Conwell-Egan Catholic trounces Freire Charter; claims 1st playoff win in 51 years and District 12 championship

PHILA. — It was 51 years between postseason wins but when it finally came, Conwell-Egan Catholic got off the schneid in dramatic fashion in its District 12-AA championship victory over Freire Charter Friday night at Michael J. Hagan Arena.

“It’s really hard to explain but it’s a great feeling,’ said CEC senior Chase Kumor, of Newtown. “You just have all these emotions going with you. It’s been 51 years and it’s a great thing to be a part of.’

“They’ve done something that’s very rarely been done in this school’s history,’ said Egan’s Director of Operations Bill Burns, a Class of 1973 Bishop Egan graduate. “It sets the bar a little bit higher.’

Ahead 26-16 at the half, the Eagles put their foot on the accelerator after the break, outscoring the Dragons 41-15 in the last two periods, combined.

Junior Lapri McCray-Pace led Conwell-Egan with 16 points scored mostly on drives to the basket.

“They didn’t have an answer for Lapri; he was just the man,’ said Burns. “And we were bigger than them; that’s very unusual for us. In our league, we’re not usually the big team.

“We had a size mismatch with Lapri for sure. Whenever we got that, take it to the cup and make it happen.’

Classmate Stevie Jordan registered the quietest 15 points he’s had this season and he also added a half-a-dozen steals to his effort. Six of his points came on three-pointers.