City of Basketball Love

By Owen McCue
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FORT WASHINGTON — Even when it’s not game day with a gym packed full of students clad in their “beach theme” spirit attire, John Cox IV can feel it.

There’s a buzz back in not only the gym but pulsing into the halls at Germantown Academy.

After a 66-53 win over rival Penn Charter on Friday night, Cox, the former La Salle University assistant and now first-year Patriots boys basketball coach and associate athletic director, has GA firmly in the mix in the Inter-Ac for the first time in more than a half decade.

“I’m here everyday, and I see them, and they’ve been doing such a good job of promoting the games,” said Cox, who was congratulated by a number of GA students after the game. “It helps, getting wins, so people, they get behind you, and they’re bringing the juice. The support has been phenomenal.”

Germantown Academy (13-5, 3-2 Inter-Ac) went 0-10 in the Inter-Ac last season following a 2-8 campaign the year prior. The Patriots haven’t finished in the top half of the league since a 5-5 finish in 2019-20. They brought a seven-game losing streak against rival Penn Charter (13-7, 2-3) into Friday night’s contest.

A hot shooting night from junior Finn Reckner led an all-around effort for the Patriots to help end that skid and keep GA in the Inter-Ac race. Reckner finished with 16 points, knocking down five threes; junior James Brenner stuffed the statsheet with 13 points, eight rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks; and senior Mick McKee joined them in double figures with 12 points and four assists.

“It was huge,” Reckner said of the win. “I’ve been really struggling the past four games, so to finally have a big one really helps. The energy from all our fans really boosted us.”

There was already some tension in the gym before tip-off Friday as the two JV teams went into overtime in front of an already packed house. It was a bit of a rock fight through the game’s first eight minutes, but a buzzer beater by Brenner closed the GA deficit to 10-8 and the Patriots went into half with a 22-18 lead.

The two teams traded the lead twice early in the third. Penn Charter senior Dominic Comitale, who scored 10 of his 13 points in the third, gave the Quakers what ended up being their last lead, 28-27, around the five-minute mark in the period.

GA answered with a 12-2 run that included and-ones by McKee and Brenner, and a triple by senior Tommy Rush before Reckner made it 39-30 three minutes later. Senior Liam Connolly canned a corner triple to beat the third period buzzer and send the Patriots into the fourth with a 45-37 advantage.

“He’s just really instilling confidence in his players to take shots,” McKee said of Cox. “He’s kind of like a players’ coach. He played, so he knows how to get his players confident. I think that’s really big because everybody kind of has the green light to make a play.”

A steal and slam by Penn Charter sophomore Carter Smith (19 points) looked like it might swing momentum the Quakers’ way early in the fourth. Comitale added an and-one that pulled PC within five before Connolly answered with another big triple.

The Patriots made 12 3-point shots in the game. Reckner added two more during a fourth-quarter run, putting his team ahead 60-46 on his fifth and final triple of the night with 1:49 left in the game.

“It’s been random,” Reckner said. “Tommy Rush has had some huge nights. Liam Connolly today had two big ones. James Brenner’s hit a bunch. Everyone’s been stepping up.”

“Definitely the first one (tonight), I caught it at the top of the key and stepped into it. When it went in, it felt so good, and I was like, ‘Finally, I’m back.’”

McKee, a Lehigh University football recruit, is a three-year varsity contributor and the only starter back from last year’s squad, though Reckner was a key member of the rotation and others have been around long enough to know something feels different this year.

The Patriots dropped a lopsided contest to Haverford School on Tuesday, but a three-point loss to Malvern Prep in their Inter-Ac opener is their only other blemish in league play.

“We play together really well, and I think that’s why we can beat these teams with these big name players,” McKee said. “Everybody just buys in. That’s what’s different from last year.”

“It means a lot for them, especially some of our seniors,” Cox said. “Those guys, they really want it. They are confident that they’re a good team. They’re working hard and they’re playing together, and when you do that you get some wins.”

Halfway through league play, GA is two games behind first-place Haverford in the league standings and a game behind second place Malvern Prep. The program hasn’t claimed a piece of the Inter-Ac championship since sharing with EA in 2017 during a run of five consecutive league titles.

The Patriots still aren’t the favorites but they’ve given themselves a chance and something meaningful to play over the next several weeks — and their fans something to cheer for.

“We’re psyched to finally be competing in the Inter-Ac,” Reckner said. “Last year it hurt, but we’re bouncing back. It’s huge.”

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By Quarter

Penn Charter 10 | 8 | 19 | 16 || 53

Germantown Academy 8 | 14 | 23 | 21 || 66

Scoring

Penn Charter: Carter Smith 19, Dominic Comitale 13, Jackson Boyd 12, Larry Brown Jr. 4, Luke West 3, Daniel Gilhool 2

Germantown Academy: Finn Reckner 16, James Brenner 13, Mick McKee 12, Tommy Rush 8, Ant Stuard 8, Liam Connolly 6, Justin Addo-Boateng 3.