BOYS BASKETBALL: Nail-Biting Finish and Stellar Performances On and Off the Court in This Week's Friends School Round-Up (1/24)

By Marc Narducci

Photos By: Kathy Leister, & Lou Rabito

FRIENDS LEAGUE - Westtown entered the Friends League boys’ basketball season as the favorite.
So what else is new?

With seven consecutive titles and another talented team, that was the only assumption anybody paying attention could make.

And everything that Westtown has done so far should continue to encourage talk of another title.

Yet last week, despite a win, Westtown was given all it could handle during a 77-68 home victory over the Academy of the New Church.

ANC took a 14-10 first quarter lead but Westtown assumed control with a 29-16 second quarter.

The teams were literally even in the second half 38-38.

There were no moral victories for ANC, only the real stuff matters, but it showed that Lions could be competitive with one of the best teams not only in the Friends League, but the area.

“It was close to the end, down to the wire,” ANC coach Kevin Givens said. “Our guys played their tails off. It was one of the best Friends League games I have seen in a long while.”

One of the keys for the game is that Westtown 6-2 senior combo guard Quin Berger continued his recent torrid streak.

Berger has been putting up some insane numbers recently, with the game against ANC a prime example.

He scored a career-high 39 points. For good measure, Berger had five rebounds and three assists.

“It was a great win for our team against a really talented team and fantastic coach in coach Givens,” said Westtown coach Seth Berger, who is Quin’s father. “Quin had to be at the best for us.”

So did a few other players such as 7-foot Duke commit Dereck Lively and 6-0 junior Seyphon Triplett.

Lively had a double-double, 12 points and 12 rebounds mixed in with four blocked shots. Triplett added 14 points and five rebounds

“Dereck and Seyphon were also excellent,” coach Berger said.

They had to be to counter the performance of ANC’s Anthony McCall, a 6-4 senior who scored 26 points, shooting 9 for 14 from the field, including 3 of 4 from three-point range.

Elmarko Jackson, a 6-3 junior and among the top point guards in the area, had 14 points, six rebounds and five assists. Isaiah Milien, a 6-0 senior, added 14 points.

And then there was 6-8 Gabe Brown, who provided a defensive presence.

Westtown vs. Academy of the New Church (game highlights/Kathy Leister for PSD)

Westtown vs. Academy of the New Church (photos/Kathy Leister for PSD)

“I thought Gabe did a good job on the No. 1 player in the country,” Given said, referring to Lively.

Still, on this day there was no answer for Quin Berger, who needed to be at his best, especially since 6-5 Penn State commit Jameel Brown fouled out in the fourth quarter.

“Quin shouldered the load of managing the game and also getting us much needed buckets,” Seth Berger said. “He had five 3’s, five 2’s and 14-15 from the line, he scored it every way.”

This was the only time the teams will meet in the regular season, but Givens is hoping for a rematch in the postseason.

Besides these two teams, George School is considered the other major contender.

“We hope to get to play them again,” Givens said.

So do many of the Friends League fans.

FSS Select Guard Quaye Agoyo strong on the court and classroom

Quaye Agoyo, a 6-2 shooting guard for Friends Select is enjoying a strong senior year on the court and in the classroom.

Not only is Agoyo a catalyst for the Falcons 7-4 record (1-2 in Friends League) and is averaging 11 points per game, but the really impressive stat is 3.73. That is his grade point average.

Friends Select senior guard Quaye Agoyo (photo/FSS Athletics)

His favorite subject is science, but he also enjoys art.

He has been challenged basketball-wise and academically at Friends Select and the same will occur at the next level.

Agoyo will continue his basketball career and education at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, a Division III school in Troy NY.

He is looking to major in the science field but hasn’t decided specifically just yet.

“They were the ones who showed the most interest in me,” he said. “They had me on a visit, and I think the school and the team was the best fit for me.”

Not surprisingly, the hard work that Agoyo has put in the classroom has transcended to the basketball court.

“He is a great leader and communicator and works hard, is a total gym rat,” Friends Select coach Percell Coles said. “He has worked hard on his jump shot with his father.”

Agoyo and junior point guard junior Temir Davis form a dangerous backcourt combo for the Falcons.

“He is talented and can handle and shoot the ball well and he is an excellent passer,” Agoyo said of Davis. “He gets me the ball in the right spot.”

Agoyo is perpetual movement on the court. Part of that comes from his training in the fall, where he was a member of the FSS cross country team.

“There is a mental aspect that you keep pushing when you are tired and it has really helped me in training for basketball,” he said.

#20 FSS senior guard Quaye Agoyo in game vs. Germantown Friends on 1/14 (video/Ryan Nix for PSD)

Agoyo was born in Los Angeles and is an admitted Lakers fan. He also lived for seven years in New Mexico before moving to Philadelphia at the age of 11.

Agoyo began playing basketball while living in New Mexico.

Now that he is settled with his college decision, one would think that Agoyo could relax, but he feels the opposite is true.

“It’s a little bit of a relief to have my decision made but at the same time I need to keep performing at the highest level to finish high school,” he said. “There is not too much relief I have to keep my head down and keep moving forward.”

Bouncing back

After fouling out in the win over ANC, Westtown’s Jameel Brown bounced back in a big way during a 69-41 win over Friends Central, Brown had 20 points eight rebounds and five assists, while hitting four, three-pointers. Dereck Lively added 19 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks.

Colin Brown had 10 points and Fazi Oshodi added nine for Friends Central.

Westtown vs. Friends Central (Photos/Lou Rabito for PSD)

Impressive non-league win

George School (9-1, 3-0), which has a major matchup Tuesday at ANC, stepped out of conference for an impressive 56-48 victory over Springside Chestnut Hill Academy, which features talented 6-10 junior Alassane Amadou.

George School assumed control for good when 6-0 junior Dante Weise hit a three-pointer that increased its lead to five points with three minutes left.

Christian Bliss, a 6-4 sophomore point guard, led the way with 24 points while 6-8 junior Kachi Nzeh added 14 points.

The day before, George School rolled to an 80-37 Friends League win over Shipley. Nzeh had 25 points, including two, three-pointers, Bliss scored 20 and senior Zach White came off the bench to score 13.

Shipley’s Grady coming up big

Combo guard Darrien Grady has continued his strong junior season for Shipley. Grady is averaging a team-high 16.9 points, along with 2.9 assists, 2.8 rebounds and 1.8 steals.

He is shooting 44 percent from three-point range (24 for 55) and 77 percent from the foul line.

Two wins for Germantown Friends

In a 71-63 non-league win over Palumbo, four players hit double figures, the type of balance the team has received this season. Junior Mushin Muhammad had 22 points, classmate Amir Staten added 15, while senior Ben King and eighth grader Jordan Dill scored 11 apiece.

In a 76-36 win over Moorestown Friends, Staten led the way with a double-double – 17 points and 10 rebounds, while Muhammad added 17 points and eight rebounds. Dill showed his all-around game with 13 points, six rebounds and six assists, while King contributed 11 points and seven rebounds.

Tying a season high

In last week’s 76-36 loss to Germantown Friends, Moorestown Friends 6-2 senior Peter Tummarello tied his season high with 11 points. He also scored 11 in an earlier loss to Pennsauken Tech. Tummarello is averaging 7.14 points for the Foxes. Colby Weiner, a 5-10 senior, had nine points in the Germantown Friends game and is averaging a team-high 12.7 points.