Photos by: Dan Hilferty
Highlights by: Rich Flanagan
Story by: Rich Flanagan
PHILADELPHIA-It was a shot that has become so rudimentary for Khaafiq Myers that he forgets it wasn’t a strength at this time last year.
With the clock winding down, he sized up one of the best guards the Philadelphia Catholic League has to offer in St. Joseph’s signee Xzayvier Brown and took him to his left. Myers went between his legs to switch to his right hand and got Brown on his heels. A quick crossover dribble back to his left gave the 5-foot-11 guard plenty of space to drain a three-pointer from the top of the key and ignited the Neumann-Goretti crowd while he held up three fingers long after the shot went in to signify what it meant at that moment.
Myers, one of the catalysts behind the Saints run to the Philadelphia Catholic League title a season ago, has been battling a hampered ankle ever since Neumann-Goretti returned home from winning the Iolani Classic in Honolulu in mid-December and it has caused him to play limited minutes and even miss time, like he did during Neumann-Goretti’s loss to Archbishop Wood two weeks ago.
For the first time in months, the junior is feeling back to his old self and he was needed more than ever against the league-leading Cahillites on Friday night.
“I’ve been injured so I’ve been feeling on and off, but now that I’m getting back in a groove my shot is coming back to where it was the first couple games of the season before I got injured,” Myers said.
Myers knocked down three three-pointers on the night and finished with 16 points as Neumann-Goretti held on to beat Roman Catholic, 62-60 and vaulted into first place in the league standings in the process. After Roman Catholic (17-2, 9-1 Philadelphia Catholic League) sprinted out to a 22-10 lead after the first quarter, Myers got it going with three treys in the second quarter alone. He sized up Jermai Stewart-Herring – one of the more versatile defenders in the league this season – and hit him with a jab step before sinking his first shot from deep to cut the deficit to 28-20. He immediately followed that make up with another one from the outside and he ended up scoring seven in that second quarter as the Saints (16-2, 9-1) went into the locker room trailing by two.
Seeing Myers play at this level after how much pain and anguish that ankle injury has caused this season gives head coach Carl Arrigale hope that he’s not only progressing back to full health but also back into the player that burst onto the scene at the Palestra last February.
Khaafiq Myers has battled an ankle injury for much of the season but has played well despite it - PSD Photo by Dan Hilferty
“He’s close now and he’s good enough that he could win this game for us tonight,” Arrigale said. “He wouldn’t have been able to do this even 10 days ago. I don’t think he wouldn’t have had enough to do it.”
What made Neumann-Goretti’s win over the Cahillites even more noteworthy was the fact that they were missing Baylor commit and one of the frontrunners for Philadelphia Catholic League MVP in Robert Wright III, who has missed the last two games due to an illness and averages over 20 points per game. The Saints made their move in the third as Wright’s younger brother, Stephon Ashley-Wright aka “Munchie” had “a coming out party,” according to Arrigale, as he tallied a career-high 15 points. The freshman guard couldn’t convert at the rim on the first attempt but got his own miss and put it back in to cut the deficit to 38-34. Bruce Smith (10 points) sank both of his three-point attempts in the third and Myers dished out one of his nine assists to Ashley-Wright in the corner for a trey and the game was tied at 47-47 with 1:17 left in the third.
ROMAN CATHOLIC VS. NEUMANN-GORETTI - HIGHLIGHTS BY RICH FLANAGAN
To respond how they did without Wright showed a maturity that Arrigale was not sure this group possessed but it gives him even more confidence in what they can accomplish when their best player is out.
“They stayed the course, and it was big for them because they wanted to prove we could win without him,” Arrigale said. “This was the second game, and we already did it once without him. They’re growing up.”
That colossal three-pointer that Myers drilled over Brown gave the Saints a three-point lead heading into the final quarter then Sultan Adewale – who posted 11 points and nine rebounds – had a three bounce in to give his side a six-point advantage. The 6-8 senior big man converted an and-one on the ensuing possession then Ashley-Wright calmly nailed a trey from the wing and Neumann-Goretti led 59-47 with 4:15 remaining.
It was a night where Myers had his hand in almost every possession, and his dynamic, play-making ability combined with his improved shooting stroke has transformed him into a guard that teams like that Cahillites must account for whenever he’s on the floor.
“It was how they played me, and I took every open look that I got,” Myers said. “I knew they were going to load up on me when they found out Rob wasn’t playing, so I wanted to get my teammates hot and involved early. This way they were rolling in the fourth quarter.”
Roman Catholic wasn’t finished yet as Brown, who scored a game-high 27 points, converted a floater on the left side of the rim then Erik Oliver-Bush finished through contract to cut the lead to 59-51. Myers found Smith cutting down the baseline for two, but Brown put together a run where he scored seven of the Cahillites next nine points, including a three-pointer with 15.5 seconds left to play, and suddenly it was a one-point game. Stewart-Herring, the 6-5 senior wing who had 20 points and nine boards, was masterful in this game and he scored the other basket during that final run.
One of the lone mistakes Myers made was a turnover with that one-point lead and Roman Catholic brought the ball up the floor with a chance to win it. Following a timeout, Brown drove straight down the lane but missed to the left on a floater and Adewale corralled the rebound. He was fouled and sank 1-of-2 at the line. With another opportunity to win the game, the Cahillites brought the ball up with seven seconds left and as Stewart-Herring was prepared to hoist a trey to potentially win the game, Smith stripped him, and the Saints escaped with their biggest victory of the year to date.
ROMAN CATHOLIC VS. NEUMANN-GORETTI PHOTO GALLERY BY DAN HILFERTY FOR PSD
While he may be the other member of a vaunted backcourt, Myers was the one scoring the key baskets and penetrating deep to put his teammates in position to score when the Saints needed him and that speaks volumes to the type of player he has become. Wright will be back next week but, on this night, it was Myers leading the way.
“I wanted us to stay within the same concepts and just because Rob was out doesn’t change anything,” Myers said. “We still need to be who we are and that’s what we did.”