Mansion tops Imhotep, reaches PIAA Class AA final

The night kept dragging and Devonte' "DJ" Newbill kept fidgeting.

Ten o'clock . . . 11 . . . Midnight . . . 1 a.m. He was juuuuuust getting started, folks.

"I was going from my bed, to walking around the house, to back to my bed," Newbill said. "I just couldn't sleep. I kept thinking about this game. How much I wanted to win it. How I couldn't wait to get started.

"I finally got to sleep about 4 o'clock."

And his belly was full.

"About 2 o'clock," he said, "I went to the kitchen and made myself some bacon and eggs."

News alert: All of Strawberry Mansion High's eggs are now in the goin'-to-the-state-finals basket. (Yeah, there's some bacon in there, too.)

With Newbill doing his part, and getting lots of help from assorted teammates, the Knights last night outlasted Imhotep Charter, the defending champion, 49-47, before a nearly full house at Southern to earn a spot opposite South Fayette in Saturday's 8 p.m. PIAA Class AA championship game at Penn State's Bryce Jordan Center.

Mansion also was a finalist in 2008.

Due to some sloppy moments, the game, in total, won't go into the books as a classic. It was hard fought, though, and came down to the final ticks of the clock, and isn't that all anyone can request?

Those who wanted an all-timer should have been in attendance the first time these teams met, on Feb. 2. That one, played at Imhotep, was captured by Mansion, 88-82, in one, two, three, four, five overtimes. (Phew, I got tired just typing that.)

So, while Imhotep definitely had reasons for deep-seated motivation entering this one, so did Mansion. The Knights viewed it as something of a second Public League final. Yes, Imhotep won the real one, but Mansion felt it was better and had much still to prove after being stunned, at home, 63-60, by Ben Franklin in a round-of-16 game that followed by a few hours the dismissal of Stan Laws, who at that time was running day-to-day operations for on-paper coach Gerald Hendricks (now back in full control). That remains Mansion's only misstep this season.

OK, now forget those variables. For Newbill, there was another.

In from Milwaukee, eager to watch him perform, was his future college coach, Buzz Williams, and an assistant with Marquette's program, Scott Monarch.

"Yes, I knew they were coming ahead of time," Newbill said. "I can't say it made me nervous; it gave me more enthusiasm to go out there and play my hardest. I wanted to play my hardest. Give them a good look at what they'll be getting next year."

And he did not mean late-game failure.

"I know. Right?" he said. "I'm still so mad at myself. I can't believe that happened. I usually make all my free throws. We work hard on them every day."

He clapped his hands on "every" and "day" for emphasis.

With 4.3 seconds remaining and the Knights ahead, 48-47, Newbill stepped to the line for a double bonus. Clank. Clank again. The first shot was long. So was the second. Between the shots, Hendricks instructed Eric Jefferson to fill Mansion's spot on the left side of the lane. He knew it was risky, as an over-the-top call with little time coming off the clock could have been possible.

Instead, the rangy Jefferson was able to get a paw on the ball and slap it back to teammate Marque Griffin.

"I didn't know if I'd be able to do that," Jefferson said. "I was trying to grab it, but . . . I'm so happy. Plus, today's my birthday."

"That was key for us, right there," Newbill said. "Big play by 'E.' ""

Griffin was hacked at 1.2 and made the first shot. Though he missed the second, there was no buzzer-beating drama.

Mansion's fans rushed the court - some world-class sprinters in that bunch, baby - and hugs/yelps were exchanged by all.

Soon, Newbill was strolling over to Williams and Monarch.

"Coach Williams gave me a real excited high-five," Newbill said, laughing. "I didn't have one of my best games, but I think he was impressed."

Newbill posted 12 points, four assists and five steals. He took only 11 shots from the floor, hitting five (one trey), and two were quite impressive.

With 4:33 left, with Imhotep now in man-to-man, Newbill shook his defender and hit a straight-on jumper to make it 40-35. He then added a left-wing two that followed a serious cross-over dribble. The move caused Williams to stand, and some of Mansion's fans exploded out of their front-row seats behind the south basket as if someone had pushed ejector buttons.

"Lots of times, I wasn't getting good looks," Newbill said. "I'd rather stay in the flow and not force. When the shots are there, I take them."

With 6:54 showing in the second quarter, a righthanded dunk by soph lefty Khyree Wooten provided a 17-6 cushion. Oddly, the Knights then downshifted and scored only six points over the next 11 1/2 minutes as Imhotep (16 points apiece from Ameen Tanksley and David Appolon) forged ahead by 28-23; Newbill missed part of that stretch with foul trouble.

Mansion owned the next hot spell and it concluded with 3:22 left as Khalil Meadows drained two free throws, making it 44-35, after Newbill hit him with a diagonal pass whipped from way out front.

"When we were up nine . . . well, I didn't think it'd be easy from there, but I thought we'd win by a larger margin," Hendricks said. "Imhotep's a great team. We're just happy we're the ones going to the state final. It's a great honor."

With the Panthers down by 44-43, Newbill popped the ball away from Appolon out front. Wooten got possession, absorbed a hack and was perfect on the double bonus. Ditto for his visit at 17.9, which followed Appolon's successful drive.

"I wasn't nervous," Wooten said. "I knock them down in practice. Just have to bring that over to the game. I work hard on it every day."

In the person of Tanskley, Imhotep declined to go for a tie and his layup came at 5.1. Griffin was a whisker away from a 5-second call when he managed to get a timeout. Meadows then became the inbounder and he made the pass to Newbill, setting up the aforementioned sequence.

"I don't know why, but both shots were long," he said.

It's OK. It worked out. Now comes the long drive to Penn State.

As Newbill disappeared into the locker room, he could be heard sing-songing, "We're playin' for the chip! . . . We're playin' for the chip!"

Let the fidgeting resume. *