Inter-Ac Boys’ Basketball Round-Up:
In high school sports, seniors typically lead the way for underclassmen. They serve as mentors and raise the bar in all facets, among them the statistical category of points scored.
This past Tuesday, as Inter-Academic League basketball reached the halfway point of the season, that wasn’t the case. Not even close.
Of the composite 376 points scored by six teams in three games, seniors contributed a miserly 48, or 13 percent. Deduct 22 by Penn Charter Mason Williams, and the numbers move to 26 of 376, or six percent.
Of the 39 players who scored points, 33 were underclassmen.
“I think that the Inter-Ac League is in a rebuilding state that includes some of the top talent in this area,” said Germantown Academy coach Jim Fenerty. “The future is very bright for the league.”
In Germantown Academy’s 78-62 loss to Malvern Prep, the only senior who scored from either team was Malvern’s Billy Corcoran (eight points). Malvern sophomore Deuce Turner netted 23 and grabbed nine rebounds. Sophomore Isaac White tallied 11 points. Freshman Rahdir Hicks offered 15 points and six assists.
For the five-time defending league champ Patriots (0-5), freshman standout Jordan Longino led every Inter-Ac scorer with 27 points. His 104 points are second most in the league.
Germantown Academy freshman Jordan Longino #20 - PSD Photo by Zamani Feelings
“GA’s team is being led by several freshmen and sophomores who will only get better with experience,” said Fenerty. “The fact that so many college coaches are calling is a testament to that.”
Malvern Prep sophomore Deuce Turner #4 - PSD Photo by Zamani Feelings
Haverford School junior Gavin Burke #4 guards Springside Chestnut Hill sophomore Jared Sprague-Lott #1 - PSD Photo by Zamani Feelings
For the Friars (4-1), the victory helped ease the pain of losing to Haverford School, 62-57, the previous Friday.
“It was rough losing the close Haverford School game, but once we all came together and learned from it, we were eager to go out and play tough every night,” said Turner. “We're not ready to fold and give up the league yet. They got to do it again.”
Corcoran agreed.
“We definitely wanted to get back into league play with a win,” said Corcoran. “We couldn't afford to drop this one. We just focused on the game in front of us, not the one behind us or the ones in front of us, as well as trusting in each other's play.”
Malvern will meet Haverford School again February 2. The Fords (5-0) stopped Penn Charter, 60-48, as junior Christian Ray poured in 14 points and now leads the Inter-Ac in scoring by one point over Longino and by three over Turner.
Juniors Gavin Burke (14 points, eight assists) and Asim Richards combined for 24 points while freshman Christian Clover, playing for sidelined phenom Jameer Nelson (out for the year with a hip injury), added nine, right ahead of senior Kharon Randolph’s seven.
“It feels good to be in the position that we are in,” said Ray. “However, we were in this situation last year so we are far from satisfied and we are still hungry for more.”
Ray is referring to Haverford’s early start last year, a 5-0 hurricane that was squashed by a 2-3 finish.
“We all still feel the pain from walking off the court at GA defeated, or the EA fans rushing the floor at home, or even the feeling after losing to Malvern Prep,” said Ray. “It’s something we can use as extra motivation.”
Aforementioned Penn Charter senior Mason Williams recorded 22 points. In the Quakers’ previous game, an 81-56 win over Springside-Chestnut Hill, Williams scored his 1000th career point.
His method was as unconventional as possible – four straight free throws following consecutive technical foul calls on the Blue Devils.
“I think it was cool to score 1000 points, but in the end it’s only a personal accomplishment and less significant than our progress as a team,” said Williams. “I hope that at the end of the year that I will be able to look back at a team accomplishment as the highlight of our season instead of an individual one.”
Penn Charter Senior Mason William Scores his 1,000th Career Point - Video by Zamani Feelings
One team feeling pretty good about itself is Springside-Chestnut Hill Academy. The Blue Devils upended Episcopal Academy, 73-56, and raised their record to 2-3. They had defeated Germantown Academy, 55-53, earlier in the season. Sophomore Alex Capitano scored 23 for the Churchmen (1-4).
So the Blue Devils, who didn’t win a single league game in either of the past two years and went 1-9 in 2014-15 for a combined three-year, 1-29 stretch, have defeated the two squads that have dominated the Inter-Ac during that era, with GA going 26-4 and winning three crowns (one shared) and EA going 24-6 with one shared title and two second-place finishes.
EA vs. SCH - Photos by Episcopal Academy Jr. Reporter Alexandra Conroy
Episcopal vs. SCH - Photos by Alexandra Conroy
“Today was a great win,” said SCH senior forward CJ Sweitzer. “”We came out and played like devils and set the tone early with our energy. We continued to play hard defense, rebound, and do the little things that win games that are often overlooked.
“We are finally getting our feet under us, playing great team basketball, and the younger guys have continued to step up day in and day out.”
The Blue Devils rode the hot hand of sophomore guard Ke’Shawn Williams, whose 26 points increased his scoring average to 19.6, fourth best in the league.
“I had a few transition buckets, a couple jump shots. But I mainly just exploited a mismatch when possible by getting in the lane and finishing,” said Williams. “We’re putting the pieces together and starting to figure it out again.”
On Friday, the second half of the season will feature 0-5 Germantown Academy at 2-3 Springside-Chestnut Hill at 6:30; 4-1 Malvern Prep at 3-2 Penn Charter at 7:30; and 5-0 Haverford School at 1-4 Episcopal Academy at 7:30.
(John Knebels can be reached at Jknebels@gmail.com or on Twitter @johnknebels.)