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BOYS BASKETBALL: Team Efforts, A History Making Shot and Playoff Contenders Lead Our Friends School League Notebook

By Marc Narducci, 01/28/25, 12:30PM EST

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BY MARC NARDUCCI

(Photos by Zack Beavers, Lennie Malmgren & Justin Maldonado for PSD)

FSL NOTEBOOK for Week of (1/27)

Luke Melniczak excelling for regular season champion George School

A win that seemed all but assured earlier in the game was still in doubt until Luke Melniczak of the George School continued a senior season of big shots in big games.

With his team up by one and 13 seconds left, the 6-foot-4 Melniczak put an end to any comeback hopes by drilling a corner three-pointer in the George School’s 78-72 win over defending Friends League champion Academy of the New Church.

“It felt good soon as I shot it,” Melniczak said.

Plenty of other shots felt good that game as Melniczak scored a team-high 23 points.

He had to be on his game because ANC had battled back from a double-digit deficit to make it a competitive game.

The win improved the Cougars to 6-0 in the Friends League. They would extend that to 7-0 while clinching the top seed in the upcoming playoffs with Friday’s 74-59 home victory over Westtown.

Not many prognosticators had the Cougars earning the regular season title. One of the reasons for the success has been the play of Melniczak, who has been just as effective on both ends of the court.

“He can defend 94 feet and is one of the best defensive players in the country,” George School coach Ben Luber said. “He is in great shape, is long and wiry and he’s a winner who does it all for us.”

It appears as if Luber’s preseason goal for Melniczak has been realized.

“My goal was for him to have a memorable senior year, and he is well on his way to that,” Luber said.

Melniczak understands that there is still plenty to achieve this year, but he is happy with the team’s progress.

“I feel we have been slept on, and we were not in any rankings, and it is a good feeling to prove others wrong,” he said.

George School in game vs. Westtown. (video/ Zack Beavers for PSD)

There were plenty of other contributors in the win over ANC. Junior guards Kasey Fleming and Peyton Miller scored 23 and 16 points respectively and freshman guard Ryan Melniczak, the brother of Luke, scored eight.

In the win over Westtown, Fleming led the way with 26 points, hitting five three’s. Miller scored 16 while Luke Melniczak had 11. Senior Reeve Sysko and Ryan Melniczak each scored nine.

“It was probably the best atmosphere game we had this year,” Luke Melniczak said. “The whole school came to support us, and Westtown had a good crowd and it was packed.”

One reason George School has been unbeaten in Friends League plays is that on any given night a different player could be the leading scorer.

It’s a balanced offense. Miller leads the Cougars with an 18.3 scoring average and Fleming is second at 15.4 ppg, followed by Luke Melniczak at 13.7.

Playoff picture

The Friends League playoffs begin this week. In the Friends League, the No 4 team hosts the No. 5 seed this Friday Jan. 31.

The semifinals are Tuesday Feb. 4, with the 4/5 winner visiting the top seed and the second seed hosting the third seed.

The championship will be on Friday, Feb. 7 at La Salle University. It will be a doubleheader with the girls’ championship at 6 p.m. and the boys’ at 8.

Here are the records of the teams contending for a playoff spot. As mentioned above, George School has clinched the No. 1 seed.

George School 7-0

Westtown 5-2

Academy of the New Church 5-2

Friends Select 5-2

Friends Central 5-3

Here are who the second through fifth place teams have lost to:

Westtown has lost to Friends Central and George, ANC has lost to Westtown and George, Friends Select has lost to ANC and George, Friends Central has lost to ANC, George and Friends Select.

Tuesday's Schedule

Friends Select at Westtown

ANC at Abington Friends

Shipley at Barrack Hebrew Academy

George School at Germantown Friends

Dill hits the record books for Germantown Friends

Germantown Friends 6-1 junior Jordan Dill became the school’s all-time leading scorer last week when he scored 24 points in a 71-59 home victory over Shipley.

That game him 2,036 points breaking the school record of 2,022 set by Jonathan Haynes in 1990. Haynes later went on to have a successful career at Villanova.

“It means a lot, especially with all the hard work, blood, sweat and tears I put into it every year,” said Dill, who has been playing for Germantown Friends since the eighth grade. “Every time I suit up for Germantown Friends, I try to give it my all.”

What made the event even more special was that Haynes attended the game in which his record was broken.

“I was warming up and was told that Jonathan Haynes wanted to talk to me,” Dill said. “It was a real honor.”

Not only that, but Haynes wanted to play some future hoops with Dill.

“The most exciting thing was he said that he wanted to get in the gym with me and I got his number,” Dill said.

When Dill began playing for the Tigers, the last thing he thought was possible was that he would become the school’s all-time scoring leader.

“I thought I would make an impact, but not as quick as I did,” he said.

Dill said he got to play more as an eighth grader because the point guard Matt Johnson had a lower back injury and missed most of his senior season. Now a junior, Johnson is a member of Widener’s basketball team.


GFS Jordan Dill makes history with breaking 35-year record. (Photo/ Lennie Malmgren for PSD)


GFS alum and Villanova standout Jonathan Haynes passes torch to new record holder Jordan Dill. (Photo/ Lennie Malmgren for PSD)

“I was heartbroken when Matt was injured,” Dill said. “Coach told me I was starting, and I was really nervous, but I was able to play well.”

And he has continued that throughout his career.

ANC’s Smith with a perfect shooting game

Eleven different players scored in a convincing win against Barrack Hebrew Academy as Cameron Smith, a 6-7 junior, led the way with 13 points. Smith hit all six of his field goal attempts and added seven rebounds.

Rassmussen excelling for Shipley

It’s been a tough year for Shipley, but there have been bright spots for the Gators, beginning with their only senior, 6-8 Henry Rasmussen.

Not only is Rasmussen the only senior, but was also the only returning starter.

“He has been great, not only basketball but leadership, character and what we are trying to do moving forward,” Shipley coach T.J. Ferrick said.


Shipley's Henry Rasmussen in game vs. Shipley. (Photo/ Justing Maldonado for PSD)

“He has been above and beyond what I expected, especially given the circumstances of not having an experienced team.”

In last week’s 71-59 loss to Germantown Friends, Rassmussen scored 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.

Yet despite the losses, he has performed at a high rate.

Ferrick felt Rassmussen would have a good senior year, but he has surpassed his coach’s expectations.

“He has been above and beyond what I can expect especially given the circumstances of not having a lot of experience,” Ferrick said. He has developed a ton as a player, and he was tremendous against Germantown Friend. I am happy about his progress, and I can’t say enough about his leadership.”

For Shipley, Rassmussen has to play closer to the basket, but Ferrick projects that he will be a stretch 4 in college.

“He will be better college basketball player than in high school and he has such a huge upside,” Ferrick said. “He loves the game, loves to be in the gym, is a great teammate, great leader and contributor.”

A Winn-er for Barack Hebrew Academy

One of the true bright spots for Barrack Hebrew Academy has been 6-2 senior Will Winn. On a program where 23 of the 27 varsity and JV players are freshmen or sophomores, Winn has been an invaluable leader. It’s a program that hasn’t won a Friends League game but has gone 6-3 in non-league action.

Winn is averaging more than 12 points a game and has recorded three double-doubles.

“He is a great leader and somebody who leads by example,” second-year Barrack head coach Stefan Thompson said.

What Thompson is so impressed about, is not only Winn’s improvement over last year, but the dedication he showed as soon as last season ended.

“He didn’t start one game last year but from February until October, he didn’t miss a workout, and his skill level jumped tremendously,” Thompson said. “He became a starter and a leader.”

Winn has had to play in pain this year. He missed a few earlier games with a shin stress fracture.

“He’s just a great kid who has shown so much toughness,” Thompson said. 

Three’s company

During Friends Central’s 74-52 win over Germantown Friends this past Friday, junior guard Gabe Moore led the way to victory with 29 points. An adept long-range shooter, Moore shot 7 for 15 from beyond the arc.

Two sophomores also came up big for the Phoenix, with 6-6 Oben Mokonchu scoring 20 points and 6-4 Pat Feamster adding 14.


Friends' Central junior Gabe Moore in game vs. Abington Friends. (Photo/ Lennie Malmgren for PSD)