’s last possession and Edwards’ put-back. 

“(Academy Park coach Kevin Stewart) did a great job, it’s hard to beat a team twice,” Lindeman said. “They were ready to play tonight; I don’t think we were really ready, but we pulled it out, and that’s a good sign. 

“The difference between this year and last year is we’re pulling these games out where last year, maybe we don’t make those plays down the stretch. It’s always encouraging when you have a team that makes plays down the stretch.”

Beating Academy Park not only snapped a two-game skid, it keeps Penn Wood very much in the Del-Val race. Chester, which handed Penn Wood its only league loss one week prior, is unbeaten through its first four league games. A second league loss would have almost certainly handed the Clippers the title; now, a win over Chester on Feb. 3 at the Clip Joint could force a shared crown.

“We’ve got to get a lot better,” Lindeman said. “Chester came in here and we weren’t ready for that challenge. We’ve got Sun Valley next, which is our focus, they’re playing well.

“As we get closer to (Chester), if we get that chance, it’ll be more of a conversation. Because that’s a team goal, always, but we have a lot of things we have to work on besides that that we’re trying to focus on.”

By Quarter
PW: 10  |  10  |  16  |  12  ||  48
AP:  12  |  11  |  17  |   5   ||  45

Shooting
PW: 19-55 FG (2-14 3PT), 8-13 FT
AP: 16-33 FG (2-7 3PT), 11-16 FT

Scoring
PW: Malik Edwards 22, Haji Ali 9, Nafi Davis 7, Jaden James 5, Maurion Miller 3, Bellvin Smith 1, Tim Burres 1

AP: Ricardo Lovelace 17, Rahmir Speaks 12, Gerald Gordon 10, Christian Sevile 4, Dante Cosby 2