PW saw its season come to an end in Tuesday’s PIAA Quad-A semifinals at the hands of defending state champion Roman Catholic. Photos courtesy of Kathy Leister Photography. Check back to view a gallery of game photos.
By Scott Huff
Holland – To be honest – the PIAA Quad-A semifinal battle between Roman Catholic and Plymouth Whitemarsh just wasn’t a fair fight.
The defending state champion Cahillites jettisoned the Colonials from the state playoffs with a knockout 64-45 victory. Roman Catholic will face Allerdice in the state final on Saturday night in Hershey at the Giant Center. Allerdice routed Reading 70-45 in its semifinal contest.
The talented Division 12 champions boasted a blue-chip starting lineup that featured three bonafide Division One players. Penn State recruits (6 foot-4 inch) Tony Carr, (6-3) Nazeer Bostick, and (6-7) Lamar Stevens were joined in the starting lineup along with future Division One players (6-7) Paul Newman and (6-3) D’Andre Vilmar.
Division One champion Plymouth Whitemarsh countered with (6-3) Rider-bound Xzavier Malone.
“This year’s Roman team is a special collection of talent,” said Plymouth Whitemarsh head coach Jim Donofrio. “Roman simply has gears that we don’t have.
“They are bigger, faster, and more athletic than any team that we have seen this year,” added Donofrio. “There was just a different level of play between them and us. They came after us in waves for 32 minutes.
“Other than ‘X’ (Malone), we have a couple of possible D-3 players trying to make shots on 6 foot -8 inch D-1 guys,” continued Donofrio. “Even if ‘X’ goes off and scores 47 points – I still don’t know that we could beat them.”
Malone – who scored a game-high 21 points – helped the Colonials compete with the Cahillites early in the game. In fact, PW led Roman 17-15 at the close of the first period as Malone scored nine points in the quarter.
“I am proud of the way that I played this year, and I am proud of the way that our team played this year,” said Malone. “I love Coach ‘D’ and he believed in me ever since I came here as a junior. He put the ball in my hand.
“I know a lot of the players from Roman,” added Malone, who transferred to PW from Martin Luther King. “Paul Newman is one of my best friends, and I have played against Tony Carr and Lamar Stevens many times. It was fun to go against them.”
The Colonials began to fade a bit in the second period and trailed the Cahillites 30-25 at the half.
“We have been down many times this year by five or even ten points at halftime,” said Donofrio. “We have been able to come back and win those games – but five points down against Roman is different than being five points down against any other team.”
Roman took total control of the game in the third period, outscoring PW 17-8. And it was Bostick that was the catalyst of the Cahillite offense scoring nine of his team-high 17 points. Bostick owned the paint and punished the Colonials inside.
“We couldn’t keep Bostick from getting to the rim,” said Donofrio. “He went by us in a heartbeat. He pretty much closed the door on the game.”
The game might have been closed – and the season for that matter – but the coach and his 2015-2016 team can reflect on an extraordinary season.
“This really was one of the best seasons in Plymouth Whitemarsh history,” said Donofrio who has been around for 25 seasons. “I kidded them at one point telling them that they might be like the 17th best team I ever coached at PW.
“We look at all the banners hanging in the gym and I pointed out that there were six district and three state championship banners,” added Donofrio. “And for this team to add a (seventh) district championship banner to that wall is something to take pride in.
“We went ‘all in’ emotionally and sometimes that means you are going to have to deal with the pain of losing,” continued Donofrio. “When you dream big – and we dreamed big – you also have to deal with that pain of losing. We went after it (a state championship) – but we just didn’t get there.”
But to be honest – it just wasn’t a fair fight.
Roman Catholic Cahillites 15 15 18 16 * 64
Plymouth Whitemarsh 17 8 7 13 * 45
RC: Nazeer Bostick 17, Tony Carr 14, Paul Newman 12, Lamar Stevens 7, D’Andre Vilmar 6, Mikeal Jones 4, Dakquan Davis 2 and Anthony Dawson 2.
PW: Xzavier Malone 21, Oakley Spencer 6, Kevin Ashenfelter 5, Ahim Williams 5, Ahmad Williams 4, Grady Minick 2 and Matt Walker 2.
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