Malvern tops Episcopal Academy to win Inter-Ac crown

WHEN his commitment to basketball allowed, Kevin Rafferty worked last summer at a car dealership owned by his father and uncle.

Selling? Changing tires? Supervising the used car lot?

"Really, what I did was detailing, but I liked to call it restoration," he said, smiling.

Interesting choice of words. If anything needed to be restored . . .

Not too long ago in a Malvern Prep season that now can be labeled very special, the 6-8, 220-pound Rafferty, a center, might as well have approached the foul line wearing a blindfold.

Each time he shot free throws, backboards and rims almost began laughing, and twine knew it would not be tickled.

"Over a period of four games, I did not make a free throw," Rafferty said. "How many did I take? Might have been 20 . . . Well, at least 15."

Malvern is the outright Inter-Ac League champion for the first time since 1981 (it shared one in '95), and Rafferty can take as exaggerated a bow as anyone.

As the Friars (8-1 with one game left) Tuesday clinched the crown, posting a 48-43 win at Episcopal Academy before a large, energized crowd, Rafferty posted 10 points and 11 rebounds.

His highlight: making his first six free throws, marksmanship that helped the Friars go 16-for-16 (en route to 21-for-27) in the first 29 minutes.

"I don't think it was a form thing," Rafferty said of his earlier struggles. "It was a lack of confidence that kept getting worse and worse. I made up my mind that things had to get better. So I spent a lot of extra time in the gym, shooting them over and over."

Mind over matter. Pretty much the battle cry for the season.

As Inter-Ac hoopheads, and others, are well aware, Malvern lost three starters/stars to transfer. Tracy Peal booked for Archbishop Carroll after last school year. Lamon Church (in the fall) and DeQuann "Bootsie" Walker (after the first two games) headed for Chester.

Suddenly, a season with so much promise was going to take a detour to Toilet Bowl City, or so some thought.

"We had a players' only meeting after DeQuann left," Rafferty said. "We said we're not slipping down. We're still going to execute our stuff. We might not be as talented as other teams, but we're going to play as hard as we can.

"Our first game without DeQuann was against [Friends League power] Friends' Central. We hung right there. After a few more character games, we believed we were going to be something special. Coming back from being down by 15 at halftime to Haverford School, that was one of them."

If someone wants to start a Kevin Rafferty Fan Club, coach Jim Rullo will gladly serve as president.

"When you're a coach, people think you're a mentor," Rullo said. "Well, I learned more from Kevin Rafferty than I was able to dish out to him. He has been an absolute gem at every workout, every meeting, every practice.

"He always gives us leadership and intangibles. I'm glad he was able to put up numbers today, too."

Rafferty, who's bound for Tufts, made a big play right before the halftime buzzer. Sean Gordon missed a drive and the ball wound up being deflected. In the same motion, an airborne Rafferty, using just one hand, controlled it and guided into the hoop.

With 1.1 seconds showing in the third quarter, Gordon hit two free throws to put the Friars ahead for good, 31-30. Rafferty opened the fourth with a follow and Malvern added eight of the next 10 points (all by Tom Pitt) to seize control.

Pitt and Gordon halved 24 points, while Brendan Kilpatrick scored 10. Kilpatrick claimed eight rebounds, and Steve Perpiglia dished five assists.

Dan Mengel and sub Matt Angelos led Episcopal with nine points apiece. Taylor Wright had eight points, 13 rebounds and four assists.

As the game wound down, Malvern's student rooters sang their alma mater and passed down a banner, over their heads, little-by-little, from the top of the stands to the bottom. It read "We Are Champs." In the other corner of the gym, the only sounds were pop, pop, pop. EA's kids were breaking the Thundersticks they'd smacked together all game.

At 0:00, the Friars rushed into the front portion of the student section for group hugs and mass poundings, then dashed to their locker room, perhaps without touching the floor. Pure exhilaration.

Rullo agreed with the notion that This Way's Title meant more than The Other Way's would have.

"To deal with the adversity and prove a lot of the naysayers wrong, it means a lot to the kids, the program and the school," he said. "Tremendous satisfaction. I'm especially proud of the kids who made the best of their chances to increase their contributions."

Starting with the guy whose foul shot has been restored.