Bonner-Prendie’s Devon Nelson grabs a rebound ahead of Cardinal O’Hara’s Milak Myatt in the first quarter of their Friday night Catholic League game. (Pete Bannan – MediaNews Group)
By Matthew DeGeorge
Three seconds had ticked off the clock Friday night at Bonner & Prendergast when Korey Francis’ lob found Tysicere Jackson for a slam that set the rim rocking.
Literally and figuratively, it was a start from which Cardinal O’Hara would not recover.
The Friars led by 17 points after one quarter, on the way to a 59-43 Catholic League win. The formula was set from that first sequence – Francis pushing the action, and Jackson finishing around the hoop.
“We really had energy from the start,” Francis said. “We had energy since we got in the locker room to get dressed. But after the dunk, we really just turned it up and just kept leaning on each other to make better plays to help us win the game.”
Francis scored a game-high 17 points, though just three in a first half where he preferred to be the distributor. He added eight assists – six in that rampant first quarter – plus five rebounds and three steals. Jackson, the Upper Darby transfer, paired 14 points with 10 rebounds, including three first-quarter flushes.
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