Coatesville turns up the heat, holds off Shanahan for Ches-Mont title
DOWNINGTOWN >> Down by six points at halftime and being outplayed and outhustled by Bishop Shanahan, Coatesville boys basketball coach Chuck Moore riled up his troops and reminded them to play Coatesville style basketball — ramping up the defensive pressure and making every shot and movement uncomfortable for the opposition.
[SLIDESHOW FROM THURSDAY’S GAME]
The talk must have set in as the Red Raiders harassed Bishop Shanahan into a 2 for 20 shooting performance the rest of the way, with 11 turnovers, and the Red Raiders came away with a thrilling 43-37 overtime win to give Coatesville its second straight league title before a packed house at Downingtown West High School.
“Let’s just say we had an emotional talk about defense at halftime,” Moore said. “We reminded them to play Coatesville basketball and they really clamped down on them. I think they only scored 13 points after halftime and that was our goal to make them uncomfortable. This is a testament to the kids’ hard work, my coaching staff and the entire community that packed the house tonight. When I came over from Plymouth-Whitemarsh, I did not understand the importance winning the Ches-Mont had in Coatesville. But, I get it now and it is nice to do something good for the community.”
Coatesville was led by the sterling performance of senior Hasaan Young, who poured in a game-high 16 points and hit the big 3-pointer to start the overtime and propel Coatesville (20-4) to the win. Young also had two steals and played tough defense, as did the rest of the Red Raiders after halftime.
“Coach Moore told us at halftime that we were being outhustled and to pick things up,” Young said. “We had to stop their 3-point shooters and we did that. To win this league back to back is a great feeling. It did not happen for a while and I really can’t explain the feelings I have right now to do this with my teammates. We won the game by playing Coatesville basketball.”
Despite scoring just four points in a terrible third period, Bishop Shanahan (17-7) had the game tied at 28-28 heading into the fourth. The Eagles did not score from the field in the third, with four points coming at the foul line. The teams then battled furiously through the fourth, and when Jhamir Brickus went to the basket with 3:12 left, Coatesville had a slim 33-32 lead with the sellout crowd roaring on every play.
The Eagles were not done yet however. After an Eagle miss, Coatesville came down the floor and Tion Holmes took a nice pass from Kamau Brickus for what looked like a gimme. But Holmes’ layup rimmed out, and Kevin Dodds, who had 12 points and eight boards for the Eagles, came down with the rebound. John Koziinski drove the lane for Shanahan, got fouled and hit just one of two free throws to tie the game at 33-33 with 59 seconds to play.
Coatesville called timeout and then came out and held the ball as the clock wound down and the fans came to their feet. But just as it looked like Coatesville would have a chance for the win, a turnover gave the ball to the Eagles with just 15 seconds to play.
But at the other end, Dan Browne’s 3-pointer from the corner rimmed out, and Kamau Brickus rebounded the ball and passed ahead to Dapree Bryant who was fouled with less than one second left on the clock, sending Bryant to the line with the game in his hands.
Bryant missed the front end of the one and one, sending the game into overtime tied at 33.
“We had a lot of challenges tonight and all season,” said Coatesville senior forward Joe Boulware. “To win the league like this after two really tight, tough games is a great feeling. This team was so young but we kept finding ways to win and we did that again tonight.”
The extra period started with Hasaan Young’s made 3-pointer, and Shanahan still could not buy a basket. The Eagles shot one for six in overtime and Coatesville sank four of five from the free throw line to give the Red Raiders the Ches-Mont League title and send their fans streaming onto the court to celebrate the thrilling win.
“The kids bought in all season,”Moore said. “And these last two games were tough but that is playoff basketball. Everybody is a contender this time of the season. This was our second goal behind winning our division and now we move on to districts and try to claim another goal.”
As dejected Shanahan players and coaches left the locker room, Eagles coach Ken Doyle lamented the third period that put Coatesville back into the game.
“We just did not run offense in the third period and their defense had a lot to do with that,” Doyle said. “We were too helter-skelter to win the game.”
Coatesville 43, Bishop Shanahan 37
Bishop Shanahan: Browne 1 2-3 5, Ford 2 1-4 5, O’Malley 1 0-0 3, Dodds 4 4-7 12, Angelo 0 5-5 5, Dearing 0 0-2 0, Kozinski 3 1-21 7. Totals 10 12-23 37.
Coatesville: Bladen 1 1-2 3, Boulware 1 2-5 4, K.Brickus 2 3-5 7, J.Brickus 1 2-3 4, Bryant 0 2-3 2, A.Young 0 1-2 1, H.Young 6 1-1 16, Holmes 1 1-1 3. Totals 12 13-24 43.
Bishop Shanahan 15 9 4 5 4 -37
Coatesville 13 5 10 5 10 – 43
3-point goals: Browne, O’Malley, H.Young 3.
