BOYS’ BASKETBALL: PCL Round-Up, At the Halfway Mark, La Salle, Cardinal O’Hara, Father Judge and Roman Catholic Secure Needed Victories

Philadelphia Catholic League Boys’ Basketball Round-Up:

In the course of a season, some victories mean more than others.

Just ask La Salle, Cardinal O’Hara, and Father Judge.

As most teams reached the midway point of the season last night, La Salle and O’Hara were in desperate need of a victory. Two nights earlier, Father Judge faced the same predicament.

Although it is too early to label their triumphs “season savers”, each of those three squads put themselves in significantly better position in the standings.

“It felt great to get that win,” said La Salle senior Sean Simon, referring to the Explorers’ 61-50 success at previously undefeated Bonner-Prendergast that raised their record to 4-3. “We were struggling with close games and for the past two ended up turning the ball over and not keeping it close. This helps us towards the playoffs.”

Juniors scored the rest of La Salle’s points. Allen Powell’s 19 and Kahlil Diarrah’s 11 were both career highs. Titus Beard matched his career best with 11. Zach Crisler rounded out the scoring with seven. Crisler was most impressed that the Explorers assisted on 13 of their 20 baskets.

Cardinal O'Hara vs. La Salle - Photo courtesy of @LaSalle_Sports

Gallery below contains 10 MBAP vs. Wood Photos by PSD Photographer Kathy Leister

Bonner-Prendie vs. Wood - PSD photos by Kathy Leister

"This past game was huge for us," said Crisler. "We knew that nobody was expecting us to win, so we came into the game very loose and pumped up.

"Taking down a top team like that was huge and I think it can really help our momentum heading into the back half of the Catholic League."

Junior teammate Konrad Kiszka said La Salle's energy was palpable.

"We were coming off two losses to Wood and Neumann," he said. "We knew this game could be a momentum shift for our season. Also, knowing we could beat a team of that caliber is great for our confidence moving toward the end of the regular season."

For the Friars (6-1), juniors Tariq Ingraham (17) and Isaiah Wong (15) have reached double digits in each of B-P’s seven league games.

“Everyone played well and left it all out on the floor,” said Powell. “We knew it would be a tough one and we all had to lock in and play a good game. It felt great to come in and beat one of the better teams in the Catholic League. This win shows what we can do in this league.”

La Salle senior Matt McMahon appreciated what he saw.

“It was a great team win for us,” he said. “Everyone was super pumped because we earned it. We came out very urgent and hungry because we knew this was a very winnable game.

“We showed in prior games that we can play with the top teams in the area and this game showed we can beat a top team. When we play as focused and unselfish as we did against Bonner, we are a very tough team to beat.”

Gallery below contains 12 SJP vs. Lansdale Catholic Photos by PSD Photographer Zamani Feelings

SJP vs. Lansdale Catholic - PSD Photos by Zamani Feelings

Father Judge vs. Ryan Highlight Video - by Kevin Murphy

Gallery below contains 13 Father Judge vs. Wood Photos by PSD Photographer Kathy Leister

Father Judge vs. Wood - Photos by Kathy Leister

Just a few miles away, Cardinal O’Hara was stunning visiting St. Joseph’s Prep, 54-42. Senior Antwuan Butler, the fourth-top scorer in the Catholic League, netted 19 while sophomores Jordan Hall (14) and Kevin Reeves combined for 23. For the Hawks (5-3), who dropped their second straight, seniors Darius Kinnel and Kyle Thompson scored 14 and 12, respectively.

“It was a great win for us knowing we worked hard all week,” said Butler. “We just wanted to control the tempo of the game. It felt great earning a big win at home. We are ninth place. There are going to be more ‘upsets’ in this league.”

Hall said the Lions “needed this win very badly.”

“When the coaches told us that O’Hara hasn’t beaten St. Joe’s Prep in a very long time, we knew we had to upset everyone,” said Hall. “But we still have a long way to go.”

After losing five games by an average of six points and dropping one in overtime and another in double overtime, Father Judge finally broke free by toppling Lansdale Catholic, 62-55. A balanced scoring attack included 17 from junior Shane Dooley, 16 from senior Tom Quarry, and 13 from senior Conor McHugh. For Lansdale Catholic (1-6), senior Jack Kusters scored 13 and junior Kyle Kane added 11.

“It felt great to get our first win in league play,” said McHugh. “We’ve been in every game this year. We just haven’t came out on top.

“Our goal is to be a playoff team and we know that we’re capable of that, so every win will be huge for us.”

For Father Judge's Riley, winning was a great relief.

"It was really important," said Riley. "We have been in every game we have played in and to finally have one go our way is a great feeling, but there is still a lot of work to be done, and we have to focus on Bonner now and try and get another win."

Because of postponements for a variety of reasons, Roman Catholic needed to play two games in less than 24 hours.

On Tuesday night, the visiting Cahillites took care of Archbishop Ryan, 62-51, as sophomore Lynn Greer scored 17, junior Seth Lundy tallied 14, and junior Hakim Hart added 14.

“Losing two early games in the Catholic League really motivated us for this game (vs. Ryan). We just know going out for the rest of the season that every game is going to be a playoff game for us,” said Lundy. “It’s getting crucial at this point and playoffs are right around the corner. So we know we have to come into every game and give it our all.”

Then, on Wednesday afternoon, Roman toppled Bishop McDevitt, 60-49. Once again, the trio of Lundy (17), Greer (16), and Hart (14) was dominant and proved to be too much for the Lancers despite sophomore Robert Smith’s 13 points, his sixth straight double-figure performance.

Tomorrow night’s action features 4-2 Roman Catholic at 5-1 Archbishop Carroll; 4-2 Archbishop Wood at 6-0 Neumann-Goretti; 1-5 Father Judge at 6-1 Bonner-Prendergast; 4-3 Archbishop Ryan at 1-6 Lansdale Catholic; 4-3 La Salle at 2-5 Bishop McDevitt; and 1-6 Conwell-Egan at 1-6 West Catholic. Cardinal O’Hara (3-4) and St. Joseph’s Prep (5-3) have the night off.

Roman vs. Ryan Highlight Video:

Seth Lundy explains Roman's execution vs. Ryan

(John Knebels can be reached at Jknebels@gmail.com or on Twitter @jknebels.)

Gallery contains 37 photos of Neumann-Goretti vs. Roman Catholic - taken by PSD photographer Aaron Mitchell