By: John Leuzzi
CHESTER, PA - For St. Joseph's Prep (SJP) basketball the end to 2019 was not the best, as the Hawks dropped a heart-breaking 49-44 loss to Penncrest Monday afternoon in day two of the Pete and Jameer Nelson Play-by-Play Scholastics Classic at Widener University.
Down two with 8.7 seconds left in the fourth quarter, the Hawks put the ball into the hands of their star player, senior guard Trevor Wall with an opportunity to tie or win the game. On the inbound pass from junior guard, Jimmy King, Wall was fouled by Penncrest’s Ben Stanton bringing the senior to the line shooting two.
SJP was forced to call a timeout after Wall only made one of his two free-throws in hopes of finding another opportunity to win it. Coming out of the timeout, Stanton knocked down one of two free throws with the missed one being rebounded by teammate Denzel Atkinson- Boykin sealing the win for the Lions. Atkinson-Boykin scored a game high 15 points for the Lions.
A 26-20 second-half scoring differential in favor of the Lions capped off the win for Penncrest.
Both teams struggled to find a rhythm in the first couple minutes of the first quarter but it wasn’t until the 1:56 mark that the Prep’s offense responded with a layup and three-pointer from senior guards Chris Arizin and Brian Geatens respectfully. Wall made a jumper with 2.3 seconds left to give SJP a 19-11 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Arizin and Geatens combined for 11 of the team’s 19 first-quarter points.
Penncrest started the second quarter off hot with a 7-0 run forcing St. Joe’s Prep head coach Speedy Morris to call a timeout at the 5:23 mark. Despite a three-minute scoring drought by both teams and outscoring the Hawks 12-5 in the quarter, the Lions still found themselves down 24-23 at the half.
At the end of the first quarter, @SJP_BB leads Penncrest 19-11. Hawks shot 72.73% from the field in the opening quarter. Brian Geatens leads the Hawks with eight points. @PhSportsDigest pic.twitter.com/zYLQzm3tre
— John Leuzzi (@JohnLeuzziMU) December 30, 2019
The Hawks shot 71 percent from the field and 36 percent from beyond the arc in the first half.
Penncrest held a one-point lead to the under five-minute mark until SJP senior guard Mike Keenan silenced the Lions bench and fans hitting back-to-back threes to put the Hawks back up top. Lions guard Aidan Caroll responded back with a three of his own to bring the game tied at 32-32 into the fourth.
Wall led the Hawks with 13 points, five rebounds, three assists, and one steal. Wall was also named the Hawks' MVP for the game.
The Hawks shot 65 percent from the field and 42 percent from beyond the arc in the game.
SJP finishes non-conference play at 6-2.
The Hawks return to hoop action this Friday as they resume conference play on the road at Cardinal O’Hara. Game time is set for 7 p.m.