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BOYS' BASKETBALL: A Trio of Diggins, Stinson, & Shepherd Help Archbishop Wood Outlast Roman Catholic in Double Overtime Thriller

By Rich Flanagan Photos: Mike Nance, 01/20/20, 11:00PM EST

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WARMINSTER, PA – Since taking the helm at Archbishop Wood, John Mosco has gradually built his program into exactly what he envisioned when he first took the job.

After being an assistant under Carl Arrigale at Neumann-Goretti and helping instruct some of the most dominant teams in Philadelphia Catholic League history, Mosco knew he was ready for the next challenge and it presented itself at the school on York Road in Warminster. He’s helped mold players like Pat Smith, Luke Connaghan, Tommy Funk (Army), Tyree Pickron (Quinnipiac), former league MVP Collin Gillespie (Villanova) and Andrew Funk (Bucknell), to name a few. There have been several playoff appearances in that time as well as the most memorable season in program history in 2017 which culminated with the Philadelphia Catholic League and PIAA Class 5A titles. 

He has turned the Vikings into regular contenders and this year’s group has only continued to elevate the program. A core of Rahsool DigginsDaeshon ShepherdJaylen Stinson and Julius Phillips (Chestnut Hill College) advanced to the 2019 PIAA 5A championship game a season ago. Diggins, Shepherd and Stinson, a Haverford School transfer, are back and Marcus Randolph, a Willingboro (N.J.) transfer, has stepped into Phillips spot. Diggins and Shepherd have been part of the Vikings rotation since their freshman season.

Mosco knows what these juniors are trying to build and it has been the driving force to their success. Sunday afternoon against two-time defending champion Roman Catholic had the Archbishop Wood head man recalling how far his program has come.

“These guys came here for games like this,” Mosco said. “Seven years ago when I came here, not many people knew where Wood was and you saw the crowd today."

Diggins had 28 points, eight rebounds and seven assists while Stinson had 25 including a clutch three-pointer as the Vikings held off the Cahillites, 94-93 in double overtime to claim a tremendous win for the program and remain undefeated in league play.  


Archbishop Wood junior Rahsool Diggins led the Vikings with 28-points in a 94-93 double-OT victory vs. Roman - PSD Photo by Mike Nance

With Roman Catholic (8-7, 4-3 Philadelphia Catholic League) clinging to a three-point lead in the first overtime period, the Vikings had 1.3 seconds left to draw something up. Randolph (11 points) looked at two options off of the inbound and found Stinson on the far side wing. He had the frame of mind to take one dribble to his left after the Cahillites’ Justice Williams had jumped. The ball left his hand just as the overtime buzzer sounded and it sent the gymnasium into a frenzy.

For Stinson, it was a matter of being in the right place at the right time while also using some of his basketball savvy to get open.

“It wasn’t a specific play but we had to adjust because they didn’t want us to hit any threes,” Stinson said. “So I started high then came down low. When he closed out, I took one dribble then shot.”

Archbishop Wood vs. Roman Catholic Game Highlights by Rich Flanagan:

Stinson had scored to the two previous baskets for Archbishop Wood (13-3, 9-0), who led by as many as 16 points, in that period.

Diggins was masterful from the start with 16 of his 28 points in the first half. He was one of the first two options, along with Shepherd, on that play to Stinson.

He discussed how that play came about and the confidence this group has in each other.

“We practice that every day in a situation drill,” Diggins said. “There’s usually two seconds on the clock, not 1.3. We actually drew up something different this time. (Jaylen) was our third option. I was supposed to come up, set a back screen and then go to the corner for a three. We trust each other and didn’t care who shot it as long as it got up.”

While Shepherd (24 points) may have been the second option on Stinson’s shot, he was the primary option to begin the second overtime period. He scored the first basket then, after having missed his previous three three-point attempts, he nailed one from just inside the half court line to give the Vikings 90-87 lead.

Shepherd, who was the last remaining starter available when the Vikings played an epic seven-overtime contest against Paul VI (Va.) in the Diane Mosco Shootout a month ago, felt an urgency to make plays down the stretch and keep his team’s resilience going.

“We all kept our heads up,” Shepherd said. “Anything can happen so we had some luck in there. I told everyone to keep their heads up and not get down on themselves because it’s not over yet. I knew we needed a couple of buckets in there so I had to step up, score and become a leader.”

As the Cahillites did time and again against the smaller front line of Archbishop Wood, they threw it into 6-10 sophomore Jalen Duren, who finished with a career-high 34 points, 21 rebounds and five blocks. He scored on consecutive possessions to give Roman Catholic a one-point lead.

Stinson hit a pair of free throws then Williams, who was equally as impressive as Duren with a career-high 32 points including shooting 13-for-14 from the charity stripe, converted a tough finish to give his side the lead again. Stinson hit a pull-up at the foul line to give the Vikings the lead, 94-93 with 4.2 seconds left. For Roman Catholic, a second consecutive double overtime game was anything but welcomed and yet they still had an opportunity to close this one out.

Lynn Greer III, who had the chance to win the Neumann-Goretti game on Friday in regulation, took three dribbles and put up a triple from the right wing with Stinson and Shepherd defending but the shot was long. He finished with 16 points but shot 6-for-15 from the floor.

Roman Catholic head coach Matt Griffin, whose team has three league losses for the first time since 2017, knows his team still has a lot of growth to do but feels games like this can only teach them valuable lessons for the latter part of the schedule.

“We’re in these games. I mean, we’re right there,” Griffin said. “We have to continue to work. It’s a learning process. You don’t win every game but I’m a big believer on how you respond. We’ve lost two double-overtime games. We could easily pout, put our heads down and blame other people, or we could say here’s what we have to work on and keep going from there.”


Roman Catholic sophomore Jalen Duren had a career high 34 points in the Cahillites loss to Wood - PSD Photo by Mike Nance


Daeshon Shepherd (No. 22) scored 24 points in Wood's victory, while Lynn Greer III (No.3) finished with 16 points for Roman - PSD Photo by Mike Nance

Stinson, who noted “I was built for this,” seemed to make one big play after the next. He stole the ball away from Greer with 9.9 seconds left in regulation and was fouled going to the basket. He calmly knocked down both attempts to tie the game at 74-74. The Cahillites had the opportunity to win it with their last possession but freshman Xzayvier Brown (eight points), missed the potential game winner from the baseline.

The first half was defined by the versatility of the Vikings’ trio of scorers in Diggins, Stinson and Shepherd while Duren, who had 12 points in the second quarter alone, asserted himself in the post against a tandem Robert Jackson and Muneer Newton.

The Vikings led by 11 at halftime and kept the pressure on in the third but only hit one field goal (a triple from Diggins) in the fourth which allowed Roman Catholic to get back into it.

While the victory is only the first of many steps the Vikings have on their list toward reaching their ultimate goal, it’s one to certainly cherish based upon how far the program has come and where it’s hoping to remain.

Shepherd was able to relish it before Archbishop Wood gets ready to play Mosco’s former team and the one which defeated the Cahillites on Friday.

“This win meant everything,” Shepherd said. “We’ve been working on everything and preparing for this game. We had it marked on our calendars. We were just glad to come out with the win and we stuck together.”


Archbishop Wood junior Jaylen Stinson (No.4) scored 25 points in the Vikings double-OT victory - PSD Photo by Mike Nance