PHILADELPHIA – The final weekend of the regular season in Catholic League boys’ basketball was a microcosm of the entire season.
And what a season it has been.
Eight of the final 15 games were decided by fewer than 10 points and four were decided by fewer than five. Of the league’s 91 games, 44 had a single-digit margin of victory.
“This is what it’s all about,” said Bonner-Prendergast junior Isaiah Wong. “You work hard all season long and (then) you have to keep it going. You have to keep getting better and finish what you started.”
Wong was talking about the end of the regular season heading into the playoffs, which begin with two preliminary contests on Wednesday. Wong’s Friars will await the lowest remaining seed because they finished in first place with a 12-1 record, BP’s 73-70 victory over 12-1 Neumann-Goretti on January 28 providing the tiebreaker.
Right behind Bonner-Prendergast was Roman Catholic at 11-2 and Archbishop Carroll at 10-3. With a couple of baskets going a different way, Roman could have finished undefeated. The Cahillites’ only setbacks were by 56-54 to Neumann-Goretti and 68-66 in overtime against Bonner-Prendergast.
Heading into the final weekend, four teams remained alive for a potential first-place tie, the first time that has happened in more than a decade. That’s how crazy it’s been since the league season commenced way back on January 2.
“I think finishing in first or second is a big deal due to the playoff match-ups,” said Bonner-Prendergast coach Jack Concannon.
Approaching Friday night, Bonner-Prendergast, Neumann-Goretti, Roman Catholic, and Archbishop Carroll were the only teams to secure a quarterfinal berth. Of the remaining 10 teams, only Father Judge had been eliminated from playoff contention.
In addition to those four, Archbishop Wood, and La Salle clinched a quarterfinal berth. The two final playoff vacancies will be determined by pre-quarterfinal showdowns (seventh-place St. Joseph’s Prep vs. 10th-place Bishop McDevitt; eighth-place Archbishop Ryan vs. ninth-place Cardinal O’Hara).
MBAP VS. NG Highlights - Shot by Aaron Mitchell
Roman vs. Wood - 54 Game Photos by PSD's Ben Medland
PSD Photos by Ben Medland
Carroll vs. Father Judge - 30 Game Photos by PSD 's Mike Gray
PSD Photos by Mike Gray
Wood vs. McDevitt Highlight Video - Shot by Kathy Leister for PSD
For La Salle, finishing sixth necessitated gymnastics. The Explorers needed to defeat West Catholic, Father Judge, and Archbishop Ryan and simultaneously hope for some help, and that’s precisely what occurred because St. Joseph’s Prep dropped three straight contests against Archbishop Wood, Neumann-Goretti, and Roman Catholic by a combined 10 points.
“After the loss to St. Joe’s Prep (88-53 on February 2), the guys regrouped and came out strong,” said La Salle junior Konrad Kiszka, who averaged a team-best 14 points over the last five games, including a team-high 17 in the 62-48 must win over visiting Archbishop Ryan. “We knew the Prep had three tough games to end the season, and the only way to get in the top six was to win our games. Our motivation was to finish higher than we did after our disappointing season (10th seed) last year.”
Of Wednesday’s playoff play-in games, the Prep-McDevitt battle (3:30 at SJP; O’Hara visits Ryan at 7) seems particularly interesting. The Hawks’ average loss was by six points and four of their defeats were by a composite 14 points. McDevitt, which upended host West Catholic, 53-50, and visiting Father Judge, 66-53, behind sophomore Robert Smith’s combined 44 points to finish 4-9 and avoid elimination, has lost three games by two, three, and five points.
“Our record doesn’t reflect how well we played,” said McDevitt junior AJ Greenberg. “I think the whole league has been like that. A lot of good teams played in a lot of close games. It’s great to have a chance to continue our season.”
For the Catholic League scoring title, Conwell-Egan senior Patrick Robinson held off a late push from the aforementioned Wong to win top honors with a 23.5 average. Wong was second at 22.2. Senior Andrew Funk of defending champion Archbishop Wood went bananas down the stretch with 86 points over the final three games, including a career-high 35 against Roman and 25 versus Carroll, and placed third at 19.7. Prep senior Darius Kinnel (18.9) and Cardinal O’Hara senior Antwuan Butler (18.5) snared fourth and fifth, respectively.
Catholic League Boys’ Basketball Standings
(End of Regular Season)
12-1 Bonner-Prendergast
12-1 Neumann-Goretti
11-2 Roman Catholic
10-3 Archbishop Carroll
8-5 Archbishop Wood
8-5 LaSalle
7-6 St. Joseph’s Prep
6-7 Archbishop Ryan
5-8 Cardinal O’Hara
4-9 Bishop McDevitt
3-10 West Catholic
2-11 Lansdale Catholic
2-11 Conwell-Egan
1-12 Father Judge
Top 10 Catholic League Scorers:
1. Patrick Robinson (sr.), Conwell-Egan, 23.5
2. Isaiah Wong (jr.), Bonner-Prendergast, 22.2
3. Andre Funk (sr.), Archbishop Wood, 19.7
4. Darius Kinnel (sr.), St. Joseph’s Prep, 18.9
5. Antwuan Butler (sr.), Cardinal O’Hara, 18.5
6. Seth Lundy (jr.), Roman Catholic, 16.8
7. Lynn Greer (so.), Roman Catholic, 16.6
8. Imere Harris (jr.), West Catholic, 16.4
9. Eric Esposito (sr.), Conwell-Egan, 16.0
(T) 10. Tom Quarry (sr.), Father Judge, 15.8
(T) 10. Keyon Butler (sr.), Archbishop Carroll, 15.8
(John Knebels can be reached at Jknebels@gmail.com or on Twitter @johnknebels.)
PCL Boys’ Basketball Playoff Information:
The first round of the PCL playoffs will take place Wednesday, Feb. 14. No. 9 Cardinal O'Hara will play No. 8 Archbishop Ryan at 7:00 p.m. and No. 10 Bishop McDevitt will play No. 7 St. Joseph's Prep at 3:30 p.m.
Note: Higher seeds will have home court advantage during the first round and quarterfinals unless otherwise noted.
The boys’ quarterfinals will begin on Friday, Feb. 16. TBA at No. 1 Bonner-Prendie at 7:00 p.m. No. 5 Archbishop Wood will play at No. 4 Archbishop Carroll at 7:00 p.m. No. 6 La Salle College will play No. 3 Roman at 3:45 p.m. at the Community College of Philadelphia. TBA at No. 2 Neumann-Goretti at 7:00 p.m.
The boys’ semifinals will be held Wednesday, Feb. 21 at the Palestra. The first game will be played at 6:30p.m. and the second will follow.
The finals are set for Monday, February 26 at the Palestra at the University of Pennsylvania. The PCL girls’ final will begin at 6:30p.m. with the boys’ final following at 8:15p.m.
**To purchase tickets for the PCL boys’ semifinals and finals at the Palestra, click here.**
Tag(s): Home Schools Philadelphia Catholic Boys Basketball Philadelphia Catholic League Arch. Carroll Boys Basketball Arch. Ryan Boys Basketball Arch. Wood Boys Basketball Bishop McDevitt Boys B-Ball Bonner & Prendie Boys B-Ball Cardinal O'Hara Boys B-Ball Conwell-Egan Boys Basketball Father Judge Basketball La Salle Basketball Lansdale Cath. Boys Basketball Roman Catholic Basketball Saint Joseph's Prep Basketball Neumann/Goretti Boys B-Ball West Catholic Boys Basketball