City of Basketball Love

Tim Merrick (@temerrick)
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Midway through the second quarter of a game against West Catholic on Friday afternoon, Roman Catholic sophomore Seth Lundy attempted to tip-in an offensive rebound. His touch was too strong, but he was able to grab it once more on the other side of the net and finish it for the bucket and the foul.

The Roman Catholic student section behind the basket emphatically applauded the big man’s efforts. Efforts which epitomized Lundy’s energetic performance.

On a team lacking a true paint presence on paper, Lundy was able to step up and contribute to the Cahillites 83-65 win over the Burrs. The 6-foot-6 forward dropped 15 points and 11 rebounds, and added three blocks.

“He’s our leading rebounder, so we’re leaning on him a lot to rebound the basketball,” Roman Catholic head coach Matt Griffin said. “Seth is a team player. He also plays great help defense. Obviously, he’s playing a big role.”

Although Lundy is used to playing the guard position for his AAU team, Philly Pride, he’s taken on the challenge of playing down low head-on this season.

“I’m the tallest on the team,” Lundy said. “I just fight to get every rebound, I don’t care where the ball’s at. I’m going to play wherever coach needs me to play.”

Roman Catholic also saw big games from senior Dak’Quan Davis, who had a game-high 20 points and seven assists, and junior Allen Betrand, who added 18 of his own. West Catholic’s Calvin Pressley had 13 points and Samier Kinsler had 12 points in a game in which the Burrs never led.

The Cahillites kept West Catholic off-balance by alternating between man-to-man and zone defenses, depending on the matchups on the floor.

“Zone is effective, especially on our court, because it eliminates a lot of corner threes,” Griffin said. “It also, for us, helps to keep them out of the lane. I thought they had some guards that could penetrate. From a man-to-man perspective, when we had the right matchups, I wanted to utilize our man-to-man a little bit more.”

West Catholic was unable to get much going offensively as a result. Down 43-23 at halftime, the the Burrs were simply unable to counter the Roman attack. Lundy’s boards allowed the likes of Davis and Betrand to push the fast break, while also giving second chances on offensive misses.

“Seth is always aggressive,” Davis said. “Every game this season, he’s been aggressive. He does a good job of crashing on offensive rebounds and giving us a second chance to score the ball.”

Offensively, Lundy continued to drive toward the basket. He went 9-of-11 from the free throw line, as well.

“I just try to get to the line,” Lundy said. “I watch a lot of players, like James Harden, and they get to the line. They get a lot of their points from the free throw line.”

“He’s knows one speed, which is to play hard,” Griffin said. “He’ll do whatever you ask him to. He’s got guard skills that create a mismatch on the opponent’s end,” Griffin said.

As a freshman, Lundy didn’t see many minutes behind the likes of Paul Newman, Lamar Stevens, D’Andre Vilmar and Nazeer Bostick. He was able to learn from those players and has taken that experience into this year’s campaign that has garnered him more minutes.

“I just battled them every day,” Lundy said. “It was a learning experience. They pushed me everyday in practice. I got better. That’s why I’m good now, that’s why I’m here now.”

Lundy has also learned the game from his older brother Xavier Lundy, a 6-7 senior forward at Rider University. He recalls the countless times he played against Xavier, who is six years older, when they were younger.

“Watching him play, it made me want to push myself,” Lundy said. “It’s crazy, I still haven’t beaten him one-one-one yet. I’m going to beat him soon, hopefully.”

Though he’s still waiting on his first Division I offer, Lundy has plenty of time to garner college attention; he mentioned receiving letters from several high-major programs, but like most high school sophomores he’s at the very beginning of his recruiting journey.

“Hopefully, those offers come in,” Lundy said. “Right now, I’m just trying to be the best I can be.”

With the win, Roman Catholic moves 10-1 overall, 2-0 in the Catholic League. They travel to Father Judge on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. before facing Quade Green and the Neumann-Goretti Saints on Wednesday at Holy Family University at 7 p.m.

West Catholic, meanwhile, falls to 1-7 overall, 1-2 in the league. The Burrs take on Marist High School on Saturday at 2:45 p.m. in the Scholarship for Inner City Youth Showcase at Kean University. Their next Catholic League game is Monday, as they host Lansdale Catholic at 6:30 p.m.