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By Michael Bullock

 As they huddled prior to the fourth quarter — and down by double figures — Brandon Coleman and his Northeastern teammates figured they had one last chance to keep their season moving in a positive direction.

So they just went out and gave it everything they could.

And while Coleman got everything started at the beginning of the final quarter, everyone else sporting white jerseys with orange-and-black trim had a say in how the rest of the festivities eventually played out … and played out … and played out.

Collecting 23 of his game-high 30 points from the first tick of the final stanza on — including going a perfect 9-for-9 from the floor — Coleman’s sensational play down the stretch fueled a comeback that ultimately turned into Northeastern collaring an 86-84 victory over Archbishop Carroll that needed a pair of overtimes to decide.

“Really just my teammates having confidence in me,” said Coleman, referring to his shooting display from the floordown the stretch. “When we were coming out, they said if he sags off, shoot the ball. I shot the first one and made it and that just boosted my confidence. It was skyrocketing from there.”

Fred Mulbah (19), Antonio Rizzuto (16) and Austin Greene (12) also cracked double figures as Jon Eyster’s Bobcats (30-2) finally collared Saturday afternoon’s PIAA Class 5A quarterfinal-round thriller before a howling crowd at juiced Garden Spot High School.

(click on this link for the full article)

 

By Jim Seip

Near the end, after almost all of the craziness had transpired, Brandon Coleman and Austin Greene made eye contact on the floor and just started laughing.

Northeastern’s two senior starters and lifelong friends slapped hands.

Heart and soul, working overtime.

And then they pulled double overtime.

Eventually, they led Northeastern to its most remarkable victory in what has already been an historic season. Northeastern pulled out an 86-84 victory in double-overtime over Archbishop Carroll in a PIAA Class 5A boys’ basketball quarterfinal Saturday at Garden Spot High School.

Northeastern junior Fred Mulbah summed up the wild comeback moments later: “I never wanted to win so bad.”

Northeastern needed its best fourth quarter of the season, and maybe the best fourth quarter in program history, to overcome a 15-point deficit. The crazy part is Northeastern didn’t even need a full eight minutes to erase Archbishop Carroll’s lead.

The Bobcats overcame the big deficit and long odds of winning with two dynamic spurts. They started the quarter with a 10-4 run, keyed by a pair of 3-pointers by freshman Nate Wilson.

By CoBL Staff

Thanks to winter storm Stella wreaking havoc on Pennsylvania — certainly in some spots much worse than others — the PIAA playoff schedule is all out of whack. With the second round split between Thursday and Friday, the quarterfinals are being played over Saturday and Sunday; any team that played Friday won’t have to play until Sunday, though some of their opponents are on a day’s extra rest.

Here’s a look at the weekend’s matchups involving CoBL-area (District 1 & 12) teams:

5A: Northeastern (York) vs. Archbishop Carroll
Garden Spot HS, 2:30 PM

The talented Northeastern (23-1) guard duo of juniors Fred Mulbah and Antonio Rizzuto welcome the Patriots out into the central part of the state for a right to play in the 5A semifinals. In the Bobcats’ win over Upper Merion in the second round, Rizzuto — who has a quartet of Division I offers — went for 24 points, while the bouncy 5-8 Mulbah and senior Brandon Coleman had 14 apiece. They’ll go head-to-head against a talented Carroll guard group of its own, coming off a 36-point beatdown of Palmyra. Freshman A.J. Hoggard led 10 different scorers with 17 points, while senior big man Jesse McPherson added 14 points and 11 rebounds inside. The Patriots (20-8) are making their ninth consecutive state appearance under Paul Romanczuk, and going for their first title since that first year (2009).

(click on this link for the complete review)

 

By Matthew De George

Jamar Sudan cracks a smile when the conversation shifts to Brian Randolph.

In his first two seasons with the Clippers, Sudan was the energy player, the gangly wing who could guard 1-through-5, who brought energy on defense and the boards, for whom offense was an occasional bonus.

Now, with the senior Sudan inheriting Chester’s star role, he’s happy to see his former job in such sure hands.

In Thursday night’s PIAA Class 5A second round, Brian Randolph supplied Chester’s spark with 15 points, nine rebounds and stalwart defense as the Clippers finally shook Hershey, 61-51, at Pottstown High School’s Strom Gymnasium.

Randolph scored 13 points after halftime, the lone outlier a put-back bucket at the first-half buzzer to send the teams into the locker room knotted at 22. He was 5-for-6 from the line in the fourth, and contributed to a 12-0 Chester run to start the second half that swung the balance.

“Brian is our undercover guy, but he’s that big spark that we need,” Sudan said. “He’s not on everybody’s scouting report, and that’s what we need from him every game.”

Like many a Chester player, defense is the starting point for Randolph. But his offensive game has progressed, as Thursday’s second half demonstrates.

(click on this link for the full article)

(Webmaster’s note: The Hershey vs Chester game was our Game-of-the-Week and can be heard on our Archives link on the left hand side of the page.)

 

By Matt Chandik

The game hadn’t been in question for the last 12 or so minutes of game time. Archbishop Carroll was putting the finishing touches on what ended as a 78-41 dismantling of District Three No. 6 seed Palmyra in the second round of the PIAA Class 5A tournament. Patriots coach Paul Romanczuk was starting to sub out his starters one at a time, but Jesse McPherson had plans for one final exclamation point.

Carroll freshman point guard A.J. Hoggard took the ball to the hoop, but his shot dangled off the rim and into the air. McPherson didn’t mind. The senior center skied through the air and rocked the rebound home, an emphatic finish that highlighted a monster game from McPherson.

He poured in 14 points on 7-for-9 shooting – making his last seven attempts – to go with 11 rebounds and three blocks.

All in a day’s work to send the Patriots to the quarterfinals, where they’ll face Northeastern (York) at a date, time and place to be determined.

“It’s just aggressiveness and confidence,” McPherson said. “This year, over the summer with my recruitment going, my confidence was going up and up. Me being aggressive just comes along with it. For four years, Coach Paul has talked about working on my motor and just keeping it moving. I’m not the type of player that needs the ball, though. If somebody else is scoring, good. If you’re going to dish it off, you got it. If you’re hot, I got you. I feel like we play well as a team when nobody is saying, ‘make sure he takes the shots.’ That’s when we’re best as a team when everyone is involved.”

(click on this link for the full article)

 

By Tyler Sandora

Jamar Sudan has been around the Chester basketball scene for many years.

Attending the games as a youngster, being a varsity player as a freshman, and now the star of the Clippers, Sudan has seen what it takes to win.

The one thing Sudan has yet to experience is a state championship.

Chester, an eight-time PIAA champ, won its most recent title in 2012, when Sudan was a seventh-grader.

Sudan got a taste of the state tournament as a freshman, and now he is doing all he can to bring home a title to cap off his high school career.

The 6-foot-6 senior was able to extend his career for one more night as the Clippers defeated Hershey High 61-51 on Thursday night at Pottstown’s Strom Gymnasium.

“I’m playing with chip on my shoulder,” said Sudan. “We lost in the final four my freshman year, and we haven’t been back since.”

The southpaw accounted for nine points and eight rebounds in the victory, 12 of which came in the first half.

(click on this link for the full article)

(Webmaster’s note: The Hershey vs Chester game was our Game-of-the-Week and can be heard on our Archives link on the left hand side of the page.)