Conwell-Egan defeats Lansdale Catholic

Many of last year's male underclassmen from the late, once-great Cardinal Dougherty High can now be found at Bishop McDevitt.

Others opted for Roman Catholic, Father Judge, West Catholic . . .

And then there's Jamal Nwaniemeka.

"I'm the only one here," he said, smiling.

Not sure if he did exhaustive research or is relying on simple logic, but here is Conwell-Egan, in Levittown, and it's nowhere close to 2nd and Godfrey, Dougherty's site, and it's almost a time zone away (slight exaggeration) from where he lives.

Brace yourself.

"I live in Wynnefield," Nwaniemeka said. "Right near Saint Joseph's University."

Gulp. Really?!

"It's not too bad," he insisted. "We leave the house around 6:30 every morning. My mom [Erika] works 15 minutes from here. We come up together and then she takes me home after practice."

Nuh-juan-uh-meek-uh is a 6-1, 180-pound junior and though his natural position is wing guard, sometimes he has to help the undersized Eagles by playing close to the basket. Wherever he is, it's impossible not to notice his athleticism, savvy and brass.

Wednesday night, in a battle of Catholic League strugglers, Nwaniemeka made sure C-E was the squad to experience joy. As the Eagles bested visiting Lansdale Catholic, 56-43, to collect its second CL win (LC remains goose-egged), Nwaniemeka packed nine of his 23 points and five of his seven rebounds into a 20-11 fourth quarter.

And then, for the 31st time, by his count, he was asked, "Why did you pick Egan?"

"I like being an underdog," was part of his response.

But he also said, "I felt it would be my best fit. I visited a few places and my shadow day up here went great. Everybody was really nice. Great kids. Great teachers. Great atmosphere.

"My mom didn't pressure me at all [despite the work proximity]. She left the decision totally up to me. Wherever would make me happy. I had a lot of possibilities. I never knew I would be at Egan, but I'm glad I'm here."

One suspects Nwaniemeka would have been really swamped with the why-Egan question if people knew he had shots at attending Ss. Neumann-Goretti and La Salle.

Thirty could have easily become 300. Even 3,000. But it's refreshing to discover this young man valued the total school experience and did not put hoops above all else. (Not to say, in time, he would not have found any school to be desirable.)

Nwaniemeka showed quite the variety. His first four field goals were treys and after one of them, PA man Rich Papirio, C-E's former, longtime baseball coach, cooed, "Jamal Nwaniemeka . . . From the parking lot!! . . . For threeeeeee!"

His last bucket, off a fastbreak, was an emphatic dunk. In between he notched two regulars, one off a knifing drive, and went 5-for-6 at the line.

Nwaniemeka had some impressive moments last year for CD, and folks were wondering where he'd surface. He boasts great explosion and elevation on his jumper and his other skills are improving. His personal hoops mentor is Howard Evans, a former star guard at West Philadelphia ('84) and Temple.

"I'm pretty good at rebounding and blocking shots," Nwaniemeka said. "I'm trying to work on my handle and shot. Howie has really helped me with that."

In the second half, this game featured extensive runs. Nwaniemeka's fourth trey made it 33-18 with 5:33 left in the third quarter, and then LC suddenly came to long-distance life. Frosh Andrew Riviello drained three triples, classmate Brian Rafferty and junior Alex Talarico posted three assists apiece and, wow, the Crusaders were down by only 34-32.

Nwaniemeka posted the quarter's last points with a 10-footer from the side of the lane. He and Kyle Bonner (5-for-6 at line, three steals, four of his seven rebounds) then controled the fourth stanza.

Carlton Whitehead totaled 10 points for C-E. Matt Petrizzi (all on treys) had nine and Bonner finished with eight. Subs Sean McCarthy and Bobby McTague claimed some tough rebounds and Ryan Pepito was frisky out front.

Matt Pinzka had 10 points for LC. Riviello (nine) and Chris Hays (eight) were next in points while Kyle Pagan snagged eight boards and Rafferty dealt five assists.

"We really had to step it up in the fourth quarter," Nwaniemeka said. "We had to take our time and be patient, and then hit the big shots.

"We only had that one league win against O'Hara. We needed another."

Badly. And bagging it no doubt made for an enjoyable ride Thursday morning. All 30-odd miles.