Rich Flanagan (@richflanagan33)
PLYMOUTH MEETING – Kevin Funston understands that Bonner-Prendergast’s run to back-to-back state semifinal appearances didn’t center on the accomplishments of the last two seasons. The first-year head coach had been an assistance for four seasons under Jack Concannon and saw where the program was headed.
Following an 0-13 Philadelphia Catholic League record in 2014, Concannon, who also oversaw the Friars’ program from 1992-96, led Bonner-Prendergast to the league playoffs in his first year back. The next season, the Friars returned to the PCL playoffs, this time winning a play-in game over West Catholic then a first-round game over Conwell-Egan before falling to Neumann-Goretti. Those teams featured players who laid the foundation for what the Friars would accomplish down the road such as Christian Lane (Albright College), Dylan Higgins (Widener), Tymir Cooper, who spent time at Cuyahoga Community College (Ohio), and Justin Gans, who went on to Delaware County Community College. Throw in players like Marques Jackson, John Hargraves and Keith Washington and Funston saw a glimpse of what Bonner-Prendergast was beginning to develop into as a program in those two seasons.
The 2017 season saw the emergence of 6-8 forward Ajiri Johnson (Rider). Johnson came in and gave the Friars a dominant big man alongside a backcourt of Lane and Cooper. Johnson was named a First Team All-Catholic in his first season helping the Friars win a first-round playoff game before falling to eventual champion Archbishop Wood.
Finally, Concannon’s last year saw Johnson paired with Isaiah Wong and 6-8 forward Tariq Ingraham. Adding those pieces in addition to lockdown defender Donovan Rodriguez and emerging guard Tyrese Watson, the Friars clinched the PCL regular-season title and lost by a bucket to Roman Catholic in the title game. The season ended with the loss in the PIAA Class 5A semifinals to eventual champ, Abington Heights.
Funston is proud to be leading a team that has made deep runs into March in consecutive seasons but also knows that these types of runs don’t happen by chance. They come from years of establishing a culture within a program and making sure everyone is working toward a common goal. He consistently felt that way under Concannon.
“This all started five years ago with Jack and we made sure that we got high character kids,” Funston said. “We had guys like Christian, John, Dylan, Keith and Marques. Those were some really strong, high character players that were able to lay the foundation for us and made Bonner a destination spot for guys like Ajiri, Isaiah and Tariq. This has been a grind but it has been fun watching to where we are now.”
Bonner-Prendie defeats Lower Moreland, 83-47 in PIAA 4A Tournament Semifinal - video highlights by: Rich Flanagan
Bonner-Prendie vs. Lower Moreland PIAA 4A Semifinal: Game photos by Mike Nance
BONNER-PRENDIE vs. LOWER MORELAND PIAA- 4A SEMIFINAL
While Funston worked closely with Concannon to formulate this culture, he will be credited with directing the Bonner-Prendergast program to a place it has never gone before: the state championship game.
Behind another dominant performance by Ingraham coupled with a balanced scoring attack, the Friars throttled Lower Moreland, 83-47 in the PIAA 4A Tournament semifinals to advance to their first state title in program history. Ingraham had 12 points, nine rebounds and two blocks and consistently overpowered the undersized Lions frontcourt. He scored four of the Friars first seven points including a strong finish to make it 7-2. Wong asserted himself with seven straight points in the opening quarter to push Bonner-Prendergast’s lead to 16-9.
After winning its first three state tournament games by an average of 23.0 points per game, the Friars were in a dogfight early and Lower Moreland (25-4) wasn’t going to walk away quietly. Led by Bicentennial League Independence Conference MVP Shane Cohen (17 points, three steals), the Lions hung tough. Cohen hit 1-for-2 from the free-throw line then scored on a backdoor layup to make it, 19-14. On the ensuing possession, Forrest Keys drilled a triple from the wing and the Lions had cut the deficit to two. Later in the quarter, Jordan Zoubroulis hit a three-pointer then Jake Himmelstein nailed two free throws and the game was tied at 22-22 at the 5:09 mark of the second quarter. The District 12 4A champions responded as they had all tournament long with an 8-0 run to close out the quarter and take an eight-point advantage into the locker room at halftime.
Rodriguez, a starter on last year’s team but has been moved between starter and sixth man this season, knew his teammates understood that they hadn’t won anything, and they weren’t about to let this run end.
“We didn’t really prove anything last year,” Rodriguez said. “We didn’t get the PCL [title.] Even though we got the city title, we didn’t get the state title. It just gave motivation for all of us.”
Bonner-Prendergast put the game away in the third, outscoring Lower Moreland 31-7. Ingraham finished inside again then Watson (seven points) scored four straight points and finally Mike Perretta drained one of his four three-pointers to push the Bonner-Prendergast (22-5) lead to 39-24 with 6:20 left in the third. Ingraham slammed one home with two hands then Rodriguez, who finished with nine points, converted a wild, left-handed layup and the Friars were in control, up 48-27 at the 4:24 mark of the quarter.
Bonner-Prendie vs. Lower Moreland PIAA 4A Semifinal: Game photos by Mike Nance
BONNER-PRENDIE vs. LOWER MORELAND PIAA- 4A SEMIFINAL
Cohen was held scoreless in the third and shot 6-for-15 for the game. The 1,000-point scorer was bothered by the Friars’ length, particularly Wong. On one possession, Cohen drove into the paint and threw up a layup, but Wong sent it flying into the stands with Bonner-Prendergast leading 58-29. Himmelstein had 13 points and Keys added eight points and five rebounds for the Lions, who won the Bicentennial League and District 1 4A titles.
Lower Moreland head coach Seth Baron stressed the Friars length was the deciding factor in the game.
“That’s a very talented team,” Baron said. “Our top six guys can knock down the three, so it’s been tough for teams because they’re spread out but this team with their length was able to close out quicker. It was tough to get open shots.”
Wong, the Miami (Fl.) commit, finished with 12 points, six boards and a pair of rejections. Malik Edwards closed things out in the fourth quarter by scoring 10 of his 17 points and the celebration was on.
For Rodriguez, this run to a state championship appearance has been the culmination of all the team’s hard work in rebounding from last year’s semifinal defeat.
“It’s unbelievable,” Rodriguez said. “We’re the first Bonner team to ever make it to Hershey but we have to take care of business.”
Getting to this point has been a goal that Funston has driven home all season and his team is on the brink of something special.
“This was a huge goal for us to get back here and to get to the state championship,” Funston said. “To come so close [last year] in the Catholic League championship and the state semifinals, these guys are competitors and it left a bad taste in their mouths. We had a great season, but we just couldn’t get over the hump. This was something when times were hard, or they got a little lazy we reminded ourselves we still had something to prove.”