Silpe scores 1,000th point in Cherry Hill East's win over Paul VI

Jake Silpe is known more for his fundamentals than his flash.

So it was a twist that Silpe scored his 1,000th career point on a move that was pure playground: an up-and-under reverse layup that fell softly through the net as the halftime buzzer sounded.

"I was just trying to make a play for my team," Silpe, a senior guard, said after leading Cherry Hill East to a 62-37 victory over Paul VI Friday afternoon in the Olympic Conference interdivision opener for both teams.

Junior forward Tim Perry generated 22 points with 11 rebounds and four blocks for Cherry Hill East, the No. 10 team in The Inquirer's preseason rankings.

Junior guard Will Cabbler scored 13 and freshman forward Kiyon Johnson added 10 for Paul VI, which is rebuilding after losing seven seniors from the team that ended last season in the No. 1 spot in the rankings.

"We're a work in progress," Paul VI coach Tony Devlin said. "We did some good things, but we had too many lapses."

Despite the fancy layup that produced his 1,000th point, Silpe played a typical game. The Penn recruit collected eight assists along with four rebounds and three steals.

Five of Silpe's assists led to baskets for Perry, the son of the former Temple and NBA player of the same name.

"It was good to get the big guy going," Silpe said of the 6-foot-8 Perry.

A large student section was on hand to watch Silpe reach the scoring milestone. Some students held up signs counting up Silpe's career point total until the layup that reached the plateau.

Silpe ended the game with 1,006 career points.

"He's like a rock star in this school," Cherry Hill East coach Dave Allen said of Silpe. "He's meant so much to this program. Every year he's been here, he's the reason we've exceeded expectations."

Silpe was pleased with the Cougars' defense, especially in the middle two quarters, when Paul VI managed just 10 total points.

"It was a good win overall," Silpe said.

Paul VI 11 6 4 16 - 37

Cherry Hill East 13 19 15 15 - 62

PVI: Pat Bakey 3, Will Cabbler 13, Jeremiah Harris 6, Kiyon Johnson 10, Lonnie Moore 5.

CHE: Jake Silpe 15, Tim Perry 22, Josh Brown 8, Olin McClendon 9, Lee Rosen-Swell 5, Mike Zilberfarb 3.