State Playoff Recaps, 2020-21

Philadelphia High School

Basketball State Playoff Recaps, 2020-21 (Catholic Teams Only)

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Playoffs scaled back due to coronavirus

pandemic.

CLASS 4A Quarterfinal At Carroll Allentown Central Catholic 55, Carroll 51: The Patriots lost

the fourth quarter, 21-8. Anquan Hill totaled 17 points, 10 rebounds and six

blocked shots. Moses Hipps (12) and Tyler Seward (10) also scored in double

figures and Caleb Carter dished six assists.

CLASS 5A Quarterfinal At Ryan Ryan 68, Bangor 50: The Raiders dominated the middle two

quarters, 36-17. Aaron Lemon-Warren was a beast with 29 points and 14 rebounds

while Dominic Vazquez added 15 points and seven assists. Luke Boyd (14) also

reached double digits. Semifinal At Chester Ryan 84, Chester 63: Aaron Lemon-Warren put together quite the

noteworthy performance as the Raiders frolicked, especially in the second half.

He shot 15-for-17 overall, 3-for-3 (treys) and 3-for-3 (line) for 36 points.

That was the top total in state playoffs by a Catholic League player -- besting

33 by Neumann-Goretti's Ja'Quan Newton in 2014, and Roman's Tony Carr and N-G's

Zane Martin in 2016. The 36 points were also the most scored in a playoff by a

visitor to Chester's gym and left Lemon-Warren two points short of Anthony

Starace's school record (38 vs. McDevitt in 1998; Aaron also notched 36 points

in a non-league game as a junior). Believe it or not, Christian Tomasco

(12-for-13, 26 points) shot an even higher percentage from the floor thanks to

numerous dunks. Plus, Dominic Vazquez distributed 13 assists. Four Raiders added

five points apiece. Final At Hershey's Giant Center Erie Cathedral Prep 69, Ryan 49: The Raiders led just once,

at 2-0, and CP roared from there to a 30-14 halftime lead. No strong comeback

would occur. Ryan shot 16-for-55 from the floor and drained just one trey in 15

attempts. Aaron Lemon-Warren (16) and Dominic Vazquez (15) reached double

figures and the former finished his career with 984 points. The Raiders went 3-2

in playoff games, winning by an average of 22.3 and losing by 25.0.

CLASS 6A Quarterfinal At Allentown William Allen Wood 70, William Allen 56: Marcus Randolph shot 10-for-15 from

the floor en route to 23 points and contributed in other ways (six rebounds,

five assists, two steals) as well. The Vikings won the second half, 39-28.

Jaylen Stinson had 16 points, 10 boards and six assists. Muneer Newton and Mike

Knouse, making a rare start with Daeshon Shepherd unavailable, halved 20 points. Semifinal At Lower Merion Wood 72, Lower Merion 68: The Vikings trailed for much of the

game but went ahead for good, at 65-59, at the four-minute mark as righty

Rahsool Diggins hit a trey from the left side and lefty Marcus Randoph did

likewise from the right side. With 1.4 seconds remaining and the score at 70-68,

a Lower Merion player intentionally missed the second of two free throws. But he

whipped the ball off the top part of the backboard and the violation was

followed by a buzzer-beating layup. Randolph finished with 24 points and four

assists. Diggins, who earlier in the day received coaches' All-Catholic MVP

honors for the second consecutive year, hustled for 16 points, eight assists and

three steals. The other starters -- Jaylen Sinson (12), Muneer Newton and Mike

Knouse (10 apiece) -- also reached double digits. Newton added 11 rebounds. Final At Hershey's Giant Center Reading 58, Wood 57: In the waning moments, an errant pass on

a halfcourt inbound play assured Wood (19-1) would not become the first CPT in

the Catholic League's 102-season history. CPT stands for "Completely Perfect

Team" and Roman Catholic came close in the 1933-34 campaign. The Cahillites

stood at 15-0 late in the season and were hoping to draw an invite to a

prestigious national Catholic tournament in Chicago. That didn't happen. Roman

and also-perfect Penn Charter mutually canceled a Philly showdown and the former

wound up playing the University of Pennsylvania's freshman team. Penn won,

23-20. Thanks to Chris Gibbons, the president of Roman's alumni association, for

that info and to Roman grad Dan Hoban for enlisting Chris' assistance. In that

era and for many years thereafter it was common for quality high school teams to

test their skills by playing college frosh squads. All other CL champs with

perfect league records suffered at least one loss to a high school team.

Sometimes in non-league games, but often not until postseason appearances in

national/regional tourneys. Rahsool Diggins led the Vikings with 26 points -- it

was the first time all season just one Wood player scored in double figures --

and made four of their eight three-pointers. The last was nailed with 5.7

seconds remaining and brought Wood within one point. The teams then traded

turnovers. Diggins also scored nine points while rallying coach John Mosco's

team from a 51-44 deficit over the last 2:48. In retrospect, Wood's early

success on three-pointers might have been a detriment. Losing by 13-2, Reading

ditched its zone defense in favor of man-to-man and by halftime the deficit was

down to three points. Marcus Randolph totaled nine points, six assists and four

steals. Muneer Newton snatched 12 rebounds. Entering this game, as noted by CL statistician Ed "Huck" Palmer,

Wood was shooting 61.9 percent on twos, but went 11-for-30 (36.7). It did make

eight of 18 threes (44.4) after entering play at 30.5 for the season. Before this one, Wood boasted an average offensive efficiency of 118.7

with a low of 101.4 vs. McDevitt. The number for this one was 96.3.