By: John Knebels
GLENSIDE, PA – Bishop McDevitt has been the talk of the Catholic League all season long, and the plaudits have been well deserved.
But an 11-3 record, a third seed in the playoffs, and a 5-2 record against playoff teams would have felt empty, maybe even a bit fraudulent, without at least one must-win victory.
“To be considered one of the best, you have to be successful in in the playoffs,” said McDevitt junior Robert Smith. “It’s not enough to just have a good regular season.”
St. Luke's of Glenside 8th grader Sara Stoud receives huge ovation after a riveting Star Spangled Banner:
Final in-bound, then court rush from McDevitt student section:
In a Catholic League boys’ basketball quarterfinal February 15, the Lancers treated their exuberant fans to a scintillating 52-49 triumph over six-seed Archbishop Wood. The Lancers’ reward is a semifinal matchup with two-seed La Salle February 20 at the famed Palestra, McDevitt’s first visit to the vaunted West Philadelphia venue in exactly three decades.
Buoyed by sophomore Jaylen Stinson (16 points, eight rebounds, four steals, two assists), sophomore Daeshon Shepherd (13 points, five second-half rebounds), and senior Julius Phillips (12 points), Wood started strong and snared a 16-8 lead late in the first quarter. Although the Lancers climbed closer, the Vikings did not relinquish its lead until McDevitt senior Cameron Gardner nailed a three-pointer with less than a minute remaining before halftime. After Smith added two free throws with two seconds left, the Lancers were serenaded with booming cheers as they jogged to the locker room with a 29-26 lead.
“They came out and played really aggressively, and we played a little passive,” said McDevitt second-year coach Will Chavis. “But the second quarter and the third quarter, we did a good job of coming back, being poised, and just carrying it through.”
After a dominant third quarter forged a 45-36 lead, the Lancers were outscored by 9-2 midway through the fourth and led by only 47-45 with three minutes left in regulation. A foul shot and basket by McDevitt junior Jamil Manigo one minute apart sandwiched a pair of free throws by Wood’s aforementioned Stinson. Wood’s Shepherd scored a basket with 38.6 seconds left to move the Vikings to within 50-49, but two free throws by Smith with 17.5 ticks remaining closed the scoring. Tenacious McDevitt defense foiled two attempts by Wood to tie the game.
When the horn sounded, McDevitt’s faithful flooded the floor.
“It’s a blessing,” said Smith, who led all scorers with 19 points while adding five rebounds and three steals. “We worked every day. We’ve been working since the summer.”
Manigo, who scored all 10 of his points in the second half and corralled nine rebounds and dished two assists, agreed.
“We just had to get back in our groove,” he said. “We’ve never been in a situation like this, and it was overwhelming at first. Coach said from day one that if we worked hard, we’re going to the Palestra. From day one . . . that exact day.”
Standing outside the McDevitt locker room after having been doused with water inside the same location minutes earlier, Chavis tried to put his feelings into words.
Representing a program that had won exactly six league games over the previous four years, McDevitt’s visibly pleased coach chose his words carefully.
“It feels amazing,” said Chavis. “We worked really hard. The kids played really hard. It just feels great to finally achieve something and have some small success by going to the Palestra.
“That’s the story of our season. We’ve been fighting the whole time. Even last year when we came up short (as a 10 seed) down at St. Joe’s Prep (in a pre-quarterfinal game won by host and seven-seed Prep, 57-51), that was a really close game, so I think that atmosphere and that feeling prepared us for this game.”
McDevitt juniors Robert Smith & Jamil Manigo describe their joy of making it to the PCL semifinals:
Will Chavis gets doused with water in victorious locker room:
Will Chavis is extremely proud of his team:
Chavis knows what it is like to play at the Palestra, having played there in 1997 when he was a standout junior at Engineering and Science High School of the Public League.
“I know that the floor is really big, so we have to kind of prepare for that type of environment,” said Chavis. “I am proud of those guys. They worked hard. They deserve to be down there.”
When McDevitt played at the Palestra in the 1989 semifinals, they lost to La Salle, 56-47. The Lancers are hoping to reverse those fortunes so they could play in their school’s first-ever Catholic League championship final.
At this stage, you get the impression that anything less would be considered an excruciating disappointment.
(John Knebels can be reached at Jknebels@gmail.com or on Twitter @johnknebels.)
2019 PCL Boys’ Semifinals Wednesday, Feb. 20 at the Palestra (University of Pennsylvania)
Game 1: No. 2 La Salle College HS vs. No. 3 Bishop McDevitt 6:30 PM.
Game 2: No. 1 Roman Catholic vs. No. 4 Neumann-Goretti 8:15 PM.