City of Basketball Love

Graham Foley (@Graham_Foley3)
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When senior Chris McMahon drained a 3-point shot from the corner that put West Chester Rustin up seven on West Chester East with just over six minutes left, he sent hundreds of electrified Knights fans to their feet and capped off a very special day.

On his 18th birthday, McMahon scored 15 points, 10 of which came in his team’s furious second-half comeback to lead Rustin to a 61-47 victory over rival West Chester East on Senior Night.

It was a meaningful game McMahon needed to have for his Team to succeed. With sophomore guard Taj Asparagus and sophomore forward Jake Nelson, Rustin’s two leaders and main offensive contributors, sitting on the bench with sprained ankles, McMahon knew he needed to take control and lead the team to a big victory.

“It was kind of a wake up call for me personally,” McMahon said. “With those two out, I knew I had to lead this team and make sure we got the victory.”

McMahon was not alone.

In what became a fitting effort on senior night from the Knights’ 2017 class, it was senior guard Brandon Frazier who led Rustin (14-6, 8-2 Ches-Mont) with 17 pts, 13 of which came in the second half. His night reached its pinnacle with a monstrous breakaway dunk with 1:13 left that put his team up 57-47 and sent the crowd into a frenzy.

Frazier and McMahon, however, were not the only two contributors for Rustin. Fellow senior Miles Thomas shot 3-of-5 from beyond the arc and finished with 13 points, while sophomore Sean Russell tacked on seven of his own.

“With Jake and Taj out, we definitely had to step up and fill their positions because with them there on the court, we’re always scoring points,” Frazier said. “We came out a little hesitant at first but in the second half we started picking it up.”

Head coach Keith Cochran was very impressed by McMahon and Frazier. While his starting lineup consisted of all five seniors on the team, it was that those two in particular who stood out to him with their great offense and overall toughness.

“McMahon is a tough guy, he’s a natural leader,” Cochran said. “He’s quiet but he gives everything he has. He comes in, he works hard, he’s one of our hardest workers. He’s a great addition to the team and he’s tough as nails.

“And Brandon is tough. He’s another one of my seniors that wanted to go out strong. Brandon is getting better and he’s still getting better at this part of the season so that’s a great luxury to have.”

The duo of McMahon and Frazier was lethal on Saturday night. Frazier’s fourth-quarter dunk came off a black and cross-court pass from McMahon. McMahon also on two occasions faked a long field goal and found Frazier under the net for an easy layup.

Such a prolific combination was something new to Cochran and his team. However with his top two players out, it was one that made sense.

“Having [Nelson] and Asparagus out, [Frazier and McMahon] were the two leaders and they had to be,” Cochran said. “They know all the plays, they know all the sets, they’re very versatile, and they play different positions so it was good to have those guys show they could play with [Nelson and Asparagus] out.”

The victory was not without adversity for Rustin. West Chester East (3-16, 1-9), a major underdog on the road, led Rustin 30-22 at halftime. The Vikings outscored the Knights 20-9 in the second quarter behind junior forward Alex Carr’s eight points in the quarter.

Despite tHe Vikings’ record, Cochran was not surprised by East’s great play early. East head coach Chris Cowles played under Cochran for three years in high school at West Chester Rustin and knows Cochran very well.

“East is well coached,” Cochran said. “Coach Cowles played here and I know this meant a lot to him. These kids are well prepared so I didn’t expect anything less.

“We were down and I just told the kids ‘That team over there is built like us. They’re going to play hard, they’re going to fight and we need to play hard and fight to get back into the game.’ And that’s what we did.”

Rustin responded to East’s fiery second quarter by outscoring the Vikings 39-11 in the second half. It was Frazier and McMahon who led the way, combining to shoot 9-of-13 from the field and 5-of-8 from the foul line in the second half.

“We just trusted each other,” McMahon said. “We had to be more patient and relaxed, we were a little rough in the beginning. But we trusted each other, executed, and played better as a team in the second half.”

With the victory, West Chester Rustin remains in second place in the Ches-Mont American standings. Currently the Knights are ranked sixth in the district one class 5A rankings and are aiming towards a good playoff spot after failing to qualify last season with a 10-12 record.

Rustin closes out its regular season at Great Valley on Tuesday, February 3, before representing the American division alongside Great Valley in the Ches-Mont Final Four the ensuing weekend.