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BOYS' BASKETBALL: The PCL Playoff Push Has Begun; Here is a Look at the Hardwood Action in this Week's Roundup

By Rich Flanagan, 01/29/20, 11:15AM EST

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By: Rich Flanagan

Videos/Photos: Zamani Feelings, Kathy Leister, Geanine Jamison, JJ Michalski, Logan McHugh, Joanne Dolan, Geneva Heffernan & Mike Nance. 

PHILADELPHIA - The playoff push in the Philadelphia Catholic League has begun and a number of teams have differentiated themselves from the pack. Seeding for the league postseason has become even more crucial and capturing wins, no matter how dominant or close, remains the ultimate goal.

This past weekend offered a glimpse into where several teams are while others still have work to do.

Here’s a recap of this weekend’s games:

Neumann Goretti 66, Archbishop Wood 55 >> In a battle of the two remaining undefeated teams in the league, the Saints, behind 24 points from 6-foot-1 junior guard Hysier Miller and 17 from 5-10 senior guard Hakim Byrd.

Miller had 17 points in the first half including one-handed slam off of a steal to help Neumann-Goretti build a nine-point lead. Senior Jordan Hall (St. Joe’s) had seven points, seven rebounds and six assists while senior Cameron Young (Bowling Green) had eight points, eight boards and two blocks for the Saints, who have not gone unbeaten in league play since 2016.

The closest the Vikings made in the second half it was 58-53 with 2:11 left to play after five consecutive points from 6-3 junior point guard Rahsool Diggins (15 points). Archbishop Wood only scored one basket in the final two minutes as the Saints tried to run out the clock and knock down free throws. 

Junior Jaylen Stinson, who had been the hero a week ago after hitting a huge three-pointer to force double overtime against Roman Catholic, had 13 points and 6-5 junior forward Daehson Shepherd had eight points and 11 rebounds. Marcus Randolph hit three-pointers on his way to 11 points.

Wood vs. Neumann-Goretti highlights by Rich Flanagan:

Roman Catholic 76, Archbishop Carroll 70 >> Senior Lynn Greer III had 25 points including 17 in the second half while sophomore Justice Williams had 23 points for the Cahillites, who took home a victory at the Community College of Philadelphia following two straight double-overtime losses to the top two teams in the league in Neumann-Goretti and Archbishop Wood. Greer shot 10-for-12 from the free-throw line.

Roman Catholic also received a dominant performance from 6-10 sophomore Jalen Duren with 15 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks.

Bryant commit Tairi Ketner went at Duren all night finishing with 17 points and 10 rebounds. 6-8 junior forward Anquan Hill had 17 points and 6-1 freshman Dean Coleman-Newsome scored 13 points for the Patriots.

Bonner-Prendergast 53, La Salle 47 >> The Friars got off to a slow start but eventually asserted themselves in the final quarter led by 6-4 senior guard Tyreese Watson (25 points). Bonner-Prendergast trailed by eight heading into the fourth but turned things around to claim a much-needed victory. 6-1 junior guard Malik Edwards had 13 points and nine from senior Donovan Rodriguez.

Jake Timby, the Explorers only returning starter from a year ago, had a team-high 15 points and Liam O’Donnell had 13 points. Sam Brown, the 6-3 sophomore guard and La Salle’s leading rusher on the football team, had seven points in only his second game of the season.

He last played on Dec. 17 and was in a walking boot since the loss to Archbishop Ryan three days later.

MBAP vs. La Salle Game Highlights Courtesy of Joanne Dolan:

Archbishop Ryan 57, Father Judge 42 >> Gediminas Mokseckas poured in 24 points and 6-6 senior forward Christian Isopi had 12 points for the Raiders, who were played their first game without leading scorer Aaron Lemon-Warren. The 6-5 junior was enjoying a breakout season averaging 24.4 points per game, but he broke his right foot during practice on Jan. 23. Head coach Joe Zeglinski said the recovery time is approximately 6-8 weeks so there’s a possibility Lemon-Warren could be eligible for the state playoffs, if the Raiders make it that far.

Junior Justin Blythe was the only Crusader in double figures with 17 points and 6-5 senior Matt Comas had seven points. Junior guard Aidan Dooley, playing in his first game of the season, had three points. The 6-foot starting quarterback for the football team, Dooley tore his labrum in a game against Germantown Academy which caused him to miss every game of the year prior to this one.

Game Highlights: Father Judge vs. Archbishop Ryan in packed house during longtime neighborhood rivalry game. (video: Geneva Heffernan for PSD)

Ryan's Gediminas Mokseckas talks about the win over Judge. (video: Geneva Heffernan for PSD)

Ryan head coach Joe Zeglinski lauds his team's efforts (video: Geneva Heffernan for PSD)

Ryan senior Chris Isopi talks about the neighborhood rivalry game. (video: Geneva Heffernan for PSD)

Bishop McDevitt 63, Lansdale Catholic 34 >> Jamil Manigo asserted himself with 15 points and 12 rebounds while Robert Smith Jr. had 20 points for the Lancers, who handled the Crusaders. Senior Shamir Mosley had 10 points and fellow senior Glenn Smith had five points.

Hunter Healey, a 6-6 junior forward, was the only player in double figures for Lansdale Catholic with 14 points while Liam McDonnell and Matt McDougall had five points each.

Cardinal O’Hara 70, Conwell-Egan 42 >> The Lions had three players in double figures in Adrian Irving (16 points), Solo Bambara (14) and Jax Trickey (10). Senior Trey Dinkins, who leads Cardinal O’Hara at 17.2 ppg, had nine points while Ant Purnell and Jameel Burton added six points apiece.

Archbishop Carroll 68, La Salle 64 >> John Camden had 23 points while Ketner also had 23 but also hauled in 11 rebounds for the Patriots. They became the first two Archbishop Carroll players to score 20 or more points in the same game since Ryan Daly (St. Joe’s) and Josh Sharkey (Samford) against Bishop McDevitt (District 3) in the PIAA Class 3A Tournament on March 8, 2016.

Amiri Stewart added nine points and Hill chipped in eight for the Patriots.

The Explorers drilled 13 three-pointers to keep pace with Camden and Ketner. Nix Varano knocked down five shots from deep on his way to 17 points and 6-5 senior Mike DiPietro hit three of his own to finish with 16 points. Timby scored 12 points on four treys.

Father Judge 60, West Catholic 58 (OT) >> Nahseer Johnson poured in 22 points including the game-tying shot with 23 seconds remaining in regulation to force overtime. The 5-10 junior guard has scored 20-plus points in seven games. Dooley racked up 17 points and Blythe had nine for the Crusaders, who claimed their first Philadelphia Catholic League win of the year.

Father Judge defeated West Catholic 60-58 in OT - Highlights by FJHS Jr. Reporter Logan McHugh:

Lansdale Catholic 66, Conwell-Egan 35 >> The Crusaders picked up their first league win of the season behind their two versatile bigs in Healey, who had 14 points, and 6-6 junior forward Jimmy Casey, who scored 12. 5-11 senior point guard Jamir Hicks had 13 points and 5-10 junior guard Shawn Gibbons chipped in seven points.

Freshman Alex Ings led the Eagles with eight points and junior Jalen Carey had six points.

Roman Catholic 72, St. Joe’s Prep 60 >> Williams continued his torrid stretch with another 23-point performance and Greer added 19 points for the Cahillites. Nasir Lett and Duren scored nine points each.

Trevor Wall spurred the Hawks with 21 points, Brian Geatens followed up with 16 and Mike Keenan had 14 points in the loss.

The best moment of the game occurred prior to tipoff when St. Joe’s Prep unveiled the new basketball court displaying the name of Hawks head coach William “Speedy” Morris, who will be retiring at the end of the season.

Roman Catholic head coach Matt Griffin, who played for Morris and was a First Team All-Catholic in 2007, partook in the pregame ceremony to honor his former coach and mentor.

St. Joe's Prep vs. Roman Catholic Game Highlights by JJ Michalski for PSD:

Bishop McDevitt 76, Devon Prep 47 >> Manigo put on another dominant performance with 15 points and 14 rebounds. He controlled the paint then pushed out to the perimeter, where he nailed three shots from long distance. Robert Smith Jr. had 19 points including three triples of his own and Mosley had 16 points for the Lancers, who have won five in a row. Quinn Gilyard also scored in double figures with 10 points.

Scion Dorsey was the lone member of the Tide to have a double-digit point total with 10 points while Chris Patton had eight including a pair of three-pointers and freshman Jacen Holloway also had eight.

Here are the top 20 scorers in the Philadelphia Catholic League through Jan. 26:

*includes all of nonleague play

Aaron Lemon-Warren, Archbishop Ryan 24.4 ppg

Rahsool Diggins, Archbishop Wood 19.8 ppg

Lynn Greer III, Roman Catholic 18.7 ppg

Gediminas Mokseckas, Archbishop Ryan 18.3 ppg

Tyreese Watson, Bonner-Prendergast 17.6 ppg

Nahseer Johnson, Father Judge 17.3 ppg

Tre Dinkins, Cardinal O’Hara 17.2 ppg

Justice Williams, Roman Catholic 16.8 ppg

Robert Smith Jr., Bishop McDevitt 16.5 ppg

Jalen Duren, Roman Catholic 16.5 ppg

John Camden, Archbishop Carroll 16.5 ppg

Trevor Wall, St. Joe’s Prep 16.2 ppg

Hakim Byrd, Neumann-Goretti 15.7 ppg

Adrian Irving, Cardinal O’Hara 14.9 ppg

Jaylen Stinson, Archbishop Wood 14.8 ppg

Mike Keenan, St. Joe’s Prep 14.8 ppg

Marcus Randolph, Archbishop Wood 14.3 ppg

Donovan Rodriguez, Bonner-Prendergast 14.2 ppg

Hysier Miller, Neumann-Goretti 13.6 ppg

Jamil Manigo, Bishop McDevitt 13.5 ppg

PCL Standings through Jan. 28

 Neumann-Goretti (9-0)

Archbishop Wood (9-1)

Bonner-Prendergast (8-2)

Bishop McDevitt (7-2)

Cardinal O’Hara (7-3)

Archbishop Ryan (7-3)

Roman Catholic (6-3)

Archbishop Carroll (6-3)

St. Joe’s Prep (4-5)

West Catholic (3-6)

La Salle (3-8)

Devon Prep (2-6)

Father Judge (1-10)

Lansdale Catholic (1-10)

Conwell-Egan (0-11)