Upper Dublin defeated Holy Ghost Prep at West Chester University to capture the District 1 5A title. It is the program’s first district crown in 40 years. Photos provided courtesy of Michael Rice Photography and Greg Lindsay. Check back for a gallery of photos. CLICK HERE to go directly to Suburban One Sports' BOYS' BASKETBALL GALLERIES.
#1 UPPER DUBLIN 75, #7 HOLY GHOST PREP 51.
Ryan Mulroy had watched the video of last year’s District 1 5A title game more times than he could count, and each time, the outcome was the same – a 65-36 beating at the hands of Unionville.
If the Upper Dublin senior hadn’t seen enough of a game he couldn’t forget, he watched it yet again Thursday.
“I watched it on the way here,” Mulroy said. “I had to get myself fired up. Every time I watch that – I get the chills. We could have done so much more in that game.”
Shortly after Mulroy’s final viewing of last year’s district title game, the senior captain and his UD teammates stepped onto that same court at West Chester University for Thursday’s District 1 5A title game – this time against Holy Ghost Prep, and they turned in a brilliant performance in a no-doubt-about-it win, effectively erasing memories of last year’s disappointing outing and giving their fans reason to celebrate as they captured the program’s first district title in 40 years.
“It’s unbelievable,” Mulroy said. “This is the moment we’ve been waiting for.
“I told everyone at school to come out – we wanted a crowd today. The students brought the energy. We love it.”
With 1:33 remaining and the outcome long since decided, Mulroy and fellow captain Idris Rines walked off the court to a thunderous ovation. Both shared emotional hugs with coach Derek Brooks.
“Tons of stuff was going through my head,” Mulroy said. (Coach Brooks) first year here, we lost in the first round of districts (58-51 to West Chester Rustin). We were supposed to make a little run.
“Last year getting here – there was a lot of emotion. Getting back here is really special – just all the work we put into it. Having the experience of coming back here and getting it done is such a great feeling.”
“It’s definitely different coming from losing 65-36 and winning 75-51,” Rines said. “It’s two different feelings.
“One – you’re sad. This year – it’s a job not finished, but we’re happy. This hasn’t been done in 40 years, and just knowing we made history is a good feeling.”
The beginning of Thursday’s title contest was hardly a preview of things to come as the Cardinals found themselves on the short end of a 7-4 score midway through the first quarter, prompting Brooks to call a hasty timeout. A turnover out of the timeout resulted in an Adam McDonald 3-pointer that put the Firebirds on top 10-4.
The Cardinals responded with a 9-0 tear that included a Kobe Bazemore putback, a 3-pointer by Rines and back-to-back buckets by Mulroy that gave UD a 13-10 lead.
“Not the greatest start,” Brooks said. “But we weathered the storm. I’m proud of the boys because, man, that first 2-3 minutes – the intensity was through the roof.
“We struggled defensively settling in and playing our roles in the matchup zone, but I love how the boys responded. I’m proud of the confidence they shot with tonight. Ghost was basically daring our big guys to make 3s – they packed the paint. All of our bigs were like – all right, we’ll take it. They stepped up and knocked them down.”
On his team’s opening possession of the second quarter, senior James Castronuovo buried the first of three UD 3-pointers in the frame, giving the Cards a 16-12 advantage. The Firebirds battled back to even the score, but a basket by Rines gave the Cards an 18-16 lead. A Justin Ragsdale block on the defensive end set up a fastbreak basket by Horace Jackson IV, and four minutes later, Castronuovo hit nothing but net on a 3-pointer that sent the Cardinals into halftime with a 31-22 lead.
“We came together – we knew our shots were going to fall,” Rines said. “Coming out, our intensity was good. I’m proud of everybody. They went up (10-4), but we rallied back. We ended the first quarter strong, and we won every quarter.”
The tone for the second half was set early. Ragsdale buried a 3 on UD’s opening possession, and after Adrien Varella answered with a 3-pointer for Holy Ghost, Ragsdale calmly buried another 3-pointer that put the Cardinals on top 37-25. The fun was just starting for Ragsdale and his teammates. Ragsdale’s third 3 of the quarter gave the Cards a 46-31 lead, prompting the first chants of ‘Start the buses’ from the UD student section.
Upper Dublin led 52-38 at the end of three quarters, and they added to their lead in the final frame on their way to the huge win – the 27th in a row for an Upper Dublin team that ensured its spot in the program’s record books.
“This team – I can’t even put into words what this run has been,” Brooks said. “I don’t think any of us would have thought – to go 27-1 and to win 27 in a row after that Lower Merion game. We weren’t panicking after the Lower Merion game, but I don’t think anybody would have thought we’d run the table like this.
“I’m just so proud of them. This is a group – they’re all basically basketball guys which is obviously very helpful, but we’ve been in the gym since April with this mission of getting back here and winning it. We think we can win future ones with the talent that we have, but there was going to be no better opportunity than this one. You’ve got to capitalize on your opportunity when you get it, and we did fortunately.”
Sharing in the jubilant postgame celebration was the student section with the players taking the trophy to their fans the moment the perfunctory postgame trophy pictures were completed.
“It was definitely a lot of fun,” Castronuovo said. “The fan buses were huge to get people out.
“There was a ton of energy in the gym. We were just really excited to pull it out.”
And this win – according to Brooks – belonged to the entire team.
“I’m just so proud of them,” the UD coach said. “We were here last year. It was a very bad performance from us, and they know it, and we know it. It obviously helped us in this moment. These boys – this is what we’ve been working for this whole year, and I’m so proud of them for doing it.”
Next up: Upper Dublin (27-1, 10-0 SOL) is off until next Friday when the Cards will open PIAA 5A State Tournament play with a home game against District 3’s sixth place team.
Holy Ghost Prep 12-10-16-13 51
Upper Dublin 13-18-19-25 75
Holy Ghost Prep (51) – Zachary Sharlin 2 1-2 6; Adam McDonald 3 3-4 10; Robert Segarich 3 0-0 9; Liam Condon 2 0-0 4; Adrien Varella 6 4-6 19; Thomas Nahill 1 1-2 3; TOTALS 17 9-14 51.
Upper Dublin (75) – Kobe Bazemore 2 1-2 5; Ryan Mulroy 8 6-7 23; Idris Rines 3 0-0 7; Justin Ragsdale 7 2-2 20; Reilly McLaughlin 0 3-4 3; James Castronuovo 3 0-0 8; Brandon Altman 1 3-4 5; Horace Jackson IV 1 2-2 4; TOTALS 25 17-23-75.
3-point goals: HGP – Robert Segarich 3, Adrien Varella 3, Zachary Sharlin, Adam McDonald; UD – Justin Ragsdale 4, James Castronuovo 2, Ryan Mulroy, Idris Rines.
Mulroy delivers: Ryan Mulroy, who surpassed the 1,000-point mark this season, has made a career out of delivering big performances. His 23-point effort in Thursday’s win led all scorers and did not surprise his coach.
“He’s going to go down as the biggest winner in this school’s history,” Brooks said. “You just always know what you’re going to get from him. He’s going to give you every ounce of effort he has, and he did tonight. He scored from the outside, scored from the inside, played good defense, rebounded.
“He is the pillar of this program. We wish he had one more year, but they all have to go at some point. He’s been the man for us.”
Mulroy’s 12 first-half points led the Cardinals.
“I thought what he did well in the first half – he let the game come to him,” Brooks said. “It was just one of those games where they dared other guys to beat us. He didn’t force anything. He’s always going to make plays with his athleticism and his motor. He made a big 3, he had a couple of layups, so he’s always going to find his niche.”
McLaughlin an unsung hero: Reilly McLaughlin is a rare three-sport athlete, and the UD senior – who also plays soccer and lacrosse – would certainly have been forgiven if he had walked away from basketball after his junior year.
“Reilly is a kid that – we played nine guys last year, and he was the odd man out for most of the year, but he was a varsity player,” UD coach Derek Brooks said. “I give him credit for sticking with us and trusting us.
“With Nolan (Cohen) going down (with an injury), he’s really filled a bigger role, and he’s been great the whole year. He doesn’t care about scoring – (he) defends, passes. We knew we had to attack the glass offensively. We thought that was an advantage we had, and it’s the smallest guy on the court getting every offensive rebound. I give him a ton of credit. He is a junkyard dog – a three-sport athlete. He’s been such a big help to this team.”
McLaughlin finished with five points in Thursday’s win, but it was the 5-8 guard’s five rebounds among the trees in the opening quarter that gave the Cards a huge lift when they were struggling to get untracked.
“This kid right here – last year, he didn’t even come off the bench for us,” senior Ryan Mulroy said of McLaughlin. “I grew up playing with Reilly – he’s one of my favorite guys to ever play with.
“He plays hard, he plays the right way, he rebounds. He does the little things. He doesn’t care about scoring, and he’ll do whatever it takes to win, and he’s a big reason why we’re back here today and we won today.”
For McLaughlin, it has been worth the wait.
“It’s been awesome,” he said. “No one likes sitting on the bench. I hated sitting on the bench.
“When you get a chance, you have to take your opportunity. I think I’ve done that. I’ve loved every second of the season. It’s been a blast with all my teammates.”
As for his inspired play under the basket in the first quarter – that was vintage McLaughlin.
“I just try to rile some things up,” he said. “Sometimes shots won’t fall early. We have the ability to hit shots, so I’m just going to get in there - I’m going to grab some rebounds, kick it back out to my teammates and have them put up some more shots.”
Ragsdale lights it up: Justin Ragsdale was none too happy with his first-half performance on the offensive end of the court in Thursday’s title game.
“Going into halftime – I was missing my 3s,” he said. “I wasn’t hitting shots. I had zero points.
“I came into halftime, and everyone was like, ‘Yo, they’re sagging off you, shoot the ball. You know you can shoot,’ so I came out and shot the ball.”
It was Ragsdale’s back-to-back 3-pointers that set the tone for a dominant second half performance by the Cardinals.
“They weren’t guarding him,” UD coach Derek Brooks said. “We said, ‘Listen, we’re going to put the big in ball screen, you’re going to get it, you’re going to have an open look, shoot it with confidence.’
“Him burying the first two (3s) was huge. It was at that point it could go either way. He’s been great this year. His ability to stretch the floor and then attack off the dribble too and finish inside - he’s a Swiss Army knife. He really is a matchup nightmare.”
Ragsdale buried three 3-pointers in the third quarter – four in the second half, highlighting his dazzling 20-point second half.
“I hit (those shots), I felt the spark, so I started shooting more from there,” Ragsdale said. “I just started hitting everything. It was a relief because after a shooting drought in the first half and making those 3s in the second half, it felt great.”
Ragsdale’s contributions are not lost on his teammates.
“Justin doesn’t get enough credit for his 3-point shooting – he shot over 40 percent this year,” senior Idris Rines said. “Me and him put a lot of 3s up yesterday.
“We knew coming in Justin was going to be a big key, especially the way they guarded him- slacking off. Justin was confident and just shot the ball.”
“He’s very special,” senior Ryan Mulroy added. “He’s only a sophomore, and his game’s going to grow. For him to step up and hit big shots in a game like this as an underclassman, - it’s really special for him.”
Seniors heart and soul of Cards: There’s no overstating the significance of the team’s four seniors – Ryan Mulroy, Idris Rines, Reilly McLaughlin and James Castronuovo – in this year’s magical season.
“What they have done for this program – you can’t put into words,” UD coach Derek Brooks said. “Upper Dublin from what I remember when I was in high school (at North Penn) in 2009 – they’d have a good team, then they’d have a bad team.
“What these guys have done – they have really put Upper Dublin on the map. You hear it all the time – ‘Upper Dublin is not really a basketball school.’ Well, these guys are making it a basketball school.”
The success of the program under Brooks, who is in his third year at the helm, didn’t just happen.
“A lot of hard work went into this – we spent countless hours,” senior James Castronuovo said. “I feel like we really deserved it.
“It’s been a long time in the making – 40 years is a long, long time. We’ve been hearing that a lot from our coach, and we’re really excited to get it done.”
Upper Dublin is 27-1 on the heels of a 24-5 season last year. Do the math – that’s 51-6 over the past two seasons with the state tournament still on the horizon.
“We have a chance to go down as the greatest team in Upper Dublin history – 60-70 years of basketball,” Brooks said. “They’ve done it the right way – they played hard, they worked hard, and they play unselfish. It’s about the team always with them.”
It’s been a recipe for the kind of success few teams ever experience.
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