By: Rich Flanagan
Videos/Photos: Rich Flanagan, John Knebels & Kathy Leister
PHILADELPHIA- When Matt Griffin took over as head coach of Roman Catholic in 2016, a precedent had been set that he wanted to continue on the corner of Broad & Vine. Coming from having played under William “Speedy” Morris, who led the Cahillites to six Philadelphia Catholic League titles, at St. Joe’s Prep and taken over after Chris McNesby, who was at the helm for a pair of league crowns, Griffin had a lot to learn from but also a lot to live up to.
In his first three seasons, he had propelled Roman Catholic to two Philadelphia Catholic League titles and a PIAA Class 6A state championship in the process.
His two league title teams were led by Seth Lundy (Penn State), Hakim Hart (Maryland) and Lynn Greer III. Lundy and Hart graduated after a successful run but Greer remained at point guard. Griffin and Greer have been together from the beginning of the young coach’s tenure and they’re hoping to gain one more plaque before it’s all said and done.
They moved one more step toward that goal on Wednesday night at the Palestra.
Roman Catholic vs. Archbishop Wood 2020 PCL semifinal highlights by Rich Flanagan:
Greer had 18 points and eight rebounds while 6-10 sophomore Jalen Duren posted a double-double with 20 points and 18 rebounds as Roman Catholic held off number one seed Archbishop Wood, 83-73 to advance to its third straight Philadelphia Catholic League championship game. Monday night’s title game appearance will be the Cahillites sixth in the last seven seasons.
It has helped Griffin to have Greer on this particular ream and vice versa but the progression in which this group has shown is what impresses the head coach the most.
“It’s been a journey for us,” Griffin said. “That’s why I’m so proud of these guys. Justice (Williams) and Jalen are 16 years-old and Lynn obviously being the senior but when we lost Seth, Hakim and Louie, we not only lost points, rebounds and things like that but also leadership. So, our big focus for this year has been leadership and developing that. I’m just really proud of these guys because every day they have improved and their growth has been amazing.”
Duren finished inside to push the lead to 10 for the Cahillites (16-8) and one possession later Greer scored his first basket of the game on a three-pointer from the top of the key to give Roman Catholic a 15-4 lead at the 3:03 mark of the first quarter. Greer hit a jumper from the elbow to begin the second then added two more baskets in the quarter and finally Duren got away from the Archbishop Wood (19-5) defense for an emphatic dunk. The Cahillites led 36-26 at the break.
In a season where the Cahillites did not defeat any of the four programs that finished ahead them in the Philadelphia Catholic League standings in the regular season, they have turned things around by first downing the Bonner-Prendergast Friars, who beat them in overtime, on the road in the quarterfinals and now the Vikings, whom they lost to in double overtime, in the semifinals.
Greer, who was making his fourth straight appearance to the Cathedral of College Basketball, noted that this postseason run has focused on his leadership to play on that court and to continue displaying that the league title still runs through Roman Catholic.
“It’s great being able to come back to the Palestra for the fourth time and hopefully I can go three-for-three because I didn’t get to play in the title game my freshman year,” Greer said. “To be honest, everyone doubting makes us go so much harder. We hear everything that everyone says about us. We just head to the gym and work on all of the things that they say we can’t do.”
Duren started the third with an and-one then Greer’s triple on the next Cahillites possession pushed the lead to 12. Williams, who also put on a dominant performance with 25 points, converted an and-one of his own later in the quarter to put Roman Catholic up with about five minutes remaining the quarter.
Video Interviews by John Knebels:
Roman Catholic senior Nasir Lett is more than satisfied with doing the little things to help his team win:
Roman Catholic freshman Xzayvier Brown does not feel intimidated during big moments of a basketball game:
Roman Catholic talks about loving to play at the famed Palestra:
The lead was 18 points heading into the fourth quarter but Philadelphia Catholic League MVP Rahsool Diggins turned it on and helped close the gap for the Vikings. He scored seven straight points and his two free throws cut the deficit to 57-44. Later in the quarter, Archbishop Wood went a 7-0 run to cut the lead to eight. Diggins scored 20 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter alone and that total set a Philadelphia Catholic League record for the most points by a single player in semifinal game, surpassing former Archbishop Wood standout and 2017 league MVP Collin Gillespie, who had 33 against Archbishop Ryan that season. The only other player in double figures for the Vikings was Marcus Randolph with 15 points.
Williams went 1-for-2 at the line then Duren finished at the rim through contact and sunk a foul shot of his own to increase Roman Catholic’s advantage to 63-51. The closest the Vikings would get it after that was 74-67 with 2:02 remaining. With both teams in the bonus, the Cahillites made the most of their opportunities at the free-throw line with freshman Xzayvier Brown (12 points) nailing four and Williams hitting the last two to close things out.
Duren, who was instrumental to the Cahillites run to the league title last season, has played with Team Final and even USA Basketball.
His experience from his time with various teams and his previous success at the Palestra allowed him to assert himself and put his team back in the title game.
“We’ve played here before but not just that we’ve also been playing on the AAU circuit and in other leagues,” Duren said. “We’ve seen stuff like that and even though we know other guys haven’t we know we have to step up our leadership like talking them through the game. They might be a little shaky and nervous but they have to know we need them and they have to stick with it."
Roman Catholic vs. Archbishop Wood 2020 Semifinal Photos by Kathy Leister
Roman Catholic advances to take on Neumann-Goretti, a 51-41 winner over Archbishop Ryan, in the title game on Monday. It will be the first time the two programs meet in the final since 2016. Griffin and Geer are looking for their third straight together and they’ll have to do it against a team the Cahillites have faced many times in that setting.
2020 Philadelphia Catholic League Championship
Date: Monday, Feb. 24, 2020
Location: The Palestra
PCL Girls’ Championship at 6:30 p.m.
Roman Catholic vs. Neumann-Goretti follows at 8:30 p.m.