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PIAA 5A: Dodds nets 1,000 as Shanahan gets first state win since 1985

03/10/2018, 12:45am EST
By Tyler Sandora

Kevin Dodds (above) netted his 1000th point as Shanahan won its first state playoff game in over 30 years. (Photo: Mark Jordan/CoBL)

Tyler Sandora (@tyler_sandora)
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Coming into the PIAA 5A first round state tournament game against Hershey High, Bishop Shanahan’s senior forward Kevin Dodds needed 21 points to hit the 1,000 point mark of his career.

With about six minutes left in the third quarter, Dodds sensed he was in the neighborhood, but wasn’t exactly sure how many more he needed.

However, his coach Ken Doyle was aware. And he didn’t want Dodds to know.

“I try to keep stuff like that because he might put pressure on himself,” Doyle said on Dodds. “He’s a very quiet and reserved kid. Let’s just get a second game and we’re more comfortable for him to [score 1,000]. Seniors and players on the team knew what he needed, we just didn’t tell [Dodds].”

As his teammate was shooting his free throws on the opposite end of the court, Dodds retracted to the Shanahan end of the court, standing near his bench.

Fortunately for Dodds, he heard a pretty important message relayed to those on the bench.

“When I was at the defensive end of the foul line,” Dodds said, “I saw [Doyle] say to my team on the bench, ‘he needs four more.’ I saw that and was like, ‘okay, let’s go only four more.’”

The following possession, Dodds threw down a dunk coming down the lane, giving him 998 for his career. Then he was fouled, but only made one of the free throws, which brought him to one point away.

“Needed one more free throw, and of course the next free throw was a sledge and I was laughing,” the 6-6 forward and Gannon (Pa.) commit said. “I was way to amped up. I said, ‘let’s take it back.’”

“Then I made the next one.”

That next free throw meant 21 points for Dodds on the night, and 1,000 for his career. Dodds led his team in scoring on the night, as the Eagles soared to a 76-38 victory over Hershey, their first state playoff victory since 1985, when they won the state championship.

“Feels amazing, really does,” Dodds said. “Loss of words right now. Very thankful, very proud of my team and how we played today.”

Dodds started off his scoring in the opening minutes, drawing two and-1’s in the first quarter. He then scored six in the third quarter, and capped off the fourth with six more to reach the milestone.

As a team, Bishop Shanahan shot 66 percent from the field on Friday. Almost a polar opposite shooting performance than the one it put on in the District One championship game at Temple University last weekend, when the Eagles lost to Penncrest.

“At Temple we had a rough shooting day,” said senior Tom Ford, a Hofstra lacrosse commit who scored 14 points, “and that will happen to every team. But tonight we got back to ourselves and started making shots. We were comfortable and confident.”

Junior Phil Chenard scored 11 points off the bench for the Eagles, and only missed one shot from the field. His classmate Joe O’Malley added seven, and Danny DiBeneditto chipped in eight.

“We had that situation where nobody was on, and then tonight we had decent contributions from everyone,” Doyle said. “We share the ball so well and with the motivation to help Kevin out and for the seniors to drag this out one more week.”

Maybe it was the gym? The game was hosted at a neutral site, which happened to be Downingtown West, only 2.5 miles, or a 10-minute bus ride, from Shanahan.

The Eagles had played in the gym three times previously this year. Once against the Whippets, and twice for the Ches-Mont league semi final and championship game.

“We figured we would be in District One because we were the higher seed, but we didn’t think we would be this close,” Doyle said. “Fourth game in here, and we’re 4-0. Seventh game in last two years, two years of Ches-Mont. Fortunate to have a place across town like a home court.”

Hershey traveled east last year for its first round game in the state tournament, and defeated Penncrest, the District One champ. The Trojans returned multiple players from that team, but had no such luck pulling off the upset two years in a row.

Shanahan lost to Martin Luther King last year in the first round at a game in Philadelphia, and also returned the majority of its rotation. But on Friday night, Shanahan looked much more experienced.

“They won a state game and had two, and they had five guys that made significant contributions in that game coming back, so we felt that it was similar,” Doyle said. “We had a similar amount of guys returning, they just had an extra round in states. They knew what it felt like to get that win.”

Shanahan will face Milton Hershey in the second round on Tuesday, who won District 3, and defeated West Chester Rustin on Friday night. Location and date are still to be determined.

As for the marvelous shooting display put on by the Eagles, Dodds knows his team is capable of that feat, but also knows about the dismal performances.

“We do shoot that well sometimes,” Dodds said. “We know about these great nights, but we also know about the bad nights like Penncrest. So we want to learn from these games and learn from our mistakes. Still have faith in my team no matter what.”

 

CLASS 5A
FIRST ROUND
Friday, March 9
Penncrest 49, Shippensburg 36
Northeastern 69, Sun Valley 60
Abington Heights 75, Garden Spot 46
Chester 61, Martin Luther King 47
York 63, Holy Ghost Prep 59
Bonner-Prendergast 56, New Oxford 45
Allentown Central Catholic 69, Greencastle-Antrim 52
Dallas 70, Lower Dauphin 54
Milton Hershey 75, West Chester Rustin 52
Bishop Shanahan 76, Hershey 38
Archbishop Carroll 66, Wissahickon 59
Lampeter-Strasburg 54, Bangor 42
Highlands 52, Franklin Regional 31
Carrick 53, Hollidaysburg 38
Mars 68, Hampton 47
Trinity 45, Cathedral Prep 42

SECOND ROUND
Tuesday, March 13
Sites and times, TBA
Penncrest (1-1, 26-3) vs. Northeastern (3-3, 27-3)
Abington Heights (2-1, 23-3) vs. Chester (1-4, 19-8)
York (3-2, 17-10) vs. Bonner-Prendergast (12-1, 23-4)
Allentown Central Catholic (11-1, 24-4) vs. Dallas (2-2, 21-5)
Milton Hershey (3-1, 24-5) vs. Bishop Shanahan (1-2, 23-5)
Archbishop Carroll (12-3, 19-7) vs. Lampeter-Strasburg (3-6, 26-4)
Highlands (7-4, 19-5) vs. Carrick (8-1, 20-5)
Mars (7-1, 22-4) vs. Trinity (7-3, 21-5)

CLASS 4A
FIRST ROUND
Friday, March 9
Berks Catholic 47, John Bartram 43
Valley View 64, Mifflinburg 45
Conwell-Egan 73, Wilson Area 58
Bethlehem Catholic 71, Nanticoke 30
Imhotep Charter 76, Kennard-Dale 30
Scranton Prep 69, Tamaqua 35
Overbrook 76, Lower Moreland 51
Middletown 66, Montoursville 57
Bishop McDevitt 60, Danville 45
Huntingdon 60, Lancaster Catholic 58
Quaker Valley 54, Grove City 48
Hickory 92, Belle Vernon 52
New Castle 79, Fort LeBoeuf 48
South Fayette 55, Clearfield 44
Johnstown 67, Indiana 59
Sharon 72, Valley 45

SECOND ROUND
Tuesday, March 13
Sites and times, TBA
Berks Catholic (3-1, 27-2) vs. Valley View (2-2, 17-9)
Conwell-Egan (12-2, 9-15) vs. Bethlehem Catholic (11-1, 26-3)
Imhotep Charter (12-1, 27-2) vs. Scranton Prep (2-1, 21-5)
Overbrook (12-3, 14-8) vs. Middletown (3-3, 18-7)
Bishop McDevitt (3-2, 15-12) vs. Huntingdon (6-1, 22-2)
Quaker Valley (7-2, 24-1) vs. Hickory (10-2, 21-5)
New Castle (7-1, 22-4) vs. South Fayette (7-5, 17-8)
Johnstown (6-2, 19-7) vs. Sharon (10-1, 24-2)

CLASS 1A
FIRST ROUND
Friday, March 9
Plumstead Christian 62, York Country Day 50
Sullivan County 49, Pottsville Nativity 43
Millville 59, Lincoln Leadership 40
Faith Christian 80, Berks Christian 34
Lourdes Regional 71, Greenwood 33
Sankofa Freedom 80, Girard College 59
Susquehanna Community 58, Conestoga Christian 54
Lancaster Country Day 74, Blacklick Valley 51
Vincentian 60, Cameron County 53
Shade 67, Cornell 63
Elk County Catholic 66, Jamestown 40
Bishop Carroll 85, Imani Christian 76
Eden Christian 30, Johnsonburg 28
Shanksville-Stonycreek 63, St. Joseph’s Catholic 51
Union Area 71, North Clarion 56
Kennedy Catholic 73, Propel Andrew Street 26

SECOND ROUND
Tuesday, March 13
Sites and times TBA
Plumstead Christian (1-3, 18-10) vs. Sullivan County (4-3, 20-6)
Millville (4-2, 22-3) vs. Faith Christian (1-1, 26-2)
Lourdes Regional (4-1, 23-4) vs. Sankofa Freedom (12-1, 18-7)
Susquehanna Community (2-1, 18-9) vs. Lancaster Country Day (3-2, 19-8)
Vincentian (7-1, 19-7) vs. Shade (5-1, 23-3)
Elk County Catholic (9-2, 22-6) vs. Bishop Carroll (6-1, 18-8)
Eden Christian (7-6, 17-6) vs. Shanksville-Stonycreek (5-2, 19-7)
Union Area (7-2, 18-6) vs. Kennedy Catholic (10-1, 19-4)


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