Archbishop Wood hands St. Joe’s Prep its first Catholic League loss
The Philly stars were out on Wednesday night as Big 5 coaches and Eagles' D’Andre Swift watched the highly anticipated Catholic League matchup.
Archbishop Wood comes into every game with a pair of uber athletic Division I-bound senior guards in its backcourt.
With Miami recruit Jalil Bethea and Drexel-bound Josh Reed leading the way, the Vikings like their chances against anyone. When one gets going, Wood is tough to beat. If both get hot like Wednesday night? Forget about it.
Bethea, who was recently announced as a McDonald’s All-American game selection, poured in 30 points and Reed scored an additonal 25 in Wednesday’s 81-74 road win over St. Joseph’s Prep. The senior duo combined for 37 in the second half to deliver the Hawks’ their first loss in Catholic League play.
“For me and Jalil as leaders and captains of this team, we have to take over when it comes to late in games, tight games, big games like this,” Reed said. “We’ve been through it all three years, so we’re used to it now.”
Archbishop Wood (9-7, 5-2 Catholic League) entered Wednesday night’s game sixth in the PCL, having played all five teams ahead of them besides St. Joe’s Prep. The Hawks (12-3, 6-1) entered the night one of two teams in the PCL without a loss in league play along with Neumann Goretti.
It was a big one.
Reed’s future coach Zach Spiker was there with assistant Will Chavis. La Salle head coach Fran Dunphy and Penn head coach Steve Donahue sat next to each other in the bleachers with assistants from both their staffs in attendance as well. St. Joe’s Prep alum and Eagles running back D’Andre Swift also popped into his old high school gym to catch a glimpse of the action.
“That’s cool,” Reed said. “It’s obviously cool to play in front of an NFL player — Eagles player. Who doesn’t love the Eagles? That’s always awesome.”
St. Joe’s Prep jumped out to a 26-10 lead after a quarter of play. Helped by junior Mike Green (11 points) and sophomore Brady MacAdams (eight points) Wood closed the gap to 36-31 at half. The Vikings jumped ahead midway through the third on a jumper by senior Tahir Howell, who scored five points and added 11 rebounds.
» READ MORE: Archbishop Wood’s Jalil Bethea is named to the McDonald’s All American team
Bethea scored 40 in an overtime win at the Prep last season. While he didn’t quite get there Wednesday, the same type of scoring ability was on display in the third quarter. After the Hawks used a 10-0 run to go back up eight with more than three minutes remaining in the third, Bethea responded with 11 straight points of his own. He finished the period with 16 as the Vikings held a 58-56 edge heading to the fourth.
“I’m lucky enough to even see that,” said Howell, who is starting for the Vikings after not playing much last season. “Miami commit, No. 6 ranked player for a reason. I’m just so proud of him and everything that’s he’s done. We’re all going to lean on him so he can lead us to a (PCL) championship and state.”
Bethea added seven more points in the fourth and Reed asserted himself with nine points. The duo also combined for 27 rebounds in the contest.
Another big three by Green helped Wood get up by seven and play from ahead throughout the fourth. A triple by St. Joe’s Prep junior Jordan Ellerbee with 30 seconds to play pulled the Hawks within three, but Wood quickly outletted Green for a bucket and did enough defensively down the stretch to avoid a potential game tying shot.
Junior Jaron McKie led the Prep with 23 points. Ellerbee scored 15, and junior Olin Chamberlin and senior Jalen Harper both scored 14.
Wood started 2-2 in the PCL with lopsided losses to league leader Neumann Goretti and one-loss Roman. The Vikings are back within a game of second place after three straight league wins, trying to set themselves up with one of the top seeds for a run to the Palestra.
“We had a talk,” Reed said. “We needed to start playing like we’re the best team in the PCL. We weren’t playing like that at the beginning of the season. We were lacking confidence, but we’re coming into games knowing we’re the best team and we have better players, so that’s what we do every game.”
This story was produced as part of a partnership between The Inquirer and City of Basketball Love, a nonprofit news organization that covers high school and college basketball in the Philadelphia area while also helping mentor the next generation of sportswriters. This collaboration will help boost coverage of the city’s vibrant amateur basketball scene, from the high school ranks up through the Big 5 and beyond.