BY BRENDAN BALDWIN
(PHOTOS / BRENDAN BALDWIN FOR PSD)
SPRINGFIELD, MA--Traveling back to Springfield, the birthplace of basketball, local Philadelphia teams Archbishop Wood and Imhotep Charter were put back on the big stage as all eyes were on Wood’s Jalil Bethea and Imhotep’s Ahmad Nowell at the Spalding Hoophall Classic held at Springfield College's Blake Arena on January 13th and 14th. The 22nd annual Hoophall Classic consisted of the top players, teams and coaches throughout United States. Fifty-four teams participated in this year's prestigious event.
Archbishop Wood High School, PA (6-7) vs. Corona Centennial High School, CA (16-8)
Archbishop Wood standout (Miami Commit) Jalil Bethea had a breakout game against Corona Centennial High School (CA) scoring 40 points with 4 assists and 8 rebounds. The ESPN No.7 ranked player in the class of 2024 helped the Vikings beat the Huskies 73-71 in a wild 4th quarter showdown.
The Vikings started out on top in the first quarter. Bethea got the ball rolling scoring the first points of the game with a layup. Less than 2 minutes later #23 Brady MacAdams (8pts) nailed a 3 pointer, bringing the score to 5-0 WOOD. Bethea knew just what his team needed to start the game off right, to prove they deserve to be here in front of tons of college and NBA scouts, scoring 10 of his 40 points in the 1st quarter. Notably a 3-pointer in front of the Huskies shooting a daggering glare to the opposing bench. First quarter score, 21-14 Wood.
Wood Standout Jalil Bethea scored game high 40 points for the Viking vs. Corona Centennial. (Photo/ Brendan Baldwin for PSD)
Archbishop Wood fell a little flat in the second scoring only 6 points total within the next 8 minutes leading up to the half. Thus, allowing Corona Centennial to claw their way back up making the score 30-27 leading into the half with a buzzer beating 3-pointer by Isaiah Rodgers from the Huskies.
After some time to talk it over, Corona came back out ready to ball, scoring 5 unanswered points at the start of the second half.
Halfway through the 4th quarter was when things started to turn around for Wood, with #2 Mike Green hitting a trey with 2:03 left to play. After a questionable shooting foul on Coronas #4 Bryant Carter (16pts) turned Bethea’s deep 3-pointer to a 4 point conversion, the fight was on. Back-to-back 3 pointers from Corona’s Carter made the game 71-71 with less than 5 seconds left in regulation. Wood now had the ball and moved down the court. Bethea went up for the game sealing layup and was fouled by #5 on Corona, Zack Mendenhall. Bethea hit both shots making the game 73-71 Wood. Finally, Wood’s #5 Josh Reed stole the ball back to seal the victory for the Archbishop Wood Vikings.
FINAL 73-71 ARCHBISHOP WOOD
Not long after, MVP of the game Jalil Bethea was interview by various reporters.
“This means a lot because there were a lot of eyes on me today,” Bethea said. “This is a bigger platform than what I’ve played on this year.
“There were a lot of words going around that 'I’m not this, I’m not that,' but I just came out here, played basketball and proved a lot of people wrong.”
Archbishop Wood in Hoop Hall Classic Tournament game vs. Corona Centennial. (Photos/ Brendan Baldwin
Archbishop Wood's Jalil Bethea received MVP of the game after his outstanding 40 pt game performance, (Photo/ Brendan Baldwin for PSD)
SCORING STATS:
Archbishop Wood: Jalil Bethea 40, Mike Green 12, Brady MacAdams 8, Josh Reed 6, Milan Dean 3, Deuce Maxey 2, Tahir Howell 2
Corona Centennial: Eric Freeny 34, Carter Bryant 16, Isaiah Rogers 10, CJ Richardson 7, Markee White Jr. 4
Imhotep Charter, PA (12-2) vs. DeMatha Catholic High School, MD (15-4)
The future is bright for the uncommitted 2026 sophomore Zaahir Muhammad-Gray. The sophomore had 8 points and 8 rebounds in the Panthers 58-41 win over the Maryland powerhouse DeMatha Catholic High School Stags on Sunday, January 14th. The sophomore most notably had a major 4th quarter dunk which left his teammates speechless on the bench. Imhotep star point guard (UCON Commit) #0 Ahmad Nowell helped the Panthers soar over the Stags with 17 points, 5 rebounds, and 9 assists along with senior Jeremiah White (6 points) and junior Carnell Henderson (11 points). Imhotep had 8 total players with points on the board at the end of the game.
The game started off with back-and-forth buckets from both teams. The offenses prospered while the defenses lacked. That was until the junior forward Cole Bowser hit a left-wing 3-pointer for the Stags to make it 14-8 with 4 minutes left in the 1st quarter. Imhotep shot right back with a 10-3 scoring run to close out the 1st quarter. 18-17 in favor of the Panthers.
Imhotep’s defensive skills shined through in the 2nd quarter only allowing the DeMatha Stags to score a total of 6 points in the quarter leading into the half with Imhotep holding a 34-23 lead.
The 3rd quarter was the only attempt DeMatha tried to outscore the Panthers leading them by 2 points 14-12. However, that did not stop the Panthers from scoring in the quarter and never having less than an 8 point lead over the Stags throughout the entire 2nd half. Ending the 3rd, the score held 46-37 in Imhotep’s favor.
Imhotep vs. DeMatha Catholic in Hoop Hall Classic. (Photos/ Brendan Baldwin for PSD)
The biggest moment in the 4th and final quarter of the game was the slam dunk by sophomore Muhammad-Gray, that left his teammates stunned. Muhammad-Gray recently just received his first Division I offer as a sophomore, to Georgia Tech.
FINAL 58-41 IMHOTEP
This game on the big stage has helped the Panther’s to an impressive 12-2 record under head coach Andre Noble. Noble has led the Panthers for the last 20 seasons, and was recently honored when his team's high school gym was named after him.
An impressive performance from the No. 30 ranked senior in the country (24/7 Sports), UCONN commit Ahmad Nowell was named MVP of the game after a stellar performance on both sides of the court. Nowell clearly showed that he knew how to keep his team playing in sync throughout the full 32 minutes of the game. Nowell took his leadership role seriously and knew the impact that it had on his team.
“If you know something, just say it,” Nowell said. “Stepping into that role, it’s giving them assurance for what they’re thinking by saying it out loud.”
And when asked how he would define “Philly Toughness”?
“Toughness, giving it all we got and confidence.” Nowell said. “We’ve got a different type of confidence being from Philly we feel like we [are the] toughest players out there.”
MVP of the game Ahmad Nowell. (Photo by Brendan Baldwin for PSD)
Imhotep is now on a 5-game winning streak recently blowing-out the Abraham Lincoln Railsplitters 73-38.
SCORING STATS:
Imhotep Charter: Ahmad Nowell 17, Carnell Henderson 11, Zaahir Muhammad-Gray 8, RJ Smith 7, Jeremiah White 6, Zion Green 4, Kody Colson 3, Latief Lorenzano-White 2
DeMatha Catholic: Ashton Meeks 12, Charles Thomas III 6, Jamaal McKnight Jr. 5, Kade Sebastian 4, Jacob Wallace 4, Cole Bowser 3, Malcolm Thomas 2, Danny Abass 2, Derek Daniels 2, Kaden Walton 1