State Basketball Playoff Recaps, 2008-09

State Playoff Recaps,

2008-09

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CLASS A Play-In Game At Camp Hill Camp Hill 66, Boys' Latin 56: Point guard Maurice Watson, son of coach Maurice Watson, mad-bombed six treys en

route to 34 points, thus finishing his freshman season with 505. Wafeeq Jamal

(11) added a trio of three-pointers. First Round At SJ Prep Math, Civics & Sciences 48, Church Farm 44: Ramone Williams (15) and Jeff Lord (14) picked up the scoring slack as

headliners Jose Ortiz and Zaahir Smith combined for just seven points. Second Round At Garden Spot, New Holland Greenwood 54, Math, Civics and Sciences 51: Jeff Lord (14), Jose Ortiz (12) and Zaahir Smith (10) scored in double figures

for MC&S. Lord added 15 rebounds, five blocks. On a late move, Ortiz drew a

blocking call from the ref closest to the play. Another overruled him, saying

Ortiz had traveled. CLASS AA Play-In Game At High School of the Future Prep Charter 75, Devon Prep 48: Ferg Myrick scored 22 points while Zaahid Holloman mixed five steals with three

assists. First Round At Southern Imhotep 55, Delone Catholic 48: Sub David Appolon hit a third quarter trey after DC advanced within one. Sam

Prescott (Marist) and Will Adams (Towson) notched 17 and 13 points,

respectively. At Bonner W. Catholic 50, Salisbury Twp. 42: With 15 points, Rob Hollomon raised his career total to 1,003 and became just

the second hoops-football athlete in city history (also '06 Ryan grad Joe

Zeglinski) to post 1,000 points and 3,000 rushing yards. Ade Barek, a native of

London, England, with Nigerian roots, added six points, nine rebounds and four

steals. Aquil Younger had 12 points, five

rebounds, six assists and seven steals. At Garden Spot, New

Holland Prep Charter 48, Pequea Valley 41: Ferg Myrick tallied 21 points, lifting his career total to 1,012. Khalil Raines

made four steals. The Huskies survived despite

going 8-for-22 at the line. At Hersheypark Arena Trinity 64, Straw. Mansion 49: Darren "DL" Lawrence (20) and Devonte "DJ" Newbill (10) reached double figures

for Mansion, which was outscored at the foul line, 20-1. Second Round Doubleheader at Hershey High Prep Charter 73, Loyalsock Twp. 67: Despite playing with blurred version throughout -- he lost his contacts -- the

nearsighted Ferg Myrick managed to contribute 15 points and 12 rebounds. He said

he felt pretty stupid several times after realizing he tried to rebound shots

that had already gone in. Ameen Tanksley shot 7-for-10 (three treys, of PC's

eight) and 8-for-10 for 25 points. Kyle Stanton went 3-for-3 on treys. Hughesville 61, W. Catholic 58: Right down the road from where he'd experienced vast disappointment three months

earlier in the state championship football game, star rusher/wing guard Rob

Hollomon relived the pain as his last-second trey misconnected. He finished with

18 points, four assists, three steals. Aquil Younger shot 4-for-8 (one trey) and

11-for-12 for 20 points while adding four steals. Each team hit two free throws

with one-tenth of a second remaining after Hughesville was fouled and was then

assessed a tech for rushing the court. The Burrs did not get off a last shot.

West and Prep Charter had 20 fans total in attendance. Neither brought

cheerleaders. At Spring-Ford Imhotep 58, Notre Dame (Green Pond) 53: Sub David Appolon (16) and Sam Prescott (12) each hit two free throws in the

final 30 seconds to help the Panthers advance. Will Adams added 11 points. Quarterfinal At Southern Imhotep 58, Prep Charter 55: After committing a bad turnover (too-long football pass) on an inbound pass with

14 seconds remaining, Parrish Grant atoned by converting a one-and-one at 4.3

and then held his breath as PC's Zaahid Holloman hit the heel of the rim with a

buzzer-beating trey. Grant had 16 points, six rebounds, five assists,

two steals and shot 4-for-4 (two treys) for 10 first quarter points. Sam

Prescott managed 14 points, six boards, two assists, three steals and four

blocks. For PC, Ferg Myrick scored 14 points and Tyree "Chuck" Harris snagged 15

rebounds. Semifinal At East Pennsboro, Enola Imhotep 53, Hughesville 46: Imhotep had the support of just 27

fans in a jam-packed, 1,436-seat facility. But in the waning moments, they were

the only ones making noise. Parrish Grant totaled 17 points, six assists and

five steals and was noteworthy down the stretch with a one-and-one conversion

and a long pass to Ivory Wells for a layup. Kenny Battle shot 5-for-6 for 10

points and Erik Copes squeezed six boards into the fourth quarter. The win was

Imhotep's 30th in succession. Final At Penn State's Bryce Jordan Center Imhotep 75, Pittsburgh North Catholic 67 (2 OTs): Imhotep

surrendered the game's first 12 points, then regrouped for five points in the

last 11 seconds of the first quarter thanks to two steals by sub David Appolon

(15 points). It wasn't easy after that, but the Panthers kept battling to

collect the Public League's third Class AA title in four years. It was also No.

3 for point guard Parrish Grant (10 points), a sub for Prep Charter in '06 and a

starter in '07. Sam Prescott was terrific with 21 points, 13 rebounds and five

steals and he shot 8-for-8 at the line from the fourth quarter on (while his

teammates were going 7-for-17). Kenny Battle (12) and Will Adams (11) also

scored in double figures and Erik Copes, a 6-8 soph, added seven blocks to 11

rebounds. Four of PNC's starters were related (son/nephews) of coach Dave Long. CLASS AAA First Round At Southern Neumann-Goretti 98, Steelton-Highspire 71: Deep subs played extensively after the Saints' rotation guys rolled. Tony

Chennault totaled 25 points, nine rebounds, five

assists and two steals. Tyreek Duren (14) and Andre "Scooter" Gillette (12) also

scored in double figures. At Southern Strath Haven 76, Franklin LC 66: Siena signee Denzel Yard (1,031 for career) and

Nasir Jones halved 42 points. Yard added four assists and three steals while

Jones grabbed seven rebounds. At Norristown Carroll 56, Phoenixville 50: This game started roughly a half-hour earlier

than N-G's on a Friday night, so the Patriots claimed the Catholic League's

first state tournament win. Kasheef Festus grabbed 11 rebounds and shot 9-for-12

en route to 20 points while DJ Irving (also 20) went 5-for-9 on treys and

Juan'ya Green dished six assists. Second Round At Reading High's Geigle Complex Neumann-Goretti 65, Susquehanna Twp. 51: Tyreek Duren scored 15 of

his 20 points in a 43-28 second half and shot 10-for-12 at the line in the

fourth quarter. He also totaled six assists, five steals. Tony Chennault added

15 points, 13 rebounds, five assists. At Parkland Carroll 62, Shamokin 51: Juan'ya Green paced the Patriots' 38-point second half with 14 of his 16. DJ

Irving finished with 15 points, four steals. Carroll enjoyed a 15-0 run in the

third quarter. Quarterfinal At Ryan Carroll 70, Neumann-Goretti 65: Carroll had dropped 18 in a row to the Saints, counting a pair of playoffs. But

on Friday the 13th, it finally experienced good fortune in the series thanks to

DJ Irving (26 points, perfect swish from three-quarters court as the third

quarter ended) and a 28-for-36 performance at the line (N-G was 9-for-22).

Juan'ya Green scored 12 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter. Pat Daly led the

bench brigade by thrice taking charges. For N-G, Tony Chennault rang up 10 of

his 21 points in the final 4:09. Semifinal At Reading High's Geigle Complex Carroll 65, York Suburban 57: Miffed after learning that YS intended to cover him with a guard, 6-5, 235-pound

Kasheef Festus bullied his way to 19 points and 11 rebounds. He shot 4-for-4 and

11-for-13 and copied the free-throw style of Kobe Bryant; he made the change in

practice the day before and nailed 20 in a row. DJ Irving (16) and Juan'ya Green

(14) also scored in double figures and the Patriots shot 19-for-26 on foul shots

in the final quarter. Final At Penn State's Bryce Jordan Center Carroll 75, Greensburg Salem 54: The Patriots, who had to capture a winner's in-loser's out District 12

consolation just to make the tournament, completed a strong state-title run with

amazing balance. Kasheef Festus (18), DJ Irving (17), Juan'ya Green (16) and

Andre Wilburn (12) reached double figures in points and Ben Mingledough came

close with eight. All five of those guys also claimed from five to seven

rebounds. Carroll won the middle quarters, 41-20. Irving made seven steals.

Green had five assists. This was the second game of a night doubleheader. In the

opener, O'Hara's girls (AAAA) missed out on a chance to become the Catholic

League's first state champ in a loss to Mt. Lebanon. The next night, Carroll's

girls completed an emphatic sweep of state titles by swamping Lampeter-Strasburg,

68-45. CLASS AAAA First Round At Ryan Central Bucks South 62, Roman 57: Villanova-bound Maalik Wayns, a McDonald's All-American, scored 16 points in his

return to action after missing nine games (right-knee meniscus surgery) and

backcourt partner Rakeem "Rahk" Brookins was even more productive with 21.

However, the Cahillites shot just 10-for-21 at the line in the second half and

lost to District 1's eighth seed, which was coming off three straight losses. At SJ Prep Plymouth-Whitemarsh 47, Southern 45: Shaquille Gaskins scored seven consecutive points to rally the Rams into a 40-40

tie, but they then fell short -- as did Deshon "Biggie" Minnis' last-second shot

that would have forced OT. At Council Rock South Pennsbury 51, N. Catholic 26: North made no steals in the first 25-plus minutes and never did get to the foul

line. Jack O'Neill scored 10 points. At Pleasant Valley, Brodheadsville Bartram 72, Pocono Mountain East 67 (OT): Tyrone Garland exploded for 40 points and scored eight of his team's 10 in the

final 44 seconds of regulation, helping it storm back from an eight-point

deficit. His trey with 3.3 seconds left forced OT. Quasim Jones scored 15 points

and Danny Walker mixed 10 rebounds with seven points. Second Round At O'Hara Penn Wood 78, Bartram 53: The victors stormed to 35 of the game's final 44 points. Tyrone Garland scored

21 points for Bartram, thus concluding his junior season with 750 and raising

his career total to 1,510.