Midtown – Branden Hemphill, with ice on his ankles and a slight hunched shoulder, saw both sides of it Thursday night.
After four straight losses to start the 2022-23 season, the senior guards have made progress from a young Pencrest team that was one of the few returning contributors from last season.
But there remains a persistent disappointment, centered around the fact that three possessions has taken the Lions off their winning record. And on a night like Thursday, Pencrest needed more than a mediocre endgame performance to beat Science his Leadership Academy Beaver in the finals of the Holiday Tournament, where he went 53-52.
“We got along really well,” said Hemphill.
The Lions (3-6) have suffered as they fought back from an 11-point deficit in the second quarter. Hurts as the Lions scored 21 points and eight rebounds from great freshman Mikey Mita, and hurt as Pencrest had seven draws and he had nine lead changes with Amadudia with 14.4 seconds remaining. was his two free throws in .
With Pencrest missing a 1-1 front end (after Maki Pettigrew missed two on the line) and a loose-ball foul (albeit questionable) when Pettigrew missed, Bieber was A chaotic final of 26.5 seconds only yielded so many chances with two more with 16.4 seconds left and 14.4 ticks left to allow Dia to hit two with stripes. Pencrest took 10 seconds to move up to the upcourt for a timeout, creating a wasted Hemphillheeb on the horn.
It was the third defeat with a difference of 2 points or less, and stopped 4 wins and 3 wins.
Beyond late-game situations, turnovers proved the difference. Both teams scored his 19 goals, and both shot his three points ominously from his range (Pencrest 13-4, Beaver 14-4), with Line equally indifferent. (17 vs 10 vs 11 vs -18). But 15 turnovers made the difference, including Dia picking a pocket with his 40 seconds remaining. Bieber only scored six turnovers.
That didn’t break the promise the Lions have with Mita’s 6-5 figures. The freshmen were outstanding, scoring 21 points on 9-of-12 shooting. He has the mobility and pass vision that demand executing an attack through him, even at such a young age. He led to -46, then extended the lead to three possessions when Patrick Garrison found him on a bounce pass.
“We play for him a lot,” Hemphill said. try to get him as many balls as possible, but when a defender doubles down on him, he kicks out and we score a great three.”
Mita blocked two shots, delivered textbook defense twice in the lane, changed shots in less than two minutes to play on the same trip, and Pencrest’s defense was momentarily a threat. was repulsed.
But Beeber had more than that. Jahad Marable scored his 10 of 14 in the second half, including his eight in the fourth quarter. The tournament MVP has made up for his weaknesses time and time again, with teammate Michael He Brady notching his five assists and Pettigrew Razer Fine in his fourth hitting his pass twice to steal the ball. I was.
“I’m just trying to find it,” said Marable. “I’m good on the right side. I can score with pick-and-rolls on either side. But with pick-and-rolls, they throw it at me and I get an easy bucket every time.”
All seven Rockets in the game scored. Pettigrew finished with 10 points and a team-high three steals. The diamond was 7 points. Saad Jamaluddin scored all his seven points in the first half and had nine rebounds. Brady and Noah Briggs each scored six points.
Contributors were too few for the Lions. Brett Hemphill hit a three-pointer on the buzzer in the third, sending his back iron high before softening an accidental home bounce through the rim. He slid into the lane for a pair of buckets in fourth on his way to 9 points. Branden Hemphill scored 11 points on his 12-for-3 shooting and had five rebounds. But Garrison (4 points, 7 rebounds) whiffed on his five looks from the deep, and the support his score was absent.
It’s on our list of things to fix to avoid these annoying endgame issues.
“There are a lot of mistakes going on throughout the game,” said Branden Hemphill. “So we can’t just stick to the performance on the last play, because there’s a lot that needs to be improved. In defense, in fouling, they reach a lot of lines, and in attack he’s 3- point shooting.”
With a game of comfort:
Chester Charter Scholars Academy 60, Olney 51 >> Azarhis Smith landed on the all-tournament squad thanks to 15 points and 15 rebounds in a meeting of teams that went undefeated to the tournament during the season.
Jaden Williams had 7 points, 9 assists, 5 rebounds and 4 steals. Kevin Miller added his 12 points and Calvin Lewis scored all 9 points on his 3 with his 3-pointers as the Sabers (9-1) recovered from his 10-point deficit in the second half. did.
Other non-league actions:
Radner 59, Archbishop Rummel 44 >> At the KSA tournament in Orlando, Charlie Thornton poured 16 points home and earned tournament MVP honors as the Raptors defeated opposition from Louisiana to win the title.
Thornton added 5 assists and 3 blocks. Jackson Hicke said he scored 18, rebounded nine and he had five assists. Cooper Muller, with Radner he had eight points and six rebounds.
Upper Derby 68, Whitehall 55 >> Nadir Myers hit 28 points and five 3-pointers en route to tournament MVP honors as the Royals (5-3) won the championship game in the Zephyr Holiday Classic.
Niymire Brown added 20 points and Yassir Joyner scored 15 in UD. Brown was also named to the all-tournament team.
Marple Newtown 55, WC Rustin 51 >> Matt Girdler extended his lead with three 3-shots in the third quarter to help the Tigers win the holiday tournament. Girdler was named tournament MVP.
Ryan Keating added 13 points, PJ Esposito played well on the line in the 4th quarter to score 11 points, and Corrado Fischetti scored 8. Brian Vaughan added 5 of his 6 points to make the All-Tournament Team.
Interboro lost to Palumbo 92-50 in the consolation game.
Chester 69, Coatesville 64 >> Kyrie Womack tallied 24 points as the Clippers (4-3) picked up the win late Wednesday night.
Terrence Cobb scored 14 points and Dominic Toye scored 11.
Garnet Valley 62, Arkmere Academy 42 >> Maz Said scored 11 of 15 points in the first quarter as the Eagles took a 17-3 lead and never looked back in the finals of the Garnet Valley Holiday Tournament.
Vince Wildrick filled in two 3-pointers in the first quarter and scored 13 points. Akhir Keys posted his game-high 20 in the second quarter as he recorded two big triples.