Nest Notes
Basketball, 2012-13
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Mike DeMarchi, a 2011 graduate of Conwell-Egan High, had a few stints with the basketball and baseball teams at CEC and is now a sophomore at Temple University, majoring in Sport&Rec Management. He can be reached at demarchi411@aol.com.
 
Feb. 11
Catholic League Preplayoff
Lansdale Catholic 50 Conwell Egan 35 
  Driving to LaSalle High school for tonight’s play-in game was quite stressful but I was able to walk in before any of the scoring happened; man, do I wish I would have stayed home for this one. After losing to LC by just 3 the previous evening, the Eagles were smacked directly in the mouth right away by the Crusaders. Andrew Riviello (6-8 19 points) buried a three off of an offensive rebound and would go on to hit another trey along with a mid-range jumper to assist LC to an early 10-0 lead. The difference maker in last night’s contest was the ill-advised shots by CEC’s youth. One perhaps would have thought the coaches would mix in more of the veteran players tonight, but if you were in that boat you were wrong. Frosh F LaPri Pace (2-10 8 points) looked off his teammates multiple times to try and take it himself, and although he did draw some fouls, many of his shots did not come close. Finally at the two minute mark SR. Ryan Pepito (1-4 3 points) put in a three ball to end the drought. At the end of one Lansdale had a commanding lead of 15-3, and as soon as the second started LC stepped right back on the gas and increased their lead to 20-3. The one bright spot in Egan’s youth is big man Vinny Dalessandro (1-7 7 points). After some early struggles, the freshman managed to get them back on the board with a 3 point play and a few trips to the foul line. SR. Mike Kelly was hot the previous night, shooting 3-3 from the three point line, but tonight his teammates were unable to locate him when he was open. At one point he was yelling for the ball wide open but instead of receiving a pass, he watched a teammate take the ball into three defenders. The size of Dalessandro (eight rebounds) was keeping the Eagles in the game but there was little hope at halftime. On the opening possession of the third CEC Fr. Stevie Jordan (3-10 9 points) hit a trey and sparked the thought that maybe this was a turnaround point. LC’s Brian Rafferty (5-8 17 points) erased that with ease. He was the player of the game without a doubt, serving as the only real ballhandler and making sure he had the game under control. After Jordan had hit his one three the bad shots began to fly including an air ball that fortunately landed into the hands of Sean Kelly (2-5 5 points) who was able to convert it for a layup. With Egan comprised of mostly freshmen and sophomores there was a lack of experience on the court at all times, and that brought the question up, “Where is Brian Carr?” The Egan sr. G/F, who contributed earlier in the season quite well, remained on the bench the entire game. Brian Rafferty got to the bucket with ease in the fourth, blowing right by Egan’s defenders and nixed any hopes of an Egan comeback. He was not alone, though. LC’s best friend in the final period was Egan’s sense of urgency. Typically a sense of urgency is an okay thing, but when your team is only chucking up threes without any penetration it is your worst enemy. At about the three minute mark with the score at 41-20, the W was already under the Crusaders' belt. With the Lansdale defense backing off a bit, Stevie Jordan was able to hit a couple more threes. CEC’s season is still not done as they will try to capture the AA city crown March 2, although they will have to do some soul searching to even be able to compete. The coaches at CEC chose to stick with their youth and it may pay dividends down the road, but for right now the outlook is cloudy with little hope.

Feb.10

Catholic League
Lansdale Catholic 50, Conwell Egan 47 
  Tonight was already set to be special with it being Conwell Egan’s Senior night but the Eagles also had the opportunity to avoid a play-in game and just have the right to play Wood this coming Wednesday. Seniors: Mike Kelly, Ryan Pepito, Brian Carr, and Uriah St. Lewis were honored before the game in front of a good sized crowd for a Sunday. Kelly and Pepito both have been a part of the varsity program for three years and Carr and St. Louis have been on the varsity squad for the past two. Now it was game time and LC were the first to score off of a three point play by Brian Rafferty (2-4 5 points) but the scoring in the first was at a minimal as expected from these two teams. Freshman Vinny Dalessandro (6-9 16 points) proved to be a huge factor for CEC on the evening. Dalessandro’s height allowed for to shoot right over any of the Lansdale defenders with ease and scored the Eagles' first six points. Egan’s defense seemed on point in the first; the problem was on the other side of the ball. CEC had good ball movement, it just led to no penetration and that led to our low score of 10-9 to end the first. As we shift into the second quarter the defense began to break down and Lansdale’s Corey Kirk (3-4 7 points) scored off a miscommunication to get the scoring going. After a scoring draught that started in the first that went three minutes into the second, Sr. Mike Kelly (3-5 9 points) drained a three ball for Egan followed by another courtesy of Sr. Uriah St. Lewis (3-8 7 points). Kelly drilled another right after to make him 3-3 behind the arc at the time. CEC was not the only ones hitting threes though, Jim Rock (7-10 16 points) also hit two threes to lock the score at 18. The Eagles seemed like they were going to pull ahead in this quarter but just a minor change in the lineup put a halt to the chemistry. Fr. Stevie Jordan, who had not been playing as much recently due to injury, checked into the game and after an air ball and an attempt at some 1 on 1 Egan did not score another bucket before half. However LC’s Andrew Riviello (6-10 18 points) managed to put his team up 24-18 at half as the buzzer went off with a leaner. After half Lansdale came out and scored a quick five points in under a minute, and Egan coach Rick Sabol immediately called a TO to stop the bleeding. Once again CEC found their selves in a hole and Mike Kelly stepped up, picked his assignment’s pocket and got the assist to Uriah St. Lewis. On the next possession Kelly would be fouled hard, and had to be taken out of the game. He did not take another shot on the night due to landing on his shooting arm. Jim Rock then seized the opportunity and hit a couple more threes to increase the LC lead. Then Dalessandro reemerged for CEC and hit 3 mid-range jumpers in a row to bring them within 3. At the end of the third it wouldn’t be LC hitting a leaner as the buzzer sounded; it was CEC’s Ryan Pepito (2-4 4 points) to make the score 37-33. The fourth quarter was a grudge match between the two teams, Egan Fr. LaPri Pace (2-8 9 points) continued to drive to the basket and get to the line but they were forced, and out of control and it just appeared as if Egan could have gotten more out of their possessions. Lansdale worked their way into the double bonus pretty early but each shooter was only making 1 of the 2, so opportunity was there for Egan. The game however ended in a loss, in need of a 3 at the end to tie there were a minimal amount of screens which led to Pepito to chuck up a three. It never should have to come down to foul call at the buzzer but the officiating crew missed the call at the end of this one. Pepito was mugged on the shot and should have at least been able to shoot free throws to attempt to tie it but a CEC friendly ref is hard to find. The Eagles will play tomorrow at LaSalle at 7:00pm; it will be a rematch against LC and will determine who plays Wood on Wednesday.

JAN. 28
CATHOLIC LEAGUE
Archbishop Wood 65, Conwell-Egan 53

  Coming into the game the visiting Vikings of Archbishop Wood had a major advantage in the experience department compared to CEC. Now Egan has four freshmen in their rotation but not even a team full of seniors would have been ready for the performance that the Vikings displayed in the first quarter. CEC Fr. LaPri Pace (4-13 12 points) scored the first five points of the game and then the barrage began. Starting off with jump shots from Jr. Pat Smith (10-15 30 points) and Soph. Cody Fitzpatrick (2-5 5 points), Wood would go on to shoot 8-8 from behind the arc in the first quarter before finally missing one with about a minute left. Wood’s Pat Smith went 5-5 personally and 6-6 for the quarter totaling 17 points. Now on the opposite side of the spectrum you have the Eagles' defense, which may have been bad or just was on the bad end of some good luck. Right as after the second quarter had started Wood went right back to Smith but this time there was a clank instead of a swish. Egan, down 28-10 after one, had their coveted freshmen Stevie Jordan check into the game almost immediately. Jordan has been on the shelf with an injury and did not really produce at all the whole night. As the game went on I was still waiting for Wood to take advantage in the post but they almost didn’t have to considering they were up twenty. Down 40-21 after halftime, the Eagles needed a spark and Senior PG. Mike Kelly (4-5 11 points) delivered. With Wood turning the ball over 3 times in the first two minutes of the quarter, Mike Kelly took advantage and drilled two jumpers back to back. Next Wood SR. Shane Neher (2-2 7 points) picked up his third foul, and right after he was sent to the bench Kelly came right back, saw the opening and buried a trey ball to make the Egan run 11-0. Pat Smith was relatively quiet after his 17 point first quarter, and once again it was due to Mike Kelly. He kept Smith in check for only 5 points in the second and third combined. Egan was now down 40-32; Kelly was on fire and had shut down Smith, what happens next? Next The senior was subbed out of the game and Wood quickly took the lead back to double digits. With Kelly now on the bench, Fr. Vinny Dalessandro (5-6 13 points) got a couple of put backs and was rebounding well. Only down 14 heading into the fourth, CEC may have had a chance to come back but substitutions backfired for the Eagle’s. A couple ill-advised takes from Lapri Pace and Uriah St. Louis (3-7 8 points) certainly did not help either but Dalessandro managed to clean one of the two up for a three point play. Feeling the urgency CEC set up their press but Wood blew right through it which allowed Smith to knock down a jumper. The energy was there but it is not effective if the team’s best shooter is available. Egan would never claw any closer than the eight point deficit they saw in the 3rd, but they continued to play hard with Dalessandro scoring seven in the fourth and Mike Kelly hitting a difficult layup after being fouled. It was too little too late once again, the deficit was just too great after the first quarter shooting spree courtesy of the Vikings. Give it to Wood coach Jack Walsh though, down to the last second he demanded the same amount of his reserves that he does of his starters.

JAN. 18
Catholic League

Roman 79, Conwell-Egan 57
  Coming into the game with a 4 game losing streak you had to be pulling for the Eagles but tonight was the wrong night to be rooting for the blue and white. Freshman Stevie Jordan and Senior Brian Carr both did not play due to injuries so there were a couple of obstacles right away. Roman G Traci Carter (4-6 8 points) got it going, hitting the first shot of game with a jumper off of easy penetration into the lane. Defense is definitely not the Eagles' forte this year and it was apparent this evening, players refusing to put their hands up and not getting out on shooters were just two lowlights on the defensive end. However the 1st quarter did give the Eagles one bright spot and that was SR. Mike Kelly (5-5 14 points), who finally found his jump shot tonight as he started off 2-2 and did not miss from that point on. Roman center Manny Taylor (7-7 15 points) was poised to have himself a game and boy did he ever. He dominated the undersized Eagles the entire evening. At the end of one the score was at 28-10 which was somewhat manageable and the refs working tonight’s game seemed to be distributing fouls evenly but there were an abundance of bad and missed calls the entire game. Egan came out in the second quarter and showed some good energy behind Soph. Jordan Burney (2-3 7 points), who scored a quick five points, and Mike Kelly, who got down on the floor for a loose ball but then POOF! The energy was gone. Roman JR. Rashann London (8-11 18 points) stripped the ball away and gave the fans a show with a one-hand slam. The Egan starting lineup really showed how much they missed Brian Carr with SR. Uriah St. Louis (3-6 7 points) starting in place of him. Roman only missed 5 shots the entire first half and were up 41-21 at halftime. My notebook for the second half of the game might as well have been blank -- a combination of substitutions that didn't pan out, bad shots and lack of anything really doomed CEC. Mike Kelly is the glue that holds this team together and it is apparent that the minute he comes out the wheels fall off and the team turns into turnover central. To add insult to injury Roman JR. star Shep Garner (6-8 18 points) got hot towards the end of the 3rd and carried it into the fourth, hitting four threes effortlessly. After the Roman second team was subbed into the game, it finally looked like competitive basketball game instead of the reality that it was an AAAA school against an AA school. Roman was definitely the better team on the court tonight and hopefully CEC can get it together before Monday’s game against West to avoid a 6 game losing streak.

JAN. 11

CATHOLIC LEAGUE
Archbishop Carroll 65, Conwell-Egan 33
  Walking into the gym tonight CEC knew what to expect in their opponent Archbishop Carroll. That was a Division one point guard in Yosef Yacob (4-6 9 points), a crafty scorer in Soph. Derrick Jones (6-10 14 points), and a GROWN MAN in Ernest Aflakpui (3-5 6 points). They did not however expect to be outscored in the first half 42-4, the Eagles were extremely flat starting tonight’s game, not just on their feet but their jump shots as well. Shockingly Fr. Vinny Dalessandro (3-5 6 points) won the tip over Carroll’s Derrick Jones but it was all downhill from there, Carroll shot 7-10 in the first with six different players scoring. Soph. Jordan Burney and Fr. LaPri Pace (3-7 8 points) scored the only points in the quarter after Egan started 0-9 from the field. Yacob ended the quarter with a layup as time expired to make the score 21-4 after one period. Half of the second quarter went by and Egan had yet to score while the Carroll scoring barrage continued courtesy of a pair of treys from both Armand Sorrentino (3-6 8 points) and Joe Mostardi (6-8 16 points). Mostardi looked extremely good for Carroll and did not hesitate at all to shoot the ball. Derrick Jones continued the onslaught with a three of his own followed by a slam dunk (almost and1) over SR. Ryan Pepito who was 0-7 from the field which was extremely out of character for the CEC point guard. Carroll’s defense was nothing out of the ordinary this evening and nothing to really boast about; Egan’s shots just were not falling. To finish out the first half Egan was 2-21 from the field and failed to score in the second quarter. After halftime Egan seemed to gain a little pep in their step, SR. Mike Kelly (2-6 6 points) had a nice dish to Dalessandro but Vinny failed to convert. Jones and Mostardi continued to hit threes as Egan still had not scored a basket. All of a sudden Mike Kelly and Soph. Sean Kelly (3-5 6 points) came to life hitting back to back jumpers leading to Egan outscoring their first half 15-4. This was all too little and too late, though. Carroll’s lead was just entirely too much. After three the score was 59-19 and Carroll was safe enough to let their second team take over the game. The shots began to fall with Carroll’s second line in, and it looked like Egan actually was a significant matchup for the visitors. The final score wound up at 65-33 with the Eagles outscoring Carroll 29-21 in the second half, hopefully taking some momentum into Sunday’s game against Father Judge.

JAN. 4
CATHOLIC LEAGUE
Conwell-Egan 55, Cardinal O’Hara 49

  This was my first chance to come out and see the Eagles this season and for losing a Rider commit in Jamal Nwaniemeka, they did not look bad at all. Last season ended with a heart breaking loss to Cardinal O’Hara and this was an opportunity to get some revenge for the seniors that graduated. This is a very different looking CEC team compared to recent years; two freshmen -- Stevie Jordan (5 points) and Vinny Dalessandro (9 points) -- got starts. Jordan had an off night from the field and you should not gauge him as a player by this game, as the season continues he will be putting up some big numbers. O’Hara Jr. C Mark Plousis (5 points) won the tip for the visiting team which led to a trey by O’Hara’s own freshmen Andrew Louden (8 points), but Egan’s Jordan answered right back with a take to the basket. Watching the first quarter of this game was like watching a couple of kids playing a video game, constant long range jumpers and not a whole lot of penetration. This was a bit of a surprise considering both squads do not really have substantial big men. As the trend continued Egan hit a couple of threes back to back courtesy of Jordan and Sr. Captain Ryan Pepito (9 points) to put them ahead 10-7. The surprise of the first was Sr. Brian Carr (11 points) who did not start the game, but after subbing in for Jr. IB Kamara he provided a much needed spark for the Eagles matching Jordan and Pepito with 5 points after one quarter. The second started off with a couple of Egan turnovers which led to a 3 by O’Hara Sr. Mike Louden (15 points) that brought O’Hara close with a score of 15-14. And shortly after Sr. Chris Duffin(9 points) buried another one to put them up by two. Pepito answered right back and then Dalessandro scored on two straight possessions off of beautiful passes by Brian Carr to put Egan back ahead. The beginning of the second belonged to O’Hara but the momentum truly shifted Egan’s way after Soph. Sean Kelly (9 points) checked into the game. First off a feed from his brother Sr. Mike Kelly and then another layup after an O’Hara charge. Mike Kelly was not scoring as much but towards the end of the quarter he did distribute the ball well including a beautiful dime to Brian Carr to end the quarter. At half Egan was up 27-20 and seemed to be in control. Some classic Catholic league referee confusion got us going in the 3rd, but after a huddle they got it right and gave O’Hara the ball to start the quarter. The second half began with good penetration into the lane by both teams and the number of jumpers was trimmed down but no points were really made only pushing the score to 30-26. Sean Kelly continued to produce throughout the 3rd, drilling a three. Hopefully he will see an increase in playing time because he was a bright spot for the Eagles. Mike Louden kept O’Hara alive in the third scoring 6 of their nine third quarter points. With time trickling down in the quarter the freshmen Jordan hadn’t done much scoring but he finished the quarter with a huge rejection for such a little guard. With the score still tight the fourth was not Conwell-Egan’s friend with a bunch of missed layups and point off of turnovers for O’Hara but senior leadership took over and Mike Kelly took the ball to the rack multiple times trying to start a trend, only problem was that the whistles were very quiet. The score was at 43-39 when O’Hara Sr. Sean Havink hit one of two to bring it within a shot but CEC ball movement resulted in a Dalessandro bucket. Havink hit another crucial 3 down the stretch with 30 seconds left that brought them within one. The Eagles handled the pressure well and broke down O’Hara’s press and knocked down their free throws to seal the game at 55-49. Next up for the Eagles is Archbishop Ryan on Sunday.