Robert Smith (above) had 18 points as Bishop McDevitt won its first state playoff game in six years. (Photo: Owen McCue/CoBL)
Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue)
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SHILLINGTON—Bishop McDevitt coach Will Chavis wasn’t quite sure how his squad would come out for Saturday’s PIAA Class 4A matchup with Kutztown.
Following a District 12 state seeding win against Mastery South last Thursday, the Lancers did not have a great week of practice. Chavis said he had to kick his team out of the gym a few times for lack of effort.
The message must have resonated with his young squad, as the Lancers came out ready from the start on Saturday. They nearly led from start to finish and coasted to a 59-42 win. It was the program’s first state playoff win since 2012.
“It seemed to pay off tonight,” Chavis said. “They were hungry to play.”
McDevitt held Kutztown to just six points in the first quarter and continued its defensive dominance into the second. The Lancers held Kutztown scoreless for more than five minutes to start the period to take a 25-6 lead.
Kutztown’s first bucket of the second quarter didn’t come until Lorencz Jean-Baptiste knocked a three with 2:50 left in the first half. Paced by sophomore guard Robert Smith, who scored 11 of his game-high 18 points in the first half, and sophomore forward Jamil Manigo, who scored eight of his 10 points in the first half, McDevitt took a 31-14 lead into halftime.
In order to make sure his team remained focused for the game’s final 16 minutes, Chavis kept his players on the floor during the halftime break.
“Honestly, I just didn’t want them to go into the locker room because we tend to relax,” Chavis said. “We go in the locker room it’s like, ‘Oh we’re up.’ No the game’s still going on, so the thought process behind that was that I wanted them to understand that it’s still going on. ... We’re not going to take anything into the locker room. We leave it out here and that’s it.”
Though a 9-3 run by Kutztown to start the third quarter cut McDevitt’s lead to 11, Chavis’ strategy proved fruitful.
A 3-pointer by senior guard Tahmir Thompson near the end of the third gave McDevitt a 43-28 lead heading into the game’s final quarter. Thompson knocked down two more 3-point shots early in the fourth to put McDevitt up by 18 and the game essentially out of reach.
“It was like the highlight of the game, actually,” Chavis said. “He’s a kid that comes to practice. He doesn’t complain at all. He’s always upbeat. He’s a perfect teammate, and to see him have a game like this, which could have been his last game, was awesome.”
McDevitt will play Notre Dame Green Pond, the District 11 champs, on Wednesday in the second round.
Reading rolls in second half against Bensalem
Unlike many of his Reading High School teammates, Larry Wingo was getting his first taste of state playoff action on Saturday at Governor Mifflin Intermediate School.
Wingo, a transfer from Pottstown, joined the Red Knights this season following their PIAA Class 6A state title a year ago. The senior forward, a self-described energizer off the bench for Reading, helped his team get one step closer to another on Saturday against Bensalem in the first round of the PIAA Class 6A tournament.
He scored a team-high 13 points and grabbed eight rebounds to help guide the District 3 champs to a 63-58 win in his first state playoff game. Readng will play CB West on Wednesday in the second round.
“It felt great because I’ve never been in this situation before because of my transfer,” Wingo said. “Everything right now is so different because the crowd is wild. I was out there and it felt great.”
Reading started the game on a 7-0 run, but helped by five points from senior forward Kris Shields, Bensalem climbed back to within one by the end of the first quarter.
The Red Knights put some distance between themselves and the Owls again in the second, but a three by senior guard Carlos Gonzales before the break made sure Reading didn’t pull too far ahead, going into halftime with a 25-20 lead.
Bensalem scored the first basket in the second half, cutting the Reading lead down to three. However, it was one of just two baskets the Owls would score in the third quarter.
Junior forward Daniel Colter reeled off nine points in a row to put Reading up by 12 with 2:20 left in the quarter. He finished with 12 points and four rebounds in the game.
Wingo scored the final four points of the quarter, grabbing an offense rebound and scoring in traffic to put the Red Knights up 41-24 entering the fourth, where he added five more points to help seal the game.
“Without them, we don’t break open that game,” Reading coach Rick Perez said. “Daniel in the third quarter, and then Larry came in and finished it.”
The circumstances for the two teams heading into Saturday could not have been more different.
Reading was making its fourth straight state playoff appearance and coming off a state title from last year. Bensalem was making its fourth state playoff appearance in school history and looking for the program’s first PIAA tournament win of any kind since 1981.
The Owls needed wins against Downingtown East and Downingtown West in the district play-back bracket just to get to Saturday.
Along with Shields and Gonzalez, senior forward James Lieble, who led the team with 12 points, and senior guards Ward Roberts and Taco Douglas accounted for all but four of the team’s points before both teams put in their reserves.
Though Bensalem fell short in winning its first state playoff game in 37 years, Bensalem coach Mike McCabe said he was proud of what his senior class had accomplished this season.
“I got nothing but praise for these kids,” McCabe said. “These seniors, we were 7-7 and we pulled it together. I think we won nine of 11, and the seniors led the way. I know they didn’t want to finish like this, but unfortunately that’s the way it goes sometimes.”
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