Imhotep Charter survives foul trouble, Susquehanna Township, to move to state semis

READING, Pa. - Imhotep Charter and Susquehanna Township were each whistled for a mind-numbing 28 fouls in Friday night's PIAA Class AAA boys' basketball quarterfinal.

"That was pretty crazy," Panthers coach Andre Noble said. "I haven't seen anything like that in a while. It's hard to get a rhythm going when it's like that."

Because of its overall depth, Imhotep handled its foul issues better, had eight players find the scoring column, and advanced with a 58-49 triumph over outmanned Susquehanna at Reading's Geigle Complex.

Susquehanna senior guard Dejour Williams, who came in averaging a team-high 16 points a game for District 3's third-place qualifier, managed only two points before fouling out with six minutes remaining.

"We wanted to make sure we contested all his shots," Noble said. "I thought we did a pretty good job of that."

Daron Russell and Jaekwon Carlyle each netted 14 points for the Panthers. Fellow guard Devin Liggeons was next in line with 10.

Carlyle, who came off the bench because of a missed practice during the week, shot 6 for 8 from the field and 2 for 4 from the line. The 6-foot, 160-pound junior's three straight second-quarter buckets gave the Public League champs a 21-12 advantage.

"The big thing for us is that we can go nine or 10 players deep," Carlyle said. "We don't lose much, if anything, when we go to our bench."

Next for Imhotep (22-9) is a state semifinal Tuesday vs. familiar foe Neumann-Goretti (27-2) at a neutral site and time to be determined. The Saints eked out a 76-71 over District 3 runner-up Bishop McDevitt in Friday's nightcap.

"I can't wait," said Carlyle, a 17-year-old who lives near Broad Street and Allegheny Avenue in North Philly. "I think we should have won the first time we played them. We're excited about getting a second chance."

Russell, a sophomore, added three assists, three rebounds, and two steals; senior guard Khalief Tinley, who picked up his fourth foul midway through the third quarter; posted six points and four assists; and 6-4 sophomore Jaquan Arrington chipped in six points and four rebounds off the bench.

For 22-7 Susquehanna, junior point guard Nehemiah "Bud" Mack went 16 for 16 from the line on the way to 23 points. He accounted for all 13 of his squad's fourth-quarter points.

Susquehanna Twp. 10 11 15 13 - 49

Imhotep Charter 13 20 10 15 - 58

ST: Nehemiah Mack 23, Dejour Williams 2, Quintin Ward 6, Joe Marshall 10, Roman Letterlough 3, Jaquan Blair 3, Matt Dawson 2.

IC: Daron Russell 14, DeAnte Robinson 4, Devin Liggeons 10, Khalief Tinley 6, Cananchet Jordan 2, Nysir Marshburn 2, Jaquan Arrington 6, Jaekwon Carlyle 14.

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