MARCH 5
CLASS AAAA CITY TITLE
Frankford 48, La Salle 46
(At Lincoln)
  There's always the hope that an important game won't be decided by a call made far from the basket with very little time remaining. But when a reasonably hard collision occurs, and one of the players winds up on the floor, the whistle MUST be blown and, well, that's what happened tonight. With the score tied at 46-46, Frankford sr. PG Keith Washington was steaming ahead just over halfcourt on the south side of Lincoln's court, right near the point where fans enter the gym. Whatever call Gary Mitchell made, one team wasn't going to be happy with the result of the classic block-charge scenario. The tweet favored Frankford, which you might have seen coming, judging by the final score, and Washington swished both shots in the double-bonus to give the Pioneers a stirring win. Sr. F Joe Brown was La Salle's inbounder. The ball went to sr. backup C Steve Collins, and his heave did not come close. The Pioneers exploded onto the floor and their fans went nuts. This is year No. 3 in the second life of City Titles and beforehand the Pub had been a combined 0-for-5 at the AAAA and AAA levels. (Just last year, La Salle had edged Bartram, 42-40.) So, this was an important win. By the way, the Frankford folks are to be commended for their support. There was a decent mix of current/recent students and -- oh, my goodness -- there were even some "deeeeee-fense" chants at key, late moments. Plus, coaches from other sports turned out. Like always, Washington was a game-long factor. Assuredly not always for scoring, as he tallied no fourth quarter points before he nailed the big free throws and his second half total was only five (en route to 15). But he did dish five assists overall and handle much of the ballhandling, along with all of the leadership, and he was shadowing Rider signee Eddie Mitchell (sr. CG) any time Frankford played man-to-man, so no doubt he was the MVP. Other "crucials" were jr. WG Imire Taylor and jr. F Chris Lewis, whose playing time has increased in recent weeks with the absence of sr. WG Kevin Lawson (school issues). Taylor scored nine of his 11 points in the third quarter and his trey even provided a 34-26 lead with 0:29 showing in that session. He also had a tremendous wrap-around layup, with his back to the baseline, off a pass from Washington. Lewis had six of his eight markers in the fourth quarter and wound up leading the Pioneers in total rebounds with six. As he well knows, he could have done a little better job at the line (smile). Here are key moments from the stretch: sub sr. G Kevin Piotrowicz, off a pass from soph CG Amar Stukes, drained a top-of-the-key trey at 3:02, drawing La Salle within 43-42 and kicking off Herrrrrre-We-Go Time. Lewis hit two free throws with 2:39 showing for 45-42. As Washington revisited a cramping issue, the Pioneers got momentarily distracted. Brown was able to pick off a pass near midcourt and then roll in for a layup. Mitchell then picked a pocket and Stukes could not hit a trey from TKL (top of the key, to the left). Lewis rebounded and missed a one-and-one at 40.5, with this board going to Mitchell. Stukes drove the right side and sr. C Taylor Bessick arrived to defend. At least up top, and admittedly I was at the opposite end, the block appeared to feature all KINDS of cleanliness (smile). But a foul was called (maybe he chest-bumped him?) and Stukes went to the line at 29.4. Both attempts missed and Piotrowicz was called for reaching over Lewis on the rebound scramble. Lewis strolled to the other end and made the back part of the double-bonus at 28.6. On its possession, La Salle worked mini-weaves out front until Mitchell scampered down the right side of the lane and hit maybe an 8-foot flip shot with 6 seconds left. Frankford had to do things on the fly. Washington roared upcourt and that was when the collision took place . . . Frankford coach Dave Huzzard used eight players and all had good moments. Bessick grabbed five boards. Two big-'uns, soph Donald Robinson (two important free throws) and sr. Dajuan "Best Teammate Nominee" Franks, created space for their teammates while banging with Collins and sr. C Brennan Woods. Sr. WGs Omar Askia and sub Anthony Lockhart scrambled for two steals apiece and the latter hit a trey. The Pioneers allowed La Salle very few comfortable looks, and that was crucial to the win. Four Explorers scored from nine to 11 points. Stukes (11) led the way, followed by Brown (10), Mitchell and sr. WG Mike Poncia (nine apiece). The 'Splorers shot just 17-for-48 from the floor and went an unsightly 2-for-17 on treys. Mitchell had five rebounds, Stukes dealt three assists and Stukes/Poncia halved four steals. Congrats to Lincoln's AD/football coach, Ed McGettigan, for running a smooth operation, and good job to all who helped him. And thanks to Dave Schultz for his R-A-S-B assistance. It was, simply, an enjoyable night of basketball watching in a nice, bright atmosphere (and much appreciated after the Imhotep-WC mess in SJ Prep's depressing dungeon).

MARCH 5
CLASS AA CITY TITLE
Imhotep 68, West Catholic 40
(At SJ Prep)
  Well, the score at one juncture was 11-7. That's good, right? As for what happened thereafter . . . Did you have to ask? In the girls' game beforehand, E&S sliced and diced McDevitt, 78-24. This one did not get that bad, but it was assuredly rough on the eyes. The teams combined for 53 turnovers and it wasn't as if a vast majority went to West; Imhotep was guilty of 24. Not good. Especially for a team that has to be considered a heavy favorite for state-title honors. West committed 10 fouls in the first nine minutes (ugh) and the teams chalked up 17 turnovers in that span (double ugh). Imhotep zoomed to 13 consecutive points, thus leaving 11-7 far behind and removing all suspense. No need for more tidbits, folks. Double scoring digits were posted by jr. WG-SF Khyree Wooten (13, 7-for-12 at line; game MVP), sr. WG David Appolon (11 points, three treys) and sr. WG-SF Ameen Tanksley (10). Tanksley and sr. sub WG-SF Tyhiem "Redz" Perrin had six rebounds apiece and sr. PG Terrell Johnson dealt three assists. For West, only sr. WG Julian Lee (11, 4-for-4 at line) reached double digits and sr. F Yuri Burton was the only guy with more than two rebounds (four). Jr. PG Jaleel Reed had five steals. West was guilty of many unforced errors and, over time, Imhotep also experienced major brushes with sloppiness. "It was tough to be attentive in this game," coach Andre Noble said. I hear ya, 'Dre. Spent some hang-out time with Ed Kerr, a passionate bigwig with West Catholic's alumni group, and Niagara assistant Kyle Neptune, who was in town to check out Tanksley (Purple Eagle signee). To some degree, West can be forgiven. It hadn't played since Feb. 16 produced a loss to Bonner in a first-round CL playoff. Now the Burrs won't play again until next Saturday. Ah, nothing like the PIAA, right? Meanwhile, the Panthers must have read my note in last night's game report about how crappy Pub teams have been shooting from behind the arc. Tanksley hit one just 1:55 into the game and 'Hotep drained five in all (in 14 attempts).

MARCH 4
CLASS AAA CITY TITLE
Neumann-Goretti 62, Phila. Electrical 54
  Secretly, a few of N-Gs players must be fans of Johnny Cash. And they must have loved the movie called Walk the Line. Over the recent part of the season, the Saints quite frequently have been walking the line that separates wins from losses. Once again, this ever-frisky bunch wound up on the much preferred side and once again it wasn’t easy. (Just like the Prep game late in the regular season, then the Roman/Carroll games in the playoffs.) Even though its top player, sr. CG Devante Chance, was a spectator as the tilt began (some kind of issue), PET came VERY hard at the Saints and flying downcourt was part of the plan. N-G established enough command to take a 33-23 lead into halftime, and from there on pretty much out there was a pattern. Just when it appeared the Saints were poised to remove suspense, the Chargers would post a couple quick buckets to keep things in the still-a-game vicinity. PET practices and plays near 2nd and Moore, in South Philly, and draws a decent percentage of players/students from that area. The Chargers are probably sick of hearing about the Saints and one can only imagine what a gigantic boost a win tonight at Ryan would have given the school. Wasn’t to be, of course, but coach James “Flame” Lewis’ club is to be commended for its mindset coming in, No. 1, and then for its effort, No. 2. There was an early blow, too. Chance began playing roughly 2 1/2 minutes into the contest and then picked up two fouls within a minute. The first was a chintzy slap. The next was an offensive foul on a drive (with jr. F-C Derrick Stewart absorbing the contact). Luckily for PET, soph CG Hakeem Baxter played hard and well from the beginning en route to 19 points. The game MVP trophy went to Stewart and that was a curious choice, if not ridiculous. (No offense, Derrick. Just trying to be honest.) He did have 15 points, but shot just 4-for-12 from the floor and claimed only five rebounds before fouling out with a half-minute left. Meanwhile, soph F John Davis sniped 7-for-11 and 4-for-5 for 18 points and swept 17 boards. Derrick wears No. 24, is righthanded and has his hair in short braids. John wears No. 10, is lefthanded and wears his hair closely cropped. Hmmmm. What the heck happened here? Did one of the refs blow this call, too??? (Sorry, couldn’t help it – smile.) Not sure which person chose the MVP, but he’ll have better nights, hopefully. N-G seized a 53-44 lead with 3:55 left when frosh G-F Ja’Quan Newton, after rebounding a missed jumper by Stewart, hit jr. WG Billy Shank on the right wing for one of his four treys (12 points). The pad then eased upward to 11 as Davis, after reaching back at a crazy angle to grab an offensive board, converted a follow. So much for breathe-easy mode. Unnecessarily, N-G  rushed into a few bad choices and PET kept comin’. With 1:36 left, Chance passed to Baxter for a basket and the margin was only four, at 56-52. With 29.5 left, after Newton had hit a free throw, Chance missed a right-corner trey but hustled forward to snag the rebound and draw a foul. His two free throws made it a three-point game, then Newton converted a double-bonus at 25.3. Again the ball wound in Chance’s hands. After freeing himself, slightly, with a spin move along the right side, he was unable to can a layup. The follow by jr. F David George also was unsuccessful and the Saints notched the game’s last three points. Afterward, the Saints sardined themselves for a group photo near halfcourt. (Pretty sure nothing like that happened at the Palestra after the CL final, though I had to bail out kind of early to begin writing the DN story. Glad it happened tonight. A lot of parents/friends were also given court access for pic-snapping purposes. Also a VERY nice development.) Soph sub G Hanif Sutton had five assists and two steals. Sr. PG Lamin Fulton had a very quiet seven-point, one-assist evening, but he also saw to it that the Saints were guilty of just eight turnovers, with only ONE through the first 19 minutes. Definitely amazing, especially considering the crazy atmosphere/intensity. Chance, sr. WG Carrington Ward and George (also 11 boards) all scored nine points. It’s hard to believe PET was right THERE into the late moments even though Chance and Ward combined to shoot 5-for-25 from the floor. Meanwhile, can anybody in the Pub stick a damn jump shot?? (From distance, we mean.) PET went treyless for the second consecutive outing. Imhotep also hit none in the semis and finals. Just figured this out: counting the quarters, semis and final, plus the three games played this week so far (involving Boys’ Latin and Bartram for seeding, and PET for this City Title), Pub teams are a woeful 56-for-245 from beyond the arc (23 percent). Take away two decent performances (7-for-13 by Constitution and 11-for-29 by MC&S in quarters) and the number becomes 38-for-203 for 19 percent. Ouch!! Thanks to Tony Cousar for helping with stats tonight and to Ryan AD George Todt for allowing me to hang around for story-finishing purposes. Tonight's deadline was 11:15. Very reasonable, though my wireless hookup didn't work for a good 10 minutes a shade before sending time (roughly 10:55). It eventually got its butt into gear (smile).

MARCH 3
D-12 AAAA SEEDING GAME
Roman 65, Bartram 49
  After watching two of these babies on back-to-back nights at Southern, I’m here to tell you: They’re a cross between a glorified scrimmage and a summer league game. The atmosphere is basically casual. Yes, guys want to win, and they don’t want to be embarrassed, but there’s no true drama and the heart rate never quickens. Oh, well. That’s what the state tournament is for (and maybe the City Title games, hopefully?). Roman roared to an 18-4 lead, then stretched things to 26-7 and 32-11 and there went the need to jot down notes. DN ink went to sr. C Fortunat “Junior” Kangudi mostly because he recently received great news. As in, due to his score on the ACT, the SAT’s poor cousin (smile; people have always said it’s slightly easier), this Montreal native and speaker of French (primarily) is now qualified for freshman eligibility. It’s a wonderful accomplishment. Imagine moving to Germany, let’s say, and passing their version of the SAT only 20 months, roughly, after entering the country. Very cool, Junior, you are to be congratulated! For your next act, work on those foul shots! (smile) He went a wicked 2-for-12 at the line, but was a difference-maker because of his 13 rebounds and eight blocks. Nine and six, respectively, were posted in a 39-19 first half. This was my third story on Junior in two years and, like always, he had an interesting way of expressing himself. Here are part of his comments on the blocked shots: “When your offense isn't there -- personally, I wasn't impressed -- you have to go to your defense even more. You have to say, 'If I'm not scoring, they are not, either.' “ Good stuff! Good thing he didn’t say it in French, right? Three Cahillites enjoyed frisky performances. Soph SF-WG Shafeek Taylor and frosh WG Shep Garner scored eight and seven points, respectively, in the 23-6 first quarter and soph G Britton Lee was the headliner thereafter, witness his 16 points with big help from four treys. Roman shot 14-for-26 in the first half and 10 of the baskets came with assists. Jr. PG Montana Mayfield finished with four total assists (one in each quarter), Taylor had 13 points, Garner had nine points and three apiece of assists/steals, frosh G Rip Engel mixed two treys with three dimes, jr. F Raquan Brown-Johnson claimed eight boards and your boy, Sir Pucklehead, was assessed one tech! In effect, anyway. A correct number was not entered into the scorebook for one of Roman’s deep subs. Dan Hoban was keeping the book, but we’ll blame Strapper since he’s supposed to give Dan correct info (ha ha). With Kangudi swatting away, forcefully, so many early shots, Bartram was cooked before it had a chance to get rolling. Plus, the two reliable scorers, sr. WG Darrell Robinson and sr. G-SF Barry Brockington, combined to finish the first half 4-for-17. Neither one ever got fully untracked, settling for 13 and 10 points, respectively. The next time I play a pickup game at the playground, however, I’m bringing Robinson with me. I love the kid’s competitive spirit and old-school demeanor/approach. With seven, he claimed three more rebounds any other Brave while adding two assists and five steals. Sr. PG Jarmal Brown was still out with a tender foot. He’s hoping to return to action for the state tourney. Amauro handled sidekick duties tonight. It was great to see a serious legend: former Bonner football all-timer Ed Monaghan, who also played at Penn State. Ed (Bonner ’85) THREE times earned first team All-City honors, at three different positions. His daughter plays basketball at O’Hara, a prelim winner over Girls High. Also on hand was former Dobbins football star Matt Johnson, who helped the Mustangs win the ’93 Pub title. His niece, Shanice Johnson, is an impressive sophomore star for O’Hara. Here’s a recap that mentions Matt’s title-game heroics.
1993
At Northeast
Dobbins 23, Mastbaum 16
    Under first-year coach Doug Macauley, Dobbins stormed back from
a 16-0 halftime deficit to win its first title in 46 years of PL membership.
Mastbaum entered the game unbeaten; Dobbins was only .500 in league
play. Matt Johnson gave the Mustangs a 17-16 lead with a 23-yard
field goal -- his first of the season -- and Hassan Brockman expanded it
by running 68 yards for a TD on a slotback counter. Also, Johnson made
an interception to terminate Mastbaum's final possession. For Mastbaum,
Jerald Lyons managed 99 yards and two TDs on 22 carries.

MARCH 2
D-12 AAA SEEDING GAME
Carroll 72, Boys' Latin 61
  In past years, this tilt had good juice. Reason: District 12 had only three entrants for the AAA state playoffs and neither combatant wanted its season to end. But this year, D-12 has been awarded four AAA berths so this one was only for seeding. Yawn? Not quite, but the atmosphere didn't exactly soar off the electric charts. DN ink went to sr. WG Juan'ya Green and you won't believe his quirky tidbit of the night. He took just THREE shots, all layups (all good), and I estimated that the total distance came out to 7 feet -- 2, 2 and a whopping 3. Incredible, right? Especially since he'd taken 25 shots two nights earlier in the CL final and 49 in the Patriots' three playoff games. He took none in the first quarter. For a very good reason. The Niagara signee, having violated a team rule, was merely a spectator. But even when he came in, he went 7 minutes and 59 seconds -- OK, maybe only 7:58 (smile) -- without taking a shot. His first shot beat the halftime buzzer. Overall, Green had 12 points and a nifty eight assists, and it wasn't as if his performance was sorely lacking. He just did not shoot much, chalking it up to BL's defensive attention with a hint of fatigue mixed in. Something tells me he'll attempt more than three shots in Carroll's next outing (smile). Green was also prominent in a scenario I don't think I've ever seen. Early in the fourth quarter, he hit the front end of a double-bonus but then had to leave when blood was spotted on his left arm. Jr. sub F-C Shane Randall missed the second shot and the ball went out of bounds. Green, having been quickly treated by the trainer, and now standing at the scorers' table, checked right back in. Because two of its three best players are frisky guards, BL likes to get it and go. That meant a quick pace and Carroll wasn't always sufficiently careful. The Patriots were victimized for 12 steals and committed other turnovers via throwaways. But overall, it did better on the boards and played defense well enough to force BL to go just 5-for-23 behind the arc. Also, soph PG Yosef Yacob (and Green) combined to keep jr. PG Maurice Watson from completely being his whirlwind self (though he still played PRETTY well). Penn coach Jerome "Pooh" Allen and at least one of his assistants, Dan Leibovitz, were in attendance, so that confirms what folks have been saying -- the Quakers want Watson. Such an outcome would be very cool, it says here. Watson finished with 18 points, six boards, five assists (could have had another handful with proper finishing) and four steals. Back to Carroll again: Yacob and sr. WG Jay Donovan scored 23 and 21 points, respectively, and each shot very well; they missed just eight combined attempts. Sr. PF-C Tracy Peal banged for 11 boards, but Yacob (seven) and Donovan (six) also had good glass moments. Jr. WG Alec Stavetski hit two treys en route to nine points. The legend of all legends, sr. G Franco "The Luck of the Irish Be With You" Pellicciotta, got some first-half light, but took no shots. Back to BL: soph G Yahmir Greenlee had 11 points, three assists and five steals. Meanwhile, I was very impressed with jr. WG-SF Carlos Taylor. His shooting form (elevation, release, follow-through) was better than anyone else's and he played with a certain smoothness. Interesting possibilities. He had 22 points (two treys) along with seven rebounds. Coach Maurice Watson Sr. used 15 players. Not sure if that's a recent pattern or just something that happened tonight due to the game's no-REAL-importance nature. It was surprising, though. After an original plan fell through, I spent the late afternoon checking out N-G's practice (camera stayed in the pocket, though). The highlight? What else . . . a spirited exchange of Puck stories with coach Carl Arrigale and assistant John Mosco. Even star guard Lamin Fulton threw out a Pucklehead tidbit or three. Niiiiiiice. (This was AFTER the practice, by the way. No messing around during the session itself.)

FEB. 28
CATHOLIC LEAGUE FINAL
Neumann-Goretti 59, Carroll 55
(At the Palestra)
  Imagine if the night had turned out differently. Imagine the devastation that would have been experienced, deep into their souls, by all folks connected with N-G’s program. Behind their backs and maybe to their faces, at least in scattered instances, the word “choke” would have been spoken about these Saints. Some of the players likely are saying right now, in fact, “Man, we almost choked.” How does such an accomplished squad go 10-for-23 at the line in the fourth quarter (and 18-for-37 overall) of a game that has a chance to go down in unprecedented history? Plus, one of those misses over the last eight minutes was a front end, so the Saints actually left 14 last-stanza points on the table. Four-TEEN! Right after the game, coach Carl Arrigale mentioned that sr. PG Lamin Fulton (St. Peter’s), just 2-for-7 over those last eight minutes at the line (he was also the one-and-one misser), had suffered from cramping issues down the stretch. On one of his semi-bricks, I’d noticed that Fulton had pulled off to his left while releasing. Maybe that was why? But despite those major charity-stripe woes, the Saints did hold on, overcoming an all-time effort by sr. WG Juan’ya Green (Niagara), and they now walk alone in CL history as the first squad to win three consecutive championships while ALSO achieving league perfection (19-0, 19-0 and 16-0 for a record 54 in a row). Down the stretch of this incredible run, things got rougher and rougher. The Saints won by just three over SJ Prep in the next-to-last game of the regular season, and then by a scant one in a semifinal vs. Roman. This one very easily could have gone into overtime after N-G gradually bid adieu to most of an eight-point lead over the final six minutes. We’ll start our visit to Play-by-Playville with 1:09 left. Green, at this juncture being covered by jr. sub G La’Quan Coaxum, found himself well blanketed  and purposely eased his body into Coaxum’s on a straight-on trey. He got the call and then drained the last two of the three free throws, edging the Patriots within 53-49. Jr. sub F-C Shane Randall then got a steal and a wild sequence followed. Green proceeded to miss two threes and the ball wound up headed over the baseline at the east end. Jr. G Alec Stavetski leaped and tried to guide the ball back to a teammate, but frosh G Ja’Quan Newton instead wound up with possession. Fulton then got fouled on a shot and went 0-for-2 at the line. Down came Carroll. Sr. WG Jay Donovan was unable to hit a left-wing trey and Newton sank the back end of a double-bonus at 38.0 to make it 54-49. Soph PG Yosef Yacob converted a hard drive at 31.6 for 54-51 arithmetic and a quick timeout was called. Before N-G could inbound, Fulton was held and the first part of a DB. Randall missed a one-and-one at 29.5, but Green was right there to score on an immediate, left-side follow. The noise in the place was deafening with the deficit at just two points. Fulton got fouled again and salvaged one point with a back end – 56-53. Now came a key decision by Arrigale and/or his aides. Soph G Hanif Sutton, so effective against him in the latter stages of the teams’ regular season meeting, was assigned to Green for only the second time all night (in addition to a short spurt right before halftime). Fulton had mostly played him, and there’d been stints by Newton and Coaxum. Juan’ya missed badly on a trey from the left side of straight-on, but Carroll got a second life when the ball was touched by N-G as it headed over the baseline. Donovan then was fouled and nailed both DB shots to make it 56-55. Oh, baby!! Soph F John Davis, the guy with the knuckleball shooting form (the ball spins up there sideways), got hacked at 10.7. Fiiiiiinally, a Saint hit both attempts. N-G shot 11 two-shot fouls in the quarter. This was the only double success! Green again got the call, with Sutton again the defender, and this attempt was pretty much from the same spot as the previous one. This one came closer, but hit the left side of the rim. In the scramble, as he snagged the rebound, jr. F-C Derrick Stewart was thumped and wound up on the floor. A foul was called and he hit the front end at 1.1 to provide the final four-point lead. The sigh of relief from everyone associated with N-G’s program was strong enough to be recorded  as a dangerous wind gust throughout the Delaware Valley (smile). Enough praise cannot be heaped on Green for his performance tonight and throughout the playoffs. Yes, his floor outing wasn’t the greatest in this one (9-for-25, 3-for-9 on treys), but he was under incredible pressure to keep producing and the Saints kept throwing not only different, but multiple defenders at him. He also had four rebounds, as many assists and two steals. Green totaled 85 points in three playoff games (also 39 vs. SJ Prep and 16 vs. La Salle) while shooting 23-for-49 (floor), 5-for-15 (treys) and 34-for-38 (line, that’s 89 percent). He scored 45.9 percent of Carroll’s playoff points and that performance stirs memories of Brian Daly, the former Bonner coach who’s now in his second year as an assistant at Boston University. While leading Bonner to the 1988 CL title, Daly scored 30 points in the title game – so, he and Green now share the No. 3 spot for title-game points -- and he wound up accounting for 38.1 percent of the Friars’ playoff markers. Where I come from, 45.9 percent is higher (smile). Also, Green and Mark Zoller (Prep '03) share the CL mark for points scored in a three-game playoff series. Zoller had 29, 25 and 31 for his 85 (with a lower percentage at 42.3). Some other stat stuff: Davis had 16 points and eight boards and was 8-for-12 at the line. Stewart had seven and nine. Fulton finished with 16 points, seven rebounds and five assists. He also missed his last seven shots from the floor; he was covered by Green for much of the evening. Newton shot 5-for-8 (two treys) en route to 13 points, while adding two assists. Jr. WG Billy Shank had seven points. For Carroll, sr. F-C Tracy Peal had 12 points and six boards, Donovan had seven points, Yacob mixed six points with three assists, and Randall claimed six rebounds. I know the vast majority of people only care about the Cath OR Pub, not both, but it would be VERY cool to see N-G bang heads with Imhotep for a real City Title, especially since both schools have won three consecutive championships. Maybe West Catholic (in AA) and Philly Electric (in AAA) will agree – with PIAA permission, of course – to give up their bids to become the No. 1 seed and allow N-G/Imhotep to meet. Oh, well. I can dream. This was N-G’s first “modern” title wearing white uniforms. The six others in Arrigale’s reign had all been claimed in black unis. Gotta question the use of Mike Pearson as one of the refs. He played for Carroll and it wasn’t too long ago (rotation guy in the 1999-2000 season). I thought all three refs did respectable, even very good, jobs in a pressure-cooker situation (the others were Darrell Giles and Harry Edwards), and I do understand the concept of getting some younger blood into the limelight. But look at it this way: Would the league have assigned three recent players from one of the participating schools to officiate the game? Of course not! So, why use even one? Why open the rough-spot-to-be-put-into door even a smidgeon? Sixers coach Doug Collins, father-in-law of Carroll boss Paul Romanczuk, was in attendance. So was ex-coach/assistant Jim Lynam, who’s related to sr. sub G Thomas “Toe” Boyle. Oh, and so was current player Marreese Speights. N-G has now beaten Carroll in 24 of the teams’ last 25 meetings, with the only exception that 2009 AAA quarterfinal, played at Ryan, that enabled the Patriots to go on and become the CL’s first state champion. That still sticks in N-G’s collective craw . . . But not as much as a setback tonight would have. Thanks to Huck (R-A-S-B) and Frog/Amauro (extra sets of eyes) for their help along press row and also to Amauro for taking some pics toward the end of the post-game celebration as I got started on the DN story. This was a memorable occasion, folks. Once again, never, ever before had a CL team won three consecutive titles while also incurring NO losses. To borrow (and alter) an old line used by Dougherty coach Bob Harrington and/or player Gerry Shotzbarger, who joined Bob in heaven earlier this week, in 1974, before the 9-7 Cardinals shocked 16-0 North in a quarterfinal, also in the Palestra, “Fifty-four and oh and off they go . . . into history.”

FEB. 26
PUBLIC LEAGUE FINAL
Imhotep 57, Constitution 44
(At Temple's Liacouras Center)
  For many reasons, all of them frustrating, this was my first look at Imhotep all season. And there's a strong belief I'll be seeing these guys again in late March at Penn State, as the newly crowned Class AA state champion. (With a few glimpses along the way, of course.) Today, before a nothing-special "crowd" at Temple, in a game where the referees must have thought these were teams filled with 12-year-olds (Let them play! Why so many ticky-tacks? This is The Pub, damn it!), Imhotep used a mostly tremendous job on defense to suck the life from ConHigh and capture a third consecutive PL title. West Philadelphia, with five from 1974-78, was the last Pub squad to capture three in a row and beforehand the feat had not been accomplished since Overbrook did so from 1957-59 (shortly after the Wilt Era). The Panthers do not exactly make visits to Sharpshootersville, but they really dedicate themselves to defense. They have to, or else. Coach Andre Noble has a nine-man rotation so he's able to forever wield the play-defense-or-sit hammer. After halftime arrived with the Panthers holding only a 22-20 lead, space was created with a 14-6 third quarter and that momentum was maintained into the fourth. The final score is misleading. Noble waved deep subs onto the floor with the lead at 18, but ConHigh hustled for a couple fast steals/buckets and rotation guys were sent back in with 42.5 left and the score at 56-43. Actually, it strongly appeared Imhotep could have completely demoralized ConHigh by remaining in a 1-2-2, three-quarter-court press throughout the first quarter. The Generals, honestly, were pooping their pants early, witness five turnovers in the first 2 1/2 minutes. But with the score 15-5, Noble called off the dogs (there was a hint of early foul trouble; I don't think that should have mattered; not when your rotation is much deeper than your foe's and coach Rob Moore's club had a chance to regroup since four arms were not in each guy's face non-stop. Anyway, 'Hotep began the third quarter with six quick points, thus restoring command, and the Generals had plenty of trouble against a 1-3-1 zone due to, again, the players' length along with savvy/dedication to the overall cause. Like pretty much always, Imhotep featured balanced scoring and no one player was head-and-shoulders above anyone else. The MVP trophy went to sr. swingman Ameen Tanksley (Niagara), who shot 5-for-8 and 5-for-6 for 15 points. He also had four rebounds, two steals, two blocks. Sr. C Erik Copes had seven points, eight boards and two blocks and his inside presence meant the world. Soph G Brandon Austin, at the point of the press, and sr. WG David Appolon (Robert Morris . . . eight points, five apiece of rebounds/assists) also did nice things. On passes from Appolon, sr. WG-SF Tyhiem "Redz" Perrin canned consecutive layups and on the latter he drew a foul, leading to a three-point play. The next time downcourt, Appolon, Appolon, Copes and Perrin all missed shots, and then the ball went over the baseline, possession to 'Hotep. Austin inbounded to sr. PG Terrell Johnson for a way-too-easy bucket and that made the score 43-28 with 5:06 left. At one point in the first half, a guy behind us had yelled at Appolon, "Hey Dave, get yours! This gonna be an easy win! Go for 30!" Fortunately, he didn't listen (ha ha). Jr. CG Daiquan Walker scored 14 of his 18 points in the first half, but thereafter shot just 1-for-8 from the floor. The Generals' only other semi-threat was sr. PF-C Mamadou Diakite, who beefed his way to 11 points (and added 10 rebounds). The other guys combined to shoot 4-for-20 (and even Walker was 5-for-15). Penn commit Xavier Harris, a sr. F, had to settle for one point and four boards. Constitution has a chance to make major noise in the Class A state tourney, but this one goes into the books as a borderline no-contest. Incredibly, Imhotep has gone two straight games without hitting a trey! It was 0-for-8 in this one. Today's stat sidekick was Duck, and it was great to have him back on the trail! Originally, he was only going to watch the game, but Big Steve, after sidekicking through the Prep Charter-Central girls' tilt, was stolen by Pub honchos to keep the official book for the boys' game. Famous Amos was the extra set of eyes for both contests. Thanks to all three guys!

FEB. 24
PUBLIC LEAGUE AAAA FINAL (BY DEFAULT)
Frankford 68, Bartram 63
  Bartram coach James “JB” Brown starred for Overbrook during the Pub’s up-and-down, swoosh-at-all-times era and his team plays in a bandbox gym, so he’s accustomed to fast-paced games. Frankford, with guards and more guards, also likes to scamper, so this game – played ONLY because both were dumped in overall Pub quarterfinals (Bartram by MC&S, Frankford by Constitution) – was mostly played at a quick pace. One problem: the guys could have worn blindfolds and maybe shot just as well. Frankford bricked its way to 21-for-69 from the floor (30.4 percent) and 20-for-37 (54.1) at the line. By contrast, Bartram was almost golden floorwise at 21-for-58 (36.2). Alas, it went 14-for-27 (51.9) at the line. The teams halved 12 treys. I can only imagine what numerous members of the staffs at La Salle and Roman were muttering to themselves as this semi-circus unfolded. Ah, what the heck. It was entertaining and all kinds of guys got a chance to improve their rebound averages. Take Frankford sr. WG Omar Askia, for instance, who of course is a lefty. Recently bothered by strep throat, he was a game-time decision (he made a hospital visit in the morning) and hustled for 13 rebounds. He also had 13 points en route to earning DN ink. In case he had leftover germs, I declined to shake his hand. Also kept my distance while interviewing him (ha ha). Askia hit his first two shots, both treys, but struggled later and tiredness, if not exhaustion, was likely a factor. He has been feeling the effects of illness since last weekend. Maybe midway through the fourth quarter, I happened to mention to football star Brandon Russell, who made the trip to E&S and perched himself at the end of Frankford’s bench, right near Big Steve and yours truly, that sr. PG Keith Washington was 4-for-21 from the floor. Brandon relayed the numbers to nearby bench guys. Well, during a timeout, or somehow, the word must have gotten to Washington. Over the last three minutes, he righted his shooting ship and scored 11 of his 21 points, going 2-for-2 from the floor (one trey) and 6-for-6 at the line. He damn near posted a triple-double thanks to 10 rebounds and eight assists (he also had four steals). With jr. WG Kevin Lawson still unavailable (school issue), jr. F Chris Lewis is receiving more playing time and today he responded with six points and 10 boards. Sr. PF-C Taylor Bessick battled through his commonplace bunny/foul problems while totaling eight points and seven boards. Soph PF Donald “Bumper Car” Robinson got some playing time and took a key, late-game charge. Bartram’s best was sr. CG Darrell Robinson, who often wound up directing the show today due to the absence of sr. PG Jarmal Brown (foot miseries). Robinson is one of those old-school tough-to-covers with decent feet, swivel hips and a rock-a-bye release. It’s fun watching him play. He went for 28 points and a whopping 17 rebounds along with four assists. Curiously, he had no touches near the very end. Sr. WG Barry Brockington had 15 points and 10 boards while another CG, sr. Rasheen Singletary, managed 17 points (with 15 after halftime). A brutal 3-second call killed Bartram’s chances with 17.5 remaining. Unless dude is sleepin’ on a cot in the lane, you can’t make that call at that juncture. Especially when such (supposed) eagle-eyeness has not been a theme throughout the 32 minutes. Oh, well. The coaches’ All-Public voting meeting was taking place elsewhere in the building. I can onnnnly imagine what kinds of comments were being made in there on all sorts of topics. For MANY reasons, this league is in SERIOUS trouble. Here’s hoping someone comes up with the necessary, oh, 642 fixes (slight exaggeration . . . maybe). It was great to see Matt Breen, a Temple student who this semester is serving the Inquirer as a sports intern. Matt covered Ryan sports for this website, as did his older brother, Paul. All the best, Matt!

FEB. 23
CATHOLIC LEAGUE SEMIFINAL
(At the Palestra)
Neumann-Goretti 47, Roman 46
  The first half was only a rumor, folks. Huck and Frog handled stats while Joe McFadden, Frog's best buddy (you can see him during Phillies games as the guy who opens the door when relievers come out of the bullpen), served as a third set of eyes and snapped the occasional pic. Thanks, guys! For the second half, after finishing the DN story on Carroll-La Salle, I was again able to actually look out onto the ‘Lestra floor and perform the usual duties (with continued help from that trio). When I asked Huck what noteworthy stuff had happened in the first half, he responded, “Well, after Roman led, 2-0, Neumann went on an 11-0 run . . . And later, Roman had a 9-2 run to make it 19-19.” So, there you go. That was easy, right? (smile) As for the second half, it was tight throughout and very enjoyable and there was an air of non-step tension because there was a very real possibility that N-G’s CL winning streak would end in game No. 53 (19, 19 again and now 15). The DN story, which featured shared ink for soph F John Davis and jr. F-C Derrick Stewart, explains the exciting final few seconds, with the appropriate quotes from each guy, is here . . .

  In this report we’ll focus on the earlier part of the quarter. The goofiest moment came with a shade over 5 minutes left when N-G soph G Hanif Sutton, known almost exclusively for defense, BANKED in a trey from the left WING. No way he meant to do that, but hey, it counted, and it tied the score at 37-37. Sr. C Fortunat “Junior” Kangudi put Roman ahead, 39-37, with a tight bucket on a pass from unflappable frosh G Rip Engel. Davis’ follow made it 39-39. Kangudi’s free throw made it 40-39. At 2:27, Roman soph G Britton Lee picked up his fourth foul and that was big because he’d been doing an EXCELLENT job on N-G sr. PG Lamin Fulton (St. Peter’s). Fulton’s one-and-one put N-G back in front, 41-40. Roman soph G Shep Garner then became an important factor. First he nailed a trey on a pass from jr. PG Montana Mayfield and then he made a leaping steal near midcourt, passing ahead to Lee for a layup try. Lee was absolutely pummeled at 46.9 by frosh G Ja’Quan Newton and the Roman folks were screeching for an intentional/flagrant foul. Didn’t happen (and I’m not sure it should have; definitely borderline, though). Lee hit the first shot to make it 44-41. At the other end, Kangudi picked up HIS fourth foul on a rebound bump of Stewart and Derrick, who’d been experiencing game-long struggles, honestly, manned up to hit both free throws and draw the Saints within 44-43. Mayfield hit two free throws to make it 46-43. Stewart then missed a straight-on trey and the rebound went to jr. G Billy Shank, enabling Fulton to follow with a flip shot to once again make it a one-point game. OK, the rest is covered in the DN story . . . Well, we will get into stats leaders here, also. Fulton shot just 4-for-13, but did hit two biggies to finish with 14 points. That’s what the franchise guy is supposed to do, right? Davis had 11 points and as many boards. Though he shot just 1-for-8 (four points), Stewart had a nice mix with nine rebounds, three assists, two steals and three blocks. Newton grabbed six boards. Kangudi had 10 points and 16 rebounds. Mayfield mixed six assists with his 13 points. Garner and Lee halved six steals. There will be an interesting tidbit for Monday’s title game. While winning six titles in the previous 10 seasons, the Saints (nee Pirates) always wore road uniforms. As the top seed, the Saints will have to wear white on Monday. Hmmmmm. Is it possible, those uniforms are being, ahem, “misplaced” as we speak??? (smile)

FEB. 23
CATHOLIC LEAGUE SEMIFINAL
(At the Palestra)
Carroll 58, La Salle 45
  Great minds think alike. Well, a great mind (Huck’s) and a medium mind (mine). Though these exact words were not tumbling around in the kinda-fried brain, I was definitely wondering why La Salle was looking so methodical on offense when The Huckster blurted out, “La Salle’s playing not to lose. Not to win.” He added, “They beat them AT Carroll in the regular season. Why does it seem like they think they’re the underdog?” Perhaps it was the ol’ theory: It’s hard to beat a good team twice (and especially when the first one was extremely close, at 63-61.) Whatever was going on here, the end result wasn’t good and Carroll closed the game with a 22-12 run. In the opening seconds, sr. WG Mike Poncia played great help defense on Carroll’s star sr. WG, Juan’ya Green, thus getting a steal, and I couldn’t help but smile. Coach Joe Dempsey had spent a decent chunk of Monday’s practice working on EXACTLY that. And Green wound up being quiet for a long stretch in this one. He didn’t take his first shot – a semi-rushed trey that did not connect – until 5:45 remained in the SECOND quarter and he failed to score until 2:01 later, when he sank two free throws after getting thumped on a hard drive. Overall, soph WG Amar Stukes and sr. sub G Kevin Piotrowicz did an excellent job on him. Yes, he scored 16 points, but he needed a 12-for-12 outing at the line to reach that number. Nonetheless, Green is now the leading career scorer in Carroll history with 1,438 points, and what a great accomplishment THAT is. Guard Martin Ingelsby, who was coached by his dad, Tom, a former O’Hara/Villanova star and NBAer, finished with 1,425 in a wonderful career that ended in ’97. Martin went on to star at Notre Dame and now works for the Irish as an assistant coach. (Meanwhile, one of tonight’s observers was Kyle Locke, who shares the CL postseason points record with Green, at 39. Kyle was in town as part of his duties as a women’s assistant at the University of Washington and post-game introductions were made. Click here for a photo set.) DN ink went to soph PG Yosef Yacob, who showed major brass while shooting 6-for-9 and 5-for-5 for 18 points (Carroll was 21-for-23 at line). He had a trey and a trio of three-point plays and when you’re as, um, slender as he is, it takes brass to go hole-bound against the Explorers, who have two strong guys in sr. C Brennan Woods and sr. F Joe Brown (and even backup sr. C Steve Collins can be intimidating, at 6-8). Also, Yacob did a nice defensive job on sr. PG Eddie Mitchell, who didn’t get a decent number of his 22 points until semi-garbage time and was only 8-for-18 from the floor. Yacob’s three-point play, off a steal at the other end, put Carroll ahead for good at 29-26 with 3:22 left in the third quarter. Later, there was a seven-point burst to get the score to 43-33 with 3:10 left in the game. Sr. WG Jay Donovan began it with a wing jumper (feed from Green; he had four assists), sr. PF-C Tracy “Did You Recognize Me Without the Braids" Peal bullied for an inside bucket, and jr. WG Alec Stavetski (fine defensive work on Stukes – four points) converted a feed from Peal out of a spread offense. Peal had eight points, 11 boards and four dishes. Jr. F Shane Randall came off the bench to grab a next-best five boards. The game’s most amazing stat: La Salle committed just three turnovers. As much as anything, though, that number probably reflects the cautious approach. Brown finished with 10 points and six rebounds. The best post-game moment: Getting to meet, fiiiiiiinally (smile), website whiz Danny Spinelli, the La Salle High frosh who has turned heads all school year with his great reports. Danny came down to press row with his dad. Very cool!

FEB. 19
PA. INDY SCHOOLS FINAL
Friends' Central 65, Malvern 37
  Here's hoping the last memory for this wonderful group of Friars is not the lastING memory. During his long post-game talk in the locker room, I'm strongly guessing that coach Jim Rullo made that point to his ballclub. Less than 24 hours after the Friars stunned the Academy of the New Church, 28-26, in OT, on jr. PG Steve Perpiglia's all-in-one-motion, leaping-push-shot layup of a follow, they ran into this efficient buzz-saw. FC has an excellent big-guy prospect in jr. Amile Jefferson (his dad, Malcolm Musgrove, starred at West Philly High), plus a bunch of quick guards who, today at least, were effective on jumpers (even treys) and drives. The Friars fell into a 16-7 hole after one and, even worse, they lost star jr. WG Brendan Kilpatrick to a suspected broken right ankle just a few seconds before the buzzer. Brendan took a trey from the right corner and came down awkwardly. To his major credit, he sat right behind Malvern's bench throughout the second half (once he'd been examined), and provided non-stop clapping/vocal encouragement. No sense getting into play by play. Kilpatrick finished 0-for-3 with two rebounds. Sr. WG Sean Gordon managed 14 points, eight rebounds and two assists. Perpiglia hit two treys en route to nine points. Sr. C Kevin Rafferty recorded four blocks. Jr. F Tom Pitt got himself into some good spots, but endured one of THOSE days when it came to finishing. Standing out in bold relief to illustrate the Friars' rough outing: Thrice in the second half they were called for illegal picks. At least a pair of deep subs enjoyed themselves in the late going. Soph G Mike Louden converted a layup off a pass from classmate G Joe Carlini and then Carlini made a steal at halfcourt and zoomed in for his own layup. As everyone knows, this was not exactly a vintage campaign for the Inter-Ac. In fact, it was the weakest in a long time. The five schools aside from Malvern finished 59-70 overall. But the Friars went 24-7 and, as everyone also knows by now, they marched to their first outright Inter-Ac title since 1981 (their last shared was in '95) despite losing three headliners to transfer since the end of the 2009-10 season. Congrats to coach Rullo and his assistants and to every player, support person, fan, etc. This was a fun group to watch, playingwise, and it was also enjoyable to notice/appreciate the players' chemistry. Several legends on hand: former Father Judge/Penn State football star Mike McCloskey, who advanced to the NFL (his daughters play for Germantown Academy, which crunched Shipley in the first game); former Carroll/Villanova basketball star Joe Rogers (his son, Joe, is a Malvern assistant); and ex-Edison coach Howard Ratinoff, whose wife, Loren, teaches at FC. She was also on hand and qualifies as a legendette! (smile). The Ratinoffs have always come off as a couple that enjoys a great friendship/relationship, and that shines through any time I see them. Congrats!

FEB. 18
CATHOLIC LEAGUE QUARTERFINAL
Roman 63, Judge 57
  Well, it didn’t take long for Roman to make its statement: This one WON’T be like the last one. Exactly one week ago, these teams met at Philly University and the Cahillites were upended. Somehow, the Crusaders then were waffled, at home, by O’Hara and the Roman guys no doubt saw that as a great opportunity. If O’Hara can go in there and win, we surely can. So what happened? Roman scored 12 of the first 14 points as jr. PG Montana Mayfield led the way with six of ‘em (en route to 12). Oh, my goodness. Is this one going to be a blowout? Will Roman tune up the Crusaders even worse than O’Hara had done? Of course not. Judge regrouped and this one wound up featuring strong punches and counter-punches all the way through. DN ink went to soph SF-WG Shafeek Taylor, who has the head of a PG mostly because his dad, Marshall, starred as one for Southern’s 1986 Pub champs. Marshall is now an assistant at Philly Electric, the winner in the afternoon Pub quarterfinal I attended. Guess what? Shafeek didn’t know that until I told him. He’d turned off his cell phone, to avoid distractions, and had not attended the game even though it had taken place just two blocks from Roman at Franklin. Instead, he’d tried to add shooting polish in Roman’s gym prior to the trip to Mayfair. Anyway, the 6-4 Shafeek finished with 11 points, 10 rebounds and four assists, and he had an important sequence at the end of the third quarter, helping Roman break away from a 39-39 tie to 44-39. First he launched a perfect entry pass over the head of sr. backup C Zach Hirst to sr. C Fortunat “Junior” Kangudi, who dropped in a layup. Then, with just two-tenths of a second remaining, he drew a foul on a straight-on trey and then proceeded to hit all three shots. Later, Taylor assisted soph G Shep Garner for a trey that staked Roman to a 49-41 bulge with 5:41 left. Judge would not go quietly, folks. Not at ALL. Especially not soph WG Steven Griffin, who scored 14 of his 27 points in the final quarter. But with 1:19, it was a right-corner trey by sr. WG Nick Sullivan, on a pass from sr. PG Reggie Charles, that created a 53-53 tie and whipped Judge’s fans into an absolute frenzy. THE sequence of the game followed, and again Taylor was prominent. It began as Garner embarked on a hard drive down the right side of the lane. While absorbing contact that caused an awkward (even scary) tumble, he converted a layup to make it 55-53 at 48.1. Though he missed the free throw, there was Taylor to can the follow and, in effect, complete a four-point play. Gi-GAN-tic. The highlight thereafter was a 4-for-4 performance at the line by frosh G Rip Engel, and every shot was a perfect swish. Pretty amazing, especially when you consider that he was shooting at the basket closest to Judge’s nutty, balcony-based student group. (Those guys several times directed U-S-A!! chants at Kangudi, who hails from Montreal. They even added, at one point, “Stick to hockey! Stick to hockey!” Somehow, I’m guessing Kangudi never pictured himself as the next Wayne Gretzky – smile). Kangudi had nine points and 12 boards. Soph G Britton Lee hit all four of his shots for nine points. Griffin, who looks like of those old-school Pub scorers, shot 10-for-18 (one trey) and 6-for-8 for his 27 points. He just kept coming and coming with an impressive mixture of longs to layups. Charles added 13 points, 10 rebounds and five apiece of assists/steals and here’s hoping that some college coaches have seen him in multiple outings, as he’s the type who really does grow on you (great savvy!). Six-eight(nine?) sr. C Seamus Radtke had a very strange outing: he posted as many treys as rebounds (two). So did Sullivan, actually. He missed both of his regulars, but nailed all three of his treys. Roman will advance to the state playoffs. If Judge had beaten O’Hara, Roman would have needed not only this win but another over Neumann-Goretti in Wednesday’s Palestra semi due to the CL’s complicated point system to determine such matters. (A regular season win over a AAAA foe is worth more points than a quarterfinal win over anybody.) One last tidbit: the coach of Judge’s cheerleaders is Lisa McNesby. Her husband? Roman coach Chris McNesby. "I'm not sure which side she was partial to," Chris cracked. We’re guessing wedding vows are thicker than perfume (smile).

FEB. 18
PUBLIC LEAGUE QUARTERFINAL
Phila. Elec. 59, Vaux 57 (OT)
  The guy could not help himself, and there was just no talking to him. The muscular PET fan was told to sit down and/or move away from the court at least 25 times, starting on the south side of Franklin's gym and then continuing on the east side. Again and again and again. Didn't phase him in the least. He pretty much did what he wanted to do. And then, as sr. PG Devante Chance prepared to inbound the ball late in OT, Mr. Fidgety walked right up to Chance and said, over the din of the noisy spectators, "YOU take the last shot!" So, Devante inbounded to sr. WG Carrington Ward and the ball wound up beyond the arc toward the north side of the gym (in front of PE's bench). Ward then passed to Chance on the left wing and Devante elevated into a three-point shot. Swish! Perfect swish! That clutch launching made it 59-57 with 0:08 left and stood up as the game-winner after Vaux jr. WG Shawn Williams was unable to hit a trey from the right corner. (Vaux had no threes all afternoon.) Chance was not a one-shot wonder. He also forced OT, hitting a contested, 12-foot leanback from the right side of the lane. Earlier in the game, Devante's dad, Warren, a very good player at Furness, had come over to me. He'd said, in very agitated fashion, "Tell me why he does not have a D-1 offer!!" (He wasn't agitated at me . . . hopefully. I've always written solid comments about Devante. In our annual prospects report, I said he's the kind of player who will cut your heart out, then stomp on it. I'd call that very positive -- smile.) When this game started, the atmosphere wasn't too hot for a playoff. The crowd wasn't anything special and the noise level was average, at best. But more and more people strolled in and the excitement level increased and by the stretch we had an old-time Pubber, baby! Vaux, coached by ex-Frankford star Jamie Ross, committed just three turnovers through a 24-20 first half. Meanwhile, Chance and Ward owned just three points apiece. Vaux turned it over three times in the first two minutes of the third quarter and Chance, especially, started imposing his VERY strong will on the contest and everyone in attendance began to have the same feeling . . . Herrrrre we goooooo!!!!. As PET took a 40-34 lead, Chance posted four field goals and assisted on three others. He began with a trey and added his patented aggressive drives. From halftime forward, the Chargers shot 17-for-24. Chance missed just one shot during that span en route to finalizing his totals at 7-for-11 (three treys). Ward, who's more of a kill-you-softly guy, added nine points to reach 12 total. Chance also collected seven assists and three steals. Jr. PF David George added 13 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks. Soph C Jai Williams had little impact, honestly (six points, just two rebounds). Vaux' headliner was soph G Rysheed Jordan, a special talent with a wide wingspan and a decent amount of strength. He went for 18 points, three assists and four steals and I liked how he showed take-it-over traits in key moments. Williams had 11 points and five assists while sr. PG Jaleel Williams (no relation) had nine points and three steals. Sr. WG Ronnie Gambrell, a lefty, was Vaux's only true jumpshooter, but he mostly settled for mid-rangers while scoring eight points. Sr. PF-C James Butler was impressive with nine points and 13 boards. He's a strong guy and no doubt intimidated some of the younger Chargers, despite his height disadvantage. Well done. Late in the game, a PET fan sitting behind me blurted out, at high volume, "Play zone! They ain't hit a three all game!" Good point. Teams usually rebound better out of zones and such an alignment would have made things rougher for the hard-charging Jordan. As this tilt went into OT, and Mr. Fidgety (and others) kept causing short delays, my mind was racing. What if this keeps dragging on? What if 95 is a mess? What if I don't get to Judge in time (for the game with Roman)? As soon as this one ended, zoom, outta there! Thanks to zips up/across all kinds of side streets, I made it to Judge in plenty of time and that one was excellent, too. Meanwhile, thanks to Vaux manager Tony Jenkins for his help with stat-keeping (and to Jamie Ross for suggesting him).

FEB. 16
CATHOLIC LEAGUE PLAYOFF
FIRST ROUND
Wood 53, Ryan 48
  This was one of those bass-ackward occasions. It was one of those times when someone did something so well, it almost wound up hurting more than helping. Well, it did hurt, a lot, but not enough to cost the Vikings the victory. Frosh G Tommy Rush, in relief of jr. G Kyle Adkins, was doing such a tremendous defensive job on Ryan’s franchise, sr. G Eric Fleming, coach Bernie Rogers needed to explore other options. The answer turned out to be jr. F Christian Rivera, who came out of halftime with just two points on two shots but then, again and again, burned slower defenders on drives that almost always started behind or close to the arc. Rivera poured in 18 points in the second half on seven field goals and four free throws; two of those capped three-point plays. The Frisky One would not be denied. Something very strange occurred at halftime as the Raiders warmed up. All eight rotation members fanned out behind the arc and shot nothing but threes while accepting feeds from the deep-sub rebounders. Maybe the Raiders have done that before. If so, I never noticed it. But it definitely happened tonight and one couldn’t help but think that Rogers was going to order his ballclub to bomb away and bomb away some more. Maybe it was a decoy? (smile) The Raiders did take threes, of course, but Rivera was not among those dial-it-up launchers. Rivera was at his best during a 22-9 run that enabled Ryan to turn a 35-23 deficit into a 45-44 lead with roughly 2:30 remaining. After making a quick-flick steal at halfcourt, Christian dashed downcourt and took a feed from jr. G Kyle Slawter (five assists) for the go-ahead layup. Wood’s own franchise, sr. PG Joe Getz, missed a trey and jr. F Nick Aughenbaugh rebounded for Ryan. Would the Raiders git ‘er done? They’d try the Rivera route again. But on the left wing, Adkins came from behind to notch a steal and then he steamed downcourt for a layup at 1:17 and that bucket put the Vikes ahead for good, at 46-45. Fleming missed a tight shot and frosh C Joe LoStracco rebounded. Soph F Shane “In Your Hair, Second Generation” Neher hit two free throws at 1:00. Rivera’s miracle run did not continue, primarily because Getz, a true quickster, began to cover him, and the Vikings rode things out. The clinchers were two free throws by Adkins at 1.7. (Next game: quarterfinal Friday, 7 o’clock, at La Salle.) Adkins incurred his second foul with 4:27 left in the first quarter and Rush defended Fleming the rest of the way. Hey, sometimes the “hot hand” can be a defensive one. In an amazing accomplishment, he saw to it that Fleming did not even attempt a shot in the second quarter. I especially liked that Rush did not act like a jerk. I never saw him bad-mouthing Fleming, even under his breath, and Tommy said the only words he uttered to Eric were “Good shot” after a couple of made baskets. Fleming scored 10 of his 17 points on Rush’s watch. There was a trey at the very end from WAY out and a three-point play after a steal, and his only other bucket during that time frame was a post-up flip shot from the left side of the lane; he finished with 957 for his career. Rush said he wasn’t even sure he’d get the go-defend-him call after Adkins picked up his second foul. Pretty amazing. Getz scored 19 points with great help from a 10-point burst (two treys included) in the second quarter. Otherwise, sr. G Mike Rymal and soph G Tyler Reed did an excellent job on him, too. Neher shot 5-for-6 and 4-for-5 for 14 points while adding seven rebounds. LoStracco managed nine and six. Rush had two steals in addition to six points. Rymal hit two treys for six points. Aughenbaugh hit his first shot, a trey, but never found twine again in a rare off night. Thumbs down to Wood’s student section. Yo, guys (and gals), wake up!! Can you spare the energy? (smile). You didn’t come out with an organized cheer/chant until 2 minutes remained and even then it was only the oh-so-clever “Let’s go Wood!” Scheeeeez. A much better performance will be expected/needed Friday night at La Salle. You KNOW those guys will be rockin’ the house. Things have been every shaky lately on the refereeing trail, but tonight’s crew was excellent. Congrats to Kevin McKinley, George Geiss and Joe Brogan. Also, tonight featured a Greenberg festival. Definitely saw Jerry and Tucker and John and maybe Jim, too? The fourth one offered a quick hello on his way out the door. Only saw him from the side. A standing-room crowd was on hand. Thanks to Wood’s AD (and former coach) Joe Sette for allowing lensman Steve Falk and I to hang around and do our writing/photo work in a room that used to be the cafeteria. I left about 10 o’clock and listened to the Sixers-Rockets game on the way home. That usually wouldn’t happen, but ex-Dougherty star Kyle Lowry plays for the Rockets and when I first heard his name, the announcer said he had 21 or 23; somewhere in there. Well, he finished with a career-high 36 and six treys were mixed in! Very cool!!!

FEB. 15
PA. INDY SCHOOLS TOURNEY
FIRST ROUND
Academy of the New Church 38, Penn Charter 22
  Not too many sports writers, in world history, if any, can make this claim – one day after seeing a player score 15 points in 2:29, I saw a team go an entire quarter without attempting a field goal. Crazy, right? That’s what makes this job legendary!! Ha, ha. Penn Charter, small even WITH him, has been going without soph manchild Mike McGlinchey (ankle miseries) for a while now and ANC is bigger than some (many?) college teams. So in what turned out to be his final game, stepping-away coach Jim “Flipper” Phillips started five guys 6-foot and under and even sent 5-5, 125-pound frosh Demetrius “Meech” Isaac to the center circle for the opening jump ball. The Quakers then passed and dribbled and nothing elsed for those entire eight minutes. Meanwhile, the Lions began in man, then switched to zone, then changed back to man and committed enough fouls to send jr. G John Moderski to the line for a one-and-one with 7.9 seconds remaining. He missed and the stanza ended 4-0. Sr. WG Mike Brown was hacked at 7:02 and his front end made it 4-1. At 6:01, Moderski took a pass from sr. sub G Kineet Krishnan and buried a trey from the left wing (toward the top of the key), moving PC within 8-4. Soon, frosh G Sean O’Brien was converting a double-bonus and the score was knotted at 8-8. Would we witness one of the all-time upsets?! Nah, but the Quakers did provide at least a hint of a scare and they definitely caused all kinds of frustration. Ultimately, ANC won because it played better defense in the second half and, especially, kept the fouls from mounting up. Plus, PC did not shoot a decent percentage. PC started Isaac, Moderski, O’Brien, Brown and jr. G Demetrius “Meat” Jennings. Isaac and Jennings combined to take zero shots. Totals for the others: Moderski, 4-for-8 (two treys), 3-for-5, 13 points; O’Brien, 1-for-5, 3-for-4, 5 points; Brown, 1-for-5, 1-for-2, 3 points. No one else attempted a field goal and Krishnan just had the two FT launchings. Brown consumed three rebounds (smile) while O’Brien dealt two assists. Isaac, O’Brien and sub F John Loughery thirded six steals. In the second half, Phillips yelled out some detailed instructions to the Quakers and when he finally finished, an older ANC spectator bellowed, “If all else fails, punt!” If PC had won, of course, the ink would have been flowing in that direction. Plan B all along was a look at ANC sr. C Rakeem Christmas (Syracuse), who formerly played for North Catholic and has been selected for the McDonald’s All American Game (March 30 in Chicago). With all of the lineup shuffling, this was a day to forget for the big guy. He settled for four points, three rebounds, one block, one assist (same sequence) and two steals. His first FG was a follow dunk that should not have counted. The ball was so in the cylinder, it likely would have gone in anyway. Best of luck to Flipper as he moves forward. His ’03 title team will be remembered for starting two future NBA players, Sean Singletary and Rob Kurz, and another guy, Matt Ryan, who is already one of the NFL’s top quarterbacks (plus he’s a first cousin to Loughery/McGlinchey). Three John Lougherys were in the house – PC’s player, his dad and another JL who’s the uncle of former SJ Prep/ANC star Larry Loughery (no relation). Also, dad Larry, a former All-Catholic FB player at McDevitt, was on hand. Great to see everyone.

FEB. 14
PUBLIC LEAGUE PLAYOFF
ROUND OF 16/CLASS AAAA SEMI
Frankford 92, Washington 90
  It was one of the greatest individual outbursts in basketball history, even though only 87 percent of it was legit. Have I piqued your curiosity? Good. That was the intent. We’ll get to the basics momentarily, but first here comes the wacky occurrence. With 2:29 left in the third quarter, Washington sr. WG Kawaun Chavis, one of 57 former Roman players (slight exaggeration) sprinkled around various schools, was fouled on a tight-in shot. The ball did not go into the basket. Repeat: did NOT. After a timeout, one of the referees signaled that Chavis would be shooting one free throw and, oh yeah, the basket was good. Huh?!?!?! Frankford’s coaches immediately went nuts and the ref checked with his partners. They were clueless. (If not, they would have told him the ball had NOT gone in.) The field goal stood. Chavis added the free throw for a phantom three-point play and over the rest of the session, he scored every one of Washington’s 12 points. A trey. Two free throws. Another trey. ANOTHER trey. The Washington fans were going absolutely NUTS! And as the clock melted away toward 0:00, Chavis semi-jumped into a defender in an attempt to draw a foul, while taking a shot, and did so. He then hit the second of the free throws and Washington owned a 58-55 lead. Fifteen points (well, 13 actually) by one guy in 2:29!!!Sometimes you’ll see that near the end of a game if the same player keeps drawing fouls and drains his free throws, but how often do you see it in an earlier portion of a game? Incredible! (Ben Dubin, Frankford’s former coach and now the PL hoops chairman, said he declined to intercede, and that he wasn’t sure if the rules would have allowed it anyway. He was sitting up and behind where I was perched (with emergency statman Dave Durkin, son of Swenson boss Pat Durkin). When I happened to look up there, I noticed Ben rolling his eyes, big time.) For Chavis, it was sad that the all-time performance did not come in a win. Why didn’t it? Overall, the Eagles had too may helter-skelter moments while the Pioneers, mostly, maintained their poise. For a while this game had the Frankford’ll-get-overtaken-at-the-end look. But to their everlasting credit, the Pioneers kept making clutch plays to prevent Washington from delivering a knockout blow. Those ringleaders were sr. PG Keith Washington and sr. WG Kevin Lawson. Like two other starters, sr. WG Omar Askia and jr. WG Imire Taylor, as well as sub PF-C Dajuan “Ballpark” Franks, Keith & Kevin are lefties. With 3:22 left in the first quarter, Washington hurt his right ankle and put on one of the all-time, my-life-is-over displays (smile). He was acting as if he’d been crushed by 42 boulders and then he was carried to the bench. Presto! Almost immediately, he tried to check back in. He was yanked back from the table and the wonderful Lydia, Washington’s trainer, taped up his ankle, but good. By the end of the game, Washington was displaying a pronounced limp but that didn’t prevent him from imposing his will. Washington had 23 points and nine assists and 15 of his markers (three treys) came in a 37-32 fourth quarter. Lawson hustled for 24 points, three assists and two steals and even claimed a game-high 13 rebounds. He had 10 points in the fourth. Askia (16) and Taylor (14) also scored in double figures and jr. F Chris Lewis had important contributions (nine rebounds, three blocks) on a day when sr. F-C Taylor Bessick never got into a flow. After missing eight of his first nine shots, Chavis rallied to finish with 26 points. Nafeece Edwards, a nimble soph WG, had 21 points. The Eagles’ 2010-11 headliner, sr. WG Keith Richardson, is a very unusual player. He’s chunky, only gets a couple inches off the floor on his jumper and basically launches from his chest. I’m not sure what recruiters think of him because he offers a highly uncommon package. He does have serious range, though. He finished with 12 points, seven rebounds, three assists and five steals. Jr. PG Courtland “Redz” Gilliam had seven points and three apiece of assists/steals; Dobbins missed his brass/passion greatly this season. Soph WG-SF Kendall Truitt, formerly of West Catholic and said to be an excellent QB prospect, had eight points and five boards. Sr. G Darnell Green (13) nailed two treys while dishing four assists. Sr. SF Tony Smith, the QB, hit one. Congrats to Washington’s student body for the great turnout and juice. Methinks a lot of them were football players. Frankford’s rooting section numbered about 20-25 people and I swear one of them was the pre-diet Jennifer Hudson. Gal was foxy, man! (smile) I’ll post this for now and do some checking on the last time a Pub playoff produced 182 total points (or close to it) . . . In a 2008 first round game, Mansion beat Hope, 113-87. In a '92 round-of-16 tilt, U. City topped Northeast, 93-87. A year earlier, in a quarterfinal, Southern bested Dobbins, 89-86. Meanwhile, a '90 round-of-16er finished with this exact same score as Mastbaum edegd Southern, 92-90, in OT. Mastbaum's star that day was Uhuru "Joby" Hamiter, who would go on to play in the NFL and even serve a stint with the Eagles. He had 21 points, 12 boards, six assists and four steals.

FEB. 13
CATHOLIC LEAGUE
Bonner 62, Ryan 58
  Let’s talk treys for a moment. Where is it written that three-pointers must be launched AT the arc? If a guy has good lift and release (along with confidence), what’s the difference? In fact, I’m a strong believer that deep treys often make more sense than regulars because, No. 1, defenders usually don’t stray too far beyond the arc and, No. 2, setting up that far out can create openings in the assorted seams if someone DOES run/trot out. Those thoughts came to mind again and again today while watching Bonner jr. G Billy Cassidy. “Cass” didn’t enter the game until 2:08 remained in the first quarter because coach Tom Meakim, in a nice gesture, decided to start three bench seniors (Joe "Bonnies" Phelan, Brandon Watts and Nick Ransone) along with two regular upperclass starters, F-C Scott Slade and G Anthony Jackson. Cassidy missed his first trey and then . . . and then . . . hey, he never missed another. He hit SEVEN in a row en route to 22 points and the scalding-hot streak featured a mixture from regular distance and mad-bombing locales. After one before intermission, he nailed three apiece in the third/fourth quarters and, man, did he put on a show. Cassidy could have gotten the ink, of course, but you know how we roll: When possible, and when there’s justification, we try to go with seniors. Bonner and Ryan were 0-for-Ted this season, so neither team had gotten a story. Since Slade is at least a D-2 prospect, and boasts an interesting story line (his dad and three uncles were prominent Philly athletes; plus his brother, jr. F-C Craig “Poppy” Slade, starts alongside him), and especially because he played well down the stretch, the story was his. Scott had eight of his 15 points and five of his seven rebounds in the fourth quarter and one his buckets was an alley-oop dunk off a feed from Poppy (Facebook time! – ha ha). Also, he had his nose bloodied on one play and Poppy had his voice turned high-pitched forever on another (smile). Ouch!!!! Also in the fourth, Scott fed Poppy for a three-point play so the bros exhibited good chemistry. Jr. F Josh Hoho shot 4-for-4 from the floor in the second half en route to 11 total points while Jackson, like SS and Cassidy, dished three assists. Ransone contributed four boards and two blocks. Ryan sr. G-F Eric Fleming popped his way to 26 points and at halftime he owned 17 of the Raiders’ 26, thanks to a whopping five treys. Overall, he finished 9-for-24 from the floor and 6-for-14 on treys. This kid carries such an incredible load for a squad with no true point guard and no hint of size. He also had seven rebounds, but made just two of his 10 attempts in the fourth quarter while no doubt battling fatigue. Over those eight minutes, at least three different guys were spotted defending him – Hoho, jr. G Shawn McCafferty and Jackson. All but two of Ryan’s other points were scored by jr. F Nick Aughenbaugh (16, five rebounds) and jr. F Christian Rivera (14, four, plus four assists). Jr. G Kyle Slawter had the other two points along with three assists. Rivera went 7-for-9 and impressively curled in an off-side layup after a hard drive. The win enabled Bonner to knot West in the final standings at 5-8, but West will get the home game in the 8-9 prelim because of its regular season win over the Friars. Ryan has to tangle with C-E tomorrow night at La Salle High to determine the 10th spot. Yes, the 10th spot. No offense, but does anyone else find that to be ridiculous? TEN of 14 teams in the playoffs? (Eleven actually, now.) Not even the Pub is that nuts. At halftime, a bunch of Prendie gals came out to do a routine. When it finished, I asked Bonner JV player Pat Vanderslice, sitting nearby, “How many of those are you dating? Two, or is it three?” His quick comeback: “Four.” Ha, ha, ha, ha. Good stuff! Overheard in the stands: One Bonner kid asked another: “Where is Ryan? North Philly?” Um, not quite. Two surprising results today -- O’Hara dominated Judge AT Judge and Carroll did likewise to Prep AT Prep.

FEB. 11
CATHOLIC LEAGUE
Judge 49, Roman 48
  The Wife is on a roll!! Any time she’s home when I’m heading out to a game, I’ll say, “OK, Pie, what’s your pick?” And then I’ll name the two schools and she’ll usually say, “No clue, but I’ll go with . . ." Then she’ll name one. (Pie is her nickname, due to her round, yet beautiful, face – smile.) Tonight, I don’t even know why I bothered to ask. Any time Roman is one of the schools, she goes with it because her mom grew up in Fairmount and attended Hallahan and she just feels the need to be loyal. But tonight she said Judge! Lord only knows why. I was too shocked to ask while heading out the door. With three minutes left in the third quarter, her selection was lookin’ rather pitiful. Judge trailed, 36-24. Ah, but then the Crusaders started to rally and they captured this extremely important win even though sr. PG Reggie Charles left open the devastating-loss door by missing the front end of a one-and-one with 9.4 seconds remaining. (Judge had been 11-for-11 at the line beforehand.) The last shot was a semi-lengthy trey by jr. PG Montana Mayfield. There’d been a bobble shortly beforehand, but my line of vision from the stands right behind the basket (game played at Philly U.) was blocked, so I can’t say I’m positive why/how it happened. All kinds of twists/turns are possible, of course, but this tilt might have decided a state playoff tilt in Class AAAA. Say what? Well, it’s likely Judge and Roman will finish fourth and fifth respectively and then meet in an overall CL quarterfinal. Even if Roman were to win, it would find itself BEHIND Judge in strength points because this triumph was worth 18 and a quarterfinal win would only be worth 15. Roman would then have to win a semi (likely opponent: Neumann-Goretti) to accumulate more points than Judge owns now. When it comes to head-scratching decisions, the Cath is more like the Pub every year, folks. Maybe in some future NCAA tourney, North Carolina will happen to beat Duke in let’s say a regional final. But Duke will advance because it bested NC twice in the regular season . . . riiiiiiight. Roman’s ex-AD, Dave Falcione, was instrumental in jamming this goofy rule through a couple years ago to protect teams that suffered playoff upsets. Oh, poor babies! Now it could wind up biting the Cahillites’ butt. Like I said, plot twists are still very possible, but that’s a likely scenario. So, how’d this happen? Judge received strong contributions from two guys who were almost non-existent in the first half. Charles and sr. C Seamus Radtke totaled NO points. As in none. Each went 0-for-3 and Radtke also suffered the indignity of getting roughed up by Roman’s sr. C, Fortunat “Junior” Kangudi. Junior scored nine of Roman’s first 11 points and Seamus picked up his second foul with just under a minute left in the first quarter. He watched the whole second stanza. In the second half, the situation was reversed. Radtke shot 4-for-5 and 3-for-3 for 11 points and held Kangudi to two. Charles, despite a tender right thumb (a freshman hit it with an airball before Thursday’s practice; major part of DN story), notched two treys and another field goal for eight points and was his ever-impressive self when it came to controlling the offense and making smart decisions. OK, so Reggie’s not the most explosive guy ever. But there’s much to be said for his old-school approach when it comes to pacing his dribble and using his body to shield defenders, etc. Sr. WG Joe Kehoe, who looked very un-Kehoelike early on his often reliable long-distance launchings, began the fourth quarter by rattling in a left-corner trey. The rims at Philly U. are VERY rigid. NO give at all. But somehow this one found its way through the net. Later, he swished one from the same locale to bring Judge within 42-40. The tie came at 4:23 as Radtke, beginning in the high post, converted an impressive drive. Judge sr. WG Nick Sullivan (free throws) and Roman soph WG Britton Lee (jumper) traded two points and Radtke put Judge ahead for good, at 47-44, on a left-side drive for a three-point play at 1:58. Here’s the rest of the play by play: Roman responded at 1:36 on soph F Shafeek Taylor's short bank shot and Charles was called for traveling at 44.9. Radtke then intercepted an entry pass toward the top of the lane and converted a one-and-one at 26.4. As Roman passed the ball around the perimeter, coach Chris McNesby twice yelled, "To the rim! . . . To the rim!" Finally, Mayfield did go hard and was hacked at 11.8. He hit both shots, edging the Cahillites within one. Then came Charles’ missed free throw and Mayfield’s unsuccessful trey. Charles added four assists, two steals and a team-high five boards. Soph WG Steven Griffin, who hit his head rather hard on the front of the stands next to where Amauro and I were perched (late first half), had three assists, two steals. Sr. backup C Zach Hirst did a good job to keep Kangudi from going berserk while Radtke was on the bench. For Roman, jr. SF Raquan Brown-Johnson shot 5-for-6 for 10 points and snatched six rebounds. Brown-Johnson and Taylor hit short bank shots in old-school fashion. Their dads were stars – Terry Johnson at FLC and Marshall Taylor at Southern. Wonder if they taught them that lost art? Tonight’s legend in attendance was Ernest Pollard, who starred at Roman (’86) and Temple. He’s now a Philly policeman and runs a PAL center. Great! Another highlight was a phone conversation with ex-Overbrook(’92)/Drexel star Malik Rose, who enjoyed a long and productive NBA career. He and Ernest are cut from the same salt-of-the-earth cloth! Frog attended tonight’s Sixers game and wound up speaking with Malik, who’s doing TV color commentary for the Spurs. Frog mentioned his stat-man duties with the Daily News and, all of a sudden, he was ringing my cell phone so I could talk with Malik. Niiiiiice! Thanks, guys!     

FEB. 10
PUBLIC LEAGUE PLAYOFF
FIRST ROUND/AAA QUARTERFINAL
Dobbins 77, West Phila. 70 (OT)
  This was for Hank and Bo and Pappy. And for Gene and Eggy and City Lights. Even for Yank and Joey G. Oldheads will understand the references. Young boahs can do some digging (smile). This game represented what the Pub used to be before ridiculous expansion left it a shell of its former self. Dobbins’ gym, bar none, is the coolest in the city and when a decent crowd is on hand, like today, the roaring can literally give you goose bumps. It did that to me today. Probably to everyone on hand. West was on the positive side of the greatest comeback in city playoff history. In a 1997 round-of-16 game, on the road, the Speedboys topped Franklin, 78-76, on the strength of a 36-16 advantage in the fourth quarter! Wait, there’s more. West erased a 73-60 deficit in the final 1:27!! Wait, there’s more. Five-eight soph Donnel Feaster set PL and city postseason records with seven threes (in 12 attempts), scored half of his 38 points in the final quarter and dribbled the length of the court to flip in a 7-footer with 0:03 left!!! (I saw that game, too.) Now, West can say, not pleasantly, that it has been on the down side of a miracle tilt. Today, Dobbins trailed by 54-42 with 3 ½ minutes left. Then it started coming and coming some more, and then the crowd started going berserk, and then the Mustangs responded with even more clutch plays, and then, damn, you couldn’t help but think, could this be one of THOSE games, the kind you talk about forever? Bingo! With 0:05 left in regulation, sr. G Fred Jones made the second  of two free throws to draw Dobbins within 60-59. West sr. F Larry Richardson, also a star quarterback, hit both halves of his double-bonus at 0:03 to make it 62-59. How’d we get to OT? Sr. WG-SF Basir Fulmore hit a three! Not just any trey. Fulmore, just 3-for-16 beforehand and 0-for-5 in the fourth quarter, fired toward the 22nd Street basket from a shade to the Lehigh Avenue side of the halfcourt circle. A West defender was jumping toward him, but was not close enough to affect the shot. Swish!!! Perfect swish, at that!!! The reaction was mind-boggling. EVERYONE in the lower stands came rushing across the court, as did the cheerleaders and others who were standing next to the stands at both ends of the gym. What a stirring scene! The reaction was so intense, so prolonged, I have a feeling some kids thought the shot had given Dobbins the win. Not so, of course. Once the playing area was finally cleared, the contest forged ahead into OT. Dobbins scored the first five points and was able to ride home from there. Aside from turnovers, West lost because it was pitiful at the line in the fourth quarter and OT (9-for-24). Dobbins wasn’t much better over those 12 minutes (13-for-24), but it did win so the failures don’t stand out in the same kind of bold relief. Sr. C Jerrell Wright led Dobbins with 26 points, 16 rebounds and seven blocks. He was also involved in a play that wound up killing West. With 1:13 left in OT, Wright dunked to create a tie at 55-55. One problem: the scoreboard showed the Mustangs up, 57-55. Froggy was with me today (Big Steve headed for Robeson-Parkway West) and we noticed the glitch immediately. Much later, on my way out, some current/former Dobbins bigwigs acknowledged that a scoring, um, mishap had occurred at that exact juncture. Oh, well. Fulmore finished with 17 points, five rebounds, two assists and seven steals. He had all of his boards, both dishes and three of his thefts over the final 12 minutes and was mostly in a funk beforehand. He usually gives off an I’ve-got-this-covered aura, but not today. But when it counted, I guess he DID have things covered, eh? (smile) Sr. F Khalil Curtis had to leave late in the first quarter after dinging his knee, but he returned in the second half and made some big plays. He had 12 points. Jr. F Kiwuan Trawick added eight points. Jones, soph Marquell Tate and jr. Daquan “Day-Day” Brown were whirlwinds down the regulation stretch with steals and/or swooshing drives that led directly to points. West franchise Terrell “Sleepy” Daye, a sr. WG-SF (like Fulmore, he’s a lefty), poured in 32 points. He’s a reasonably strong kid with a certain craftiness, and is very tough to cover. Fans kept yelling, “He got no right!. Force him right!” Indeed, Daye always came back to his left, but did so in a way that was tough to defend. He seemed to tire a little at the end. No wonder, considering all he did. Richardson and soph PG Joseph White had 10 points apiece. Congrats to the West guys for taking this devastating defeat like men. Coach Lou Williams and assistant Frank Steed, last year’s coach and still around, were in complete control. The best pre-game moment: When West Philly’s players/coaches entered the gym I was having a chat with football star Terrance Stafford. A girl was right nearby, sitting in the stands, and here’s what she said to Terrance: “What’s West Philly’s team name again? Speed bumps?” Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.

FEB. 8
INTER-AC LEAGUE
Malvern 48, Episcopal 43
  When looking at the full boxscore, which is in the Daily News and will only set you back $1 (smile), your first thought might be, “Man, if Episcopal had shot only a little bit better, it could have won this game.” And this might be your second: “If Malvern had shot a little better, this verdict would have been wrapped up much earlier.” EA was 13-for-49. Malvern was 13-for-39. That’s 26-for-88 if you’re adding at home and that’s pretty bad (29.5 percent). Here’s suspecting that the Malvern crew cares a whole lot less than Episcopal’s. Honestly, I hadn’t checked the website list of I-A hoops champs in a while so it was quite surprising to confirm that the Friars hadn’t captured any kind of title since ’95 (shared) and had not gone the outright route since ’81. Wow! Guess it IS a football school (smile). Meanwhile, who would have thought this team would be the one to end the drought? At the end of last season, definitely. But not after Tracy Peal transferred to Carroll. And really not after Lamon Church/DeQuann “Bootsie” Walker (somehow, I don’t seem to care as much about how he got his nickname) bolted for Chester during this school year; Walker even played the first two games. In trying times, great bonds can be formed (I just made that up) and the Friars (8-1 with one game remaining) are extremely proud, with good reason. Did the Inter-Ac’s overall down year contribute to their success? No doubt. But much more of the focus should be placed on these guys’ resolve and togetherness, and especially on how guys slated to be lesser lights instead made memories to last a lifetime. Both teams played aggressive man-to-man defenses. Nevertheless, there were lots of at least semi-open looks on jumpers and drives, but few buckets were to be had. Well before the game, Malvern sr. WG Sean Gordon happened to be shooting at a side basket in Episcopal’s beautiful gym and I happened to mention how the Prep’s Stephen Vasturia has made 69 consecutive free throws. He was duly impressed and once the game began . . . the Friars made 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 in a row! The streak didn’t end until roughly three minutes remained, when sr. C Kevin Rafferty missed a front end. A couple weeks ago, that would not have surprised. In a four-game period, Rafferty said he bricked as many as 15 to 20 in a row. But today, he hit his first six and at that juncture every point was important. Rafferty, the recipient of DN ink, posted 10 points and 11 boards and coach Jim Rullo belted out his leadership/great kid praises at high volume. (Well, it was noisy nearby, but still . . . ) “Raff” had a follow basket off a deflection going into halftime and opened the fourth quarter with another follow, thus making it 33-30. With 1.1 showing in the third quarter, Gordon had hit two free throws to put the Friars ahead for good, 31-30. Eight of the next points after Rafferty’s went to Malvern and jr. F Tom Pitt had all of them. A nine-point deficit was too much to overcome in three-odd minutes. Gordon and Pitt halved 24 points. Athletic jr. WG Brendan Kilpatrick struggled big-time with his shot (3-for-17), but did snatch eight rebounds and soared for a dunk in the late going after taking a full-length baseball pass from jr. PG Steve Perpiglia (five assists). Sometimes I think Kilpatrick is TOO athletic. He takes many of his shots on the move and does not land anywhere close to the spot from where he jumped. Has to affect his sizing-up process, right? Just a thought. Soph Adam Strouss did an admirable job defensively. No one reached double figures for EA. Sr. WG Taylor Wright went just 3-for-11 en route to eight points, but he used his instincts and darting loves to snag 13 rebounds. He also dished four assists. Soph G Matt Angelos, the sixth man, had nine points. By the unluck of the draw, one ref seemed to make almost every one of his calls against EA. And since many were ticky-tacks, he drew game-long ire from the Churchmen’s coaches and fans. And then at the end, the same guy assessed Malvern a technical because Rullo and two-three players exchanged oncourt hugs when they knew the win had been secured. Sheeeeeesh. Gimme a break! Talk about anal! Many kudos to Episcopal and coach Craig Conlin for storming back from just-about-dead, as in how bad the squad looked in the I-A tripleheader. There was a great atmosphere. Both schools had large student sections and the support was loud and sustained. Overall, I guess the MP kids had the best chant. “Stick to squash! Stick to squash!”’ EA’s popped their thunder sticks in the waning moments as MP’s sang the alma mater, etc. Meanwhile, who designed EA’s Newtown Square campus? Puck? There’s not enough parking close to the athletic facilities and one lot is so far away, it might as well be on the OLD campus. Ugh. But the building itself is damn near a palace. VERY impressive.

FEB. 7
CATHOLIC LEAGUE
SJ Prep 55, O'Hara 38
  There are better ways to try to make history than to allow your foe to imitate YOU at the very beginning of the game. Sr. WG Joel Davidson took a right-wing trey and . . . bang! Sr. PF Sean Mayo took another right-wing trey, in pretty much the exact same spot, and . . . bang again! Sixty-two seconds into the game, William "Speedy" Morris called a timeout and might, repeat, might, have snapped out a little in the huddle. As you can see by the score headline, the Hawks regrouped in grand fashion and the result enabled Speedball to become the winningest coach in CL history!! He owns 561 W's in 24 seasons -- 347 at Roman for 14 seasons ending in 1981, and 214 in these last 10 at Prepville. Though I kept stats and wrote down occasional game notes, I can't say I was riveted to the game's ins and outs. The major thought was to get some pics of Speedy (especially playing defense way out on the floor -- ha ha) and to notice little things that could help with the story; assuming Prep went on to win, of course. O'Hara's early momentum was thwarted when Davidson picked up his second and third fouls 39 seconds apart in the FIRST quarter. The Lions led, 11-6, when he departed. The quarter ended 16-15, O'Hara, and that was only because soph G Chris Duffin was perfect with a buzzer-beating halfcourt heave. And I do mean perfect. Swish!! Building momentum little by little, the Prep rolled from there. Soph PG Stephen Vasturia totaled 25 points and hit five treys. Ah, big deal (smile). What was really important was that he went 4-for-4 at the line, extending his streak to 69 in a row! The Puckster had mentioned something about this last week. "Yo, Vastuhah got 50-somun fwee thwow in whoa!" Ohhhhhh k. Well after the game, Speedy displayed a stat sheet. Vasturia is 63-for-63 in CL play and his streak goes back six more beyond that. Today one of his four successes was not completely perfect and the subs, sitting nearby, reacted in what amounted to shock. Jr. WG Gene Williams hit three treys en route to 15 points, but suffered a sprained right ankle with 2:08 left. He indicated it was nothing serious, but the injury did prevent him from participating in the semi-lifeless, postgame, oncourt pics session. He was seated in the front row of the stands behind the Prep's bench, getting iced and keeping his ankle propped up. All the best, Dead-Eye (smile). Soph WG Miles Overton, with his famous dad, Doug, among the spectators, had 10 points and five assists (along with seven boards) and more than once he displayed good chemistry whis classmate (Vasturia). That'll be very important as the two go forward. Sr. CG Mike Fee had three assists and two steals (all early). The other starter for this history-making tilt was sr. C Mike Levy. Jr. Kevin Oberlies and sr. James Stewart completed the seven-man rotation. Mayo managed 18 points, but only four rebounds. The Lions had just 18 rebounds and the halftime leader was a smallish guard, sr. Pat Hagenbach, with three. He had four assists for the game. Duffin had three. Sr. F-C Ed Allen grabbed five rebounds off the bench. Congrats to Speedy on his great accomplishment!! Imagine if he'd stayed at Roman all these years, which he would have been fine with doing. No doubt he'd be over 1,000 wins. I'll create a separate celebration page for Speedy's accomplishment in a few days.

FEB. 6
CATHOLIC LEAGUE
Carroll 61, Roman 59
  Can’t say the unthinkable happened. But the uncommon certainly did. Over the last 23 seasons, the Roman Empire has fallen just seven times in its legendary third-floor gym. By checking a story in our DN database, I was able to confirm five losses during that time frame. There was another possibility from just last season, but I couldn’t remember the site. Had La Salle won AT Roman on Feb. 9 or had that game been played at a neutral site? Punched up coach Joe Dempsey’s cell number. He didn’t answer. Punched up player Eddie Mitchell’s cell number. He didn’t answer, either. Punched up player Joe Brown’s number. He DID answer. (I try to remember to get a number for every kid I interview, just in case something has to be cross-checked while writing the story. I keep the numbers on notepad sheets and there at least 75 sheets in a binder I carry around; those sheets include coaches’ lists. And there are many, many, many more in my desk at the office, going back to the early 1980s. Wonder if anyone’s number is still the same from way back then? Smile) Joe confirmed that the Feb. 9 win had been secured AT Roman. Thanks for your help, Joe. By the way, Roman has lost other “home” games over these two-plus decades, but those have been played at neutral sites such as Philly U. How’d THIS one happen? Ultimately, sr. WG Juan’ya Green broke a 59-59 tie with a hard drive/layup that saw the ball go through the net at 0:07. Coach Paul Romanczuk wanted Juan’ya to make sure little time was remaining, so Roman would not have a chance to respond. Well, Juan’ya said he was afraid soph G Britton Lee could force him into a 5-second call, so when the opportunity was there he took it. Frosh WG Shep Garner, whose mom, Kim, sang the National Anthem, got a great look on a right-wing trey launched from right in front of Roman’s bench. It came close. Real close. Green (Niagara) finished 6-for-15 (one trey) and 3-for-4 for 16 points, while adding four assists and three steals. He scored nine of the Patriots' last 13 points over the final 4 minutes and before that hot streak began, he'd missed his last seven shots. His layup put his team ahead for good, at 50-49, and then he quickly added a trey. A short while after that, he made two free throws and I heard someone on the other side of the stage mini-yell toward him, “Stretch run.” As in, take the game over. Juan’ya obeyed. Well after the game, Romanczuk said, in effect, that Green still doesn’t seem to quite believe he’s as good as he is. Earlier, he seemed unsure how things would go without trusty sidekick DJ Irving, who’s now at Boston U. Green seems to play in bursts. Don’t notice him . . . Don’t notice him . . . Coming on a little . . . Boom. Front and center. That’s how he was today. Before making his final three shots from the floor (with the two free throws mixed in), he missed seven consecutive shots. Luckily for Carroll, others picked up the slack. En route to scoring 13 points on perfect shooting (5-for-5, three treys), sr. WG Jay Donovan posted eight points in the third quarter. And then, early in the fourth, with Roman up, 45-41, jr. PF Shane Randall hustled for two quick field goals and then kicked out to Donovan for yet another trey. All day, sr. PF-C Tracy Peal used his bulk to keep Roman’s athletic big guy, Fortunat “Junior” Kangudi, from being much of a factor. Peal had seven points and 11 rebounds while Kangudi managed 10 and five. Truthfully, Kangudi missed too many bunnies and the foul trouble that limited his playing time could mostly be traced to personals on which he didn’t come even close to getting his money’s worth. Pushing during an attempt to grab an offensive rebound. A very minor shove on the block (should not have been called, in my opinion). A reach-in while defending against a pass. At least pound someone to the hardwood, right? Kangudi’s best moment was a lefthanded layup that he curled in after switching the ball while drawing contact. Jr. WG Alec Stavetski and soph PG Yosef Yacob had nine and eight points. For Roman, jr. PG Montana Mayfield, a lefty, sniped 8-for-10 en route to 21 points. Four treys were included. Soph F Shafeek Taylor had nine points, seven rebounds and three assists. Garner had eight points. After going 7-for-13 at the line in the first half, Carroll thereafter went 4-for-4. The Cahillites, no doubt, are still kicking themselves over going 3-for-10 at the stripe beyond intermission. Roman honored its four seniors before the game and it was great to hear that two of them, Octavius Blount and Vince Malizia, boast 4.0 GPAs. I also want to extend the very BEST of wishes to Billy Dever, who came over to say hello and mentioned that he’s making a comeback from some personal setbacks. Billy holds a gigantic place in CL history. In ’68, he was the soph point guard for the North Catholic JV squad that shocked McDevitt in a quarterfinal at the Palestra. Yes, the JV squad. All varsity players were suspended for cutting classes. Billy had not even started for that JV squad, but coach Jack Friel installed him as the floor general and he responded in grand fashion. Can you imagine that? You play JV all season as a sub, and then start for the "fake varsity" at the Palestra in front of 5,400-plus people?! Amazing. What brass he showed that night!! Billy's son, Ben, played QB for Dougherty and in '99 passed for two TDs as the Cardinals, just 2-5 during the regular season, stunned Wood in a playoff game despite being outgained 338-161. Clutch runs in the family. All the best, Billy!! If you’d like to learn more about that North JV game, click here for anniversary stories from 1978 and ’93.

FEB. 5
PUBLIC E
Palmer 70, Parkway Northwest 48
  What are the chances? Palmer is coached by two guys who played for West Catholic and its best player reminds me of the most prolific one-season scorer in Catholic League history. And his school was . . . But of course. West Catholic. In the '88 season, Monroe Blakes averaged 27.5 points in league play to dislodge '76 West grad Michael Brooks (27.3) at the top. Brooks was one organization's national college Player of the Year at La Salle and spent some time in the NBA. Blakes played D-2 ball at St. Michael's (just under 1,300 career points; how'd he wind up in Vermont, anyway -- smile) and Armstrong is almost his double. Walks the same, plays from the same wide base, elevates into his jumper the same, even wears the same white socks almost up to his knees! (smile). He's not as good as Blakes, but he can definitely play college ball and perhaps D-2 with some polish. Even though some of his flip shots rolled off the rim, he finished with 18 points. Also, he made a handful of nice, opposite-side passes when doubled. His day also included seven rebounds, four assists and three blocks. Sr. PF-C Demetrius Crawford, a solid, not-tall-at-all kid, bullied his way to 21 points and seven boards. Honestly, he did so well in the second half because PW's top inside player, sr. Darren Green-White, was sitting on the bench due to foul trouble and/or tentative. Jr. F Malik Burbage fueled a 21-11 third quarter with eight of his 10 points and two steals. Soph PG Amir Davis, a frisky lefty, hit two treys in that same session. Sr. WG Naim Gilmore never scored -- only took one shot, in fact -- but mixed three apiece of assists/steals. PW had only six players on hand when the 3:45 game began, and then another guy strolled in. Srs. Corey Widgins and Kirk Tomlin scored 10 points apiece, as did soph Andrew Purnell. Tomlin added 12 boards. White-Green had six rebounds, as did sr. Mike Leach. Not sure why PW had so few players, but the cause wasn't helped. Palmer, a new Pub school, is on 6th Street a shade below Girard. The gym is decent with a full-sized court and room for two rows of folding chairs across from the benches. Palmer's head coach is Will Mega-Ashantee. He went by a different name while playing for West and later gained some national fame while appearing on a reality show. (If he decides he wants more fame, I can tell Dan Gross at the DN -- smile). His chief assistant, Rob Wharton, was a first team All-Catholic honoree in '90 and '91 and recently was a chief assistant under West coach Bill Ludlow, who stepped down after last season. Oddly, Palmer's uniforms feature the initials LPA. I thought maybe it was mistake since the school tends to be known as Palmer Leadership Academy. Assistant Arnold Ford said the high school portion of the place is technically named Leadership Preparatory Academy (under the Palmer umbrella). Geeeeez.

FEB. 4
PUBLIC E
MC&S 63, Constitution 56
  Here’s the problem: These teams are very good and most of their Division E foes are not, which means they mostly participate in routs where it’s hard to concentrate and/or not fall into bad habits. Then they go into a game like this, played at night at a neutral site (Franklin) before a pretty decent crowd (not quite tremendous), and every guy wants to cram maybe a month’s worth of special moments into 32 minutes. Only natural, right? Late in the game, I heard a guy sitting nearby say, “This is so sloppy. If I was a scout, I would have walked out the gym.” One problem, honestly, was the officiating. One guy would blow his whistle and then appear to decide what the call was going to be. Again and again, too. The kids were flashing what’s-with-this-guy looks and they couldn’t help but get frustrated. At least four refs were on site and someone said there were actually FIVE. One guy replaced a member of the original trio right before the tipoff. Huh? Anyway, MC&S won because of its depth and overall master plan. Con had only nine guys in uniform and only six saw much playing time. MC&S kept coming in waves and was fresher down the stretch. (As a side note, some of the Con guys arrived shortly after 5 and were taking jumpers, etc., almost 2 full hours before game time.) MC&S had two guys on star jr. CG Daiquan Walker throughout the evening. Two sr. Gs, starter Warren Dogan and sub Chris Stokes, were in Walker’s World throughout, and they got help from nearby guys who would immediately storm over. The approach worked out great as Walker had to settle for just 10 points on only two field goals (one trey) and five field goals. Interestingly, Con is still without sr. F-C Erik Raleigh, who is almost back from a broken hand. Guess what Dogan has . . . a broken hand! And it’s the one he shoots with (right). He said he broke it in a school dustup right before the season, but said there was no way he was going to miss any part of his senior season. He took just three shots through three quarters, then scored 14 of his 16 points in the fourth! Also, he assumed floor-general duties as sr. Thomas Moore moved to the wing. Down the stretch I kept writing “Dog” (abbreviation for Dogan) again and again for play-by-play stuff. He was involved in everything! Both on offense and defense. Here are the particulars: Dogan converted a one-and-one with 2:16 remaining, staking MC&S to a 56-49 pad. Con immediately popped back into contention as sub jr. WG Amonie Holloman, off a feed from sr. WG-SF Abdul King, hit a left-corner trey. Dogan then drove hard and missed a flip shot. Even THAT worked out great; he hustled for the offensive rebound. But Moore missed both parts of a double-bonus and Penn commit Xavier Harris grabbed the board for the Generals. Dogan forced Walker to travel, but sr. PF-C Mamadou Diakite then posted a steal. Bang! Holloman hit a baseline two at 0:36. MC&S soph G Austin Hawkins approached the line for another double-bonus at 0:18. Hawkins air-balled the first, regular-missed the second. There was a whistle at 12.7. For what? Dogan had drawn an illegal-pick call. And then, on the halfcourt inbound play, he curled to the basket, took a looping pass from Moore, absorbed to-his-back contact and completed a three-point play. See, told ya (smile). He was involved in everything. The contributions of sr. WG Tyreek Riddick can’t be overlooked. He carried the Mighty Elephants through the middle quarters, pouring in 17 points. Talk about a green light. He fired up 17 shots in those 16 minutes alone (of 19 total). Ten were treys and three connected. Stokes managed three assists and four steals Soph F Jeremiah Worthem (11) and sr. PF-C Muhammad Amin (eight) were the primary rebounders. Six guys scored for Constitution, and all posted from eight to 12 points. King (12) was the leader. Harris mixed eight points, 10 rebounds and four blocks. Diakite bullied for nine, 10 and three. Sr. CG Tamir Bolger had nine points and three apiece of assists/steals. There was one disturbing moment. One General made a sloppy pass near midcourt and then barely trotted, let alone ran, after the guy as he steamed in for a layup. No excuse for that. Temple stars Ramone Moore (Southern) and Scootie Randall (Comm Tech) were sitting up and to the right of where Amauro and I were stationed, on the baseline at the east end. Great to see them!

FEB. 4
PUBLIC B
Franklin 55, Franklin Towne 26
  To answer your obvious question . . . I attended this game because I hadn't seen either team and I was going to be here later (at Franklin) anyway for the MC&S-Constitution showdown. It's a shade before 5 o'clock and this report is being written in the athletic office. Football players Evander Barkley and Tim Van Beverhoudt, headed to Penn State's main campus to pursue theater and business, and Rodnika Howard, described as an all-time go-getter, are helping AD Patricia Brown prepare the snacks that will be sold later during the nightcap. Someone just mentioned "donuts" and my heart skipped a beat (ha ha). During the just completed game, unfortunately, the pulse rate never went up even a little bit. Personnelwise, this was a bad matchup. Towne's guys need room to operate and are rarely going to blow by anyone. Well, Franklin's teams features ALL guards and these guys were always in the Coyotes' faces, especially after a switch from zone to man-to-man was made late in the first quarter (or early in the second quarter; I forget for sure). Towne had just 12 points over the last three quarters and turnovers were a major problem. Even though Towne used a deliberate approach on offense, Franklin racked up 15 steals and there were numerous other turnovers due to throwaways. Franklin had 19 points in the first four minutes and three treys helped out. The early ringleader was sr. G Kasheem Johnson, who knocked down two threes en route to eight quick points. Johnson finished with 19 points, four steals and even eight rebounds. He was the only Electron with double figures, but the other starters scored seven or six. Sr. G Darien Walker had seven points and as many assists. Jr. G Sharif Saunders notched his six points with two treys while sr. G Shaquil Taylor went the regular route to his six markers; he added three steals. Sr. G Thomas Lopez shot 2-for-4 and 3-for-3 for his seven points. Jarrett Bryant, a frosh with a little bit of size, grabbed four rebounds and sr. G Tevin Whitehead had four steals. Only two guys had more than three points for Towne. Brandon McGuire, a soph SF with a little bounce in his step, totaled nine points. He also notched three blocked shots. Sr. F Jammall Dawkins, the only rotation senior, had seven points, seven boards and three early assists. Coach Josh Rorer is mentioning Jammall as a D-3 possibility, mostly because he improves on a daily basis. Jr. WG George Shank has enjoyed some good sniping moments this season, but he settled for just three points while going 1-for-6. He incurred some foul trouble. Nothing else to say, really. Let's hope the night game is a classic.

FEB. 3
PUBLIC A
Gratz 80, Frankford 71
  Over the last 24 seasons, in this big, wide country of ours, how many high school basketball teams would you imagine have won 96 percent of their league games? Not sure, but I do know of one. Good, ol’ Simon Gratz. After today’s entertaining victory, played before a very good (not quite tremendous) crowd, the Bulldogs (13-0) own a 301-13 PL regular season mark since the start of the 1987-88 season. They’ve been perfect 16 times in the last 22 seasons and have never lost more than two in the 24-season span. Amazing! Their last “horrible year” was in 1986-87, at 8-5, and that happened only because the franchise player, sr. C Brian Shorter, pulled a surprise transfer to Oak Hill Academy, in Virginia. He already owned 1,869 career points and would have crushed Wilt Chamberlain’s then-city record of 2,206. In fact, Brian likely would have scored 1,000 points that season alone! He was THAT dominant and coach Bill Ellerbee, in attendance today, was the king of getting major production from his post players. This game was very entertaining, but first let’s discuss what happened beforehand. In a VERY nice gesture, the Bulldogs honored their senior cheerleaders and players and almost all (maybe ALL?) had parents or some family members on hand. That stuff is routine at Cath/Int games, but rare on the Pub trail. Kudos to Gratz. Then, sr. PG Aquil Younger (Drexel, transfer from West Catholic) was given a painted game ball to commemorate his plus-1,000-point career. After that, a pair of seniors, Bruce Hanner and Rashard Cottman, read prepared statements about the season. Their major theme: there have been some rough spots, but everyone has come together. Then the game began and, every so often, Younger would head for the bench. Not for a rest. For punishment. Coach Duane Ramer has a new policy that has been in effect since the Jan. 22 game vs. Lower Merion. When Aquil commits a turnover, he sits for a brief period of time. Wow! Younger said Ramer is trying to prepare him for college ball, and for this year’s playoffs. I’m not real big on punishment substitutions for mere mistakes. If a guy is playing dumb or selfish, fine. But if a boo-boo just happens, should the guilty party really sit? Anyway, Younger is dealing with the policy and in this one he went for 17 points, eight assists and four steals in a mostly crisp performance. It’s strange to see him not having to pump away, as he often did at West. His average is roughly six points lower than last year! Late in the third quarter, Younger was not alone in heading benchward. The other four guys joined him and Ramer went with a backup unit for the final 2:01. The backups extended the lead from eight to 11 points and then two buckets to start the fourth by sr. G Nigel Caldwell pushed the bulge to 15. Frankford refused to fold. In fact, the plucky Pioneers stormed back and got within 72-68 left as sr. PF-C Taylor Bessick hit one of two free throws. Younger safely guided the Bulldogs back into control. First he ran into Bessick and did a coy job of selling an illegal-screen call. He then dished an assist to sr. F Daquan Bryant and converted a one-and-one, making it 76-68 with 0:29 left. Ballgame. Gratz is an interesting club. Almost everyone’s a senior and height does not exactly abound. The center, sr. Andrew “Da Animal” Moye, is only 6-2, but at least he boasts strength and a, well, Bulldog mentality. He had nine points, seven rebounds. Bryant missed just two shots en route to 14 points. Caldwell (13) flubbed just three and sr. SF Devon Walker (12) misconnected on just two; he sniped two treys. Hanner had 10 points. Ambidextrous Frankford sr. PG Keith Washington, a great student now said to be drawing some Ivy interest, was terrific throughout. He finished with 28 points and seven dimes and he poured in 15 points in the fourth quarter to rally the Pioneers, and rally them some more. Jr. WG Imire Taylor, called “Mad Bomber” by the PA announcer, buried four treys in the first half and wound up with 20 points. Foul trouble and some inside footwork/spacing issues limited Bessick to seven points and eight rebounds. Maybe he would have done better if he were lefthanded (smile), like FIVE rotation-member Pioneers – Washington, Taylor, sr. Gs Omar Askia and Kevin Lawson and sr. PF-C Dajuan Franks, a football-playing sub. Even when Southern had six lefties on one squad in the early ‘80s – with future NBAer Nate “Day-Day” Blackwell among them -- I don’t think four-five were out there at the same time too often, if at all. As part of this great run of quality seasons, Gratz won 107 consecutive PL regular season games from ’89 to ’98. Yes, 107. Also, during that same span, it won 134 straight Pub games counting everything but championship tilts.             

FEB. 2
CATHOLIC LEAGUE
Conwell-Egan 56, Lansdale (yes, Catholic) 43
  My text to C-E coach Rick Sabol, sent his early afternoon, read "this game is jinxed - phew." It was based on the fact that LC was closed today. Well, guess what? PIAA rules do NOT preclude games being played on days when wicked weather gets in the way (maybe it was wicked in Lansdale?), and these schools decided to keep the game on the docket and, well, that made yours truly a very happy man. It's always a joy to see mostly downtrodden teams pumped up before a game like this, knowing a win really IS possible. (C-E had topped O'Hara in CL play. LC had experienced an oh-for.) To the midway point of the third quarter, the Eagles were mostly in cruise control. They weren't running away and hiding, but there was no true sense LC was going to provide discomfort. The score was 33-18. Almost exactly four minutes later, it was 34-32. Whoa! Very cool! The impressive comeback was largely fueled by a small frosh, G Andrew Riviello, who bombed three treys! It was kind of weird, just before it started I'd counted up C-E's threeball stats for the night and found Sabol's squad had nailed nine of 17 attempts. Then, bingo, LC commenced with ITS mad bombing. Sr. F Matt Pinzka and sr. G Chris "Lifting Weights Pays" Hays added one apiece in the session, sr. C Kyle "PAY-gun, not Puh-GAHN" Pagan freed himself for two inside buckets and two guys, frosh Brian Rafferty and jr. Alex Talarico, dished three assists apiece. No more steam would be left, however. Jr. WG-SF Jamal Nwaniemeka scored the final two points on a side-of-the-lane 10-footer and C-E reseized command early in the fourth. So much for late-game drama. DN ink went to Nuh-juan-uh-meek-uh, who transferred to C-E from Dougherty (RIP) and lives all the way out by Saint Joseph's University. Phew, what a trip that has to be every morning/night; Jamal goes back and forth with his mom, Erika, who works 15 minutes from C-E. Last year at this time, hoopheads were speculating Jamal would wind up at Neumann-Goretti or Roman or somewhere in da Pub at a charter. But he said he felt an instant connection to the C-E folks on a visit and decided to attend. There's much to like. Aside from range, his jumper features serious (and quick) elevation. His moves are mostly straight-aheaders, so adding some swivel to the hips would be beneficial. He began the game by blocking a jumper at one end and burying a three at the other. Niiiiice. Also, he was authoritative in the fourth quarter, and that's one trait stars MUST have. Jamal's main partner down the stretch was sr. G Kyle Bonner, who went 5-for-8 at the line, made three steals and plucked four of his seven rebounds. Sr. G Matt Petrizzi (three) and jr. F-C Carlton Whitehead (two) had mulitple threes for the game. Sr. Sean McCarthy and jr. Bobby McTague came off the bench to snag some tough boards. Soph PG Ryan Pepito, a frisky lefty, helped see to it that LC had almost no steals for the game. This has been a long season for LC coach Bernie Fitzgerald, whose team includes no one even close to resembling recent star Gs Brendan Stanton and Mike Barr. Going forward, the playing time being doled out to the youngsters will help. A soph named Jim Rock had some sniping moments in the JV tilt and then nailed two treys very late in the varsity fray. For a Wednesday night, against a foe that's not exactly around the corner, C-E had a nice student turnout. The kids mostly just sat and watched, however. No standing. No organized cheering. Upon arriving at C-E, I was hit with a momentarily disturbing sight -- a kid, dressed in a Crusaders uniform, heading OUT the door with his father (presumably) toward the parking lot. Oh, man, don't tell me this stuff HAS been postponed, after all. Nah, the kid had played in the freshman game. After the varsity tilt, I had to wait maybe 3-4 minutes to interview Nwaniemeka. Reason: he did a radio interview first. Legendary! WBCB carried the game and Jamal, along with Sabol, went upstairs to the booth. Here's a pic . . . While writing this, I received a call from Huck (remember him? -- ha ha) about the West Catholic/Neumann-Goretti game. He said N-G shot 50 free throws! (Making 34.) And that five Burrs, including four starters, fouled out.