Archbishop Wood 86, West Catholic 71 >> John Mosco’s Vikings have been scoring well in the 70s for much of the year and their win over the Burrs was another example of the scoring prowess they possess. First Team All-Catholic point guard Rahsool Diggins led the way with 26 points and Marcus Randolph, the smooth lefty who transferred in from Willingboro (N.J.), has found a nice role, adding 21 points.

The Vikings have a plethora of options including 6-5 junior forward Daeshon Shepherd, who scored 11 points, and 6-foot junior guard Jaylen Stinson, who added 16 points in the victory. Diggins, Shepherd and Stinson were key pieces in Archbishop Wood’s run to the PIAA Class 5A title game last season and they’ve picked up where they left off.

Bishop McDevitt 42, La Salle 39 >> Combo guard Robert Smith had 14 points and First Team All-Catholic Jamil Manigo added 13 points in a hard-fought win over the Explorers. The Lancers, a team that advanced to the Philadelphia Catholic League semifinals for the first time in 30 years last season, used a precise offensive set against La Salle’s zone defense and ran out the clock for the latter half of the fourth quarter. Senior Glenn Smith hit a free throw to give Bishop McDevitt a three-point lead with 1.8 seconds remaining.

The Explorers had to go the length of the floor. Nix Varano received the ball at half court, turned and fired one final heave that did not reach the rim. Shane Holland, an athletic 5-11 senior guard, led La Salle with 15 points and 5-11 senior lefty Jake Timby, the only returning starter from last season, had 14 points including four three-pointers.

Neumann-Goretti 85, Father Judge 43 >> The Saints have been rolling to start the year and their first half of the season has been defined by different players stepping up at different times. Hakim Byrd, a 5-10 senior guard and returning starter, had 14 points and 6-5 junior forward Blaise Vespe had 13 points. They had three more players in double figures including sharpshooter Chris Evans (12 points), 6-6 Bowling Green commit Cameron Young (11) and 6-1 junior Hysier Miller (10), a transfer from Martin Luther King.

Nahseer Johnson, the 5-10 junior guard avg. 18.8 ppg, and Justin Blythe, a 5-9 junior avg. 14.4 ppg, both scored 15 points to pace the Crusaders.

Cardinal O’Hara 63, St. Joe’s Prep 50 >> Ryan Nemetz has unleashed the four-guard offense onto the Philadelphia Catholic League this season and it has paid dividends as the Lions (11-0, 4-0) are undefeated. They’ve already secured wins over the Hawks, the Explorers,  Archbishop Ryan (9-3, 3-1) and Bishop McDevitt. The quartet of 6-2 senior Tre Dinkins (24 points), 6-0 junior guard Ant Purnell (15), 6-foot junior Adrian Irving (14) and 6-1 junior Jameel Burton have ignited the Cardinal O’Hara program and put on a show against St. Joe’s Prep.

Nemetz, in his second season at the helm of the Lions, noted how this group has learned on the fly and what the key has been behind its success following its win over the Raiders on Dec. 22.

“The first thing I learned in coaching is you always play to your strengths and we play a spacing game,” Nemetz said. “We shoot a lot of threes and play downhill. That’s what we try to do. I give them a lot of freedom to make choices. I tell them, ‘It’s on you to make the right choices. It’s not on me to coach you guys.’ There’s a lot of freedom in this system so it’s like a player’s dream but if they continue to make the right decisions we’ll do well on the offensive end.”

The Lions have also been boosted by the play of 6-6 junior forward Solo Bambara, who is averaging 7.8 points per game and adding another dimension to the offense.

Cardinal O’Hara’s quartet limited another potent one in the Hawks’ Trevor Wall, Chris Arizin, Brian Geatens and Mike Keenan, who combined for 43 of the team’s points. Wall, a 6-3 senior, had a team-high 21 points and Arizin, a 6-4 senior, added 10. The Hawks quartet are also avg. double digits led by Wall (16.5 ppg).

Bonner-Prendergast 74, Devon Prep 38 >> Despite losing high-scoring guard Isaiah Wong (Miami (Fl.)) and skilled big man Tariq Ingraham (Wake Forrest), the Friars (10-1, 4-0) haven’t missed a beat. Tyreese Watson, the 6-4 senior and returning starter, had 15 points and Donovan Rodriguez, the 6-foot senior who was a starter in the Philadelphia Catholic League title game two years ago, followed up with 15 points including hitting three triples and going 7-for-7 from the free-throw line. 6-1 junior Malik Edwards added 11 points for Bonner-Prendergast, who is coming off a trip to the PIAA Class 4A title game.

The Tide came into the game unbeaten but never recovered after a slow start. 6-3 senior Nick Perullo and junior Chris Patton scored 12 points each in the loss.

Junior Jalen Carey had 15 points on five three-pointers and 6-7 junior Donald Imo had seven points for Conwell-Egan.

Archbishop Wood 78, Father Judge 51 >> Stinson was one of three players to score in double figures leading the way with 20 while Diggins added 17 and Shepherd had 13 for the Vikings. 6-5 junior Muneer Newton and 6-4 senior guard Brennen Kersey added seven points apiece for Archbishop Wood.

Johnson led the way with 16 points, Blythe had 13 points and 5-10 sophomore guard Jalen Flowers poured in a career-high 14 for Father Judge (6-6, 0-4).