Pinkney delivers as Archbishop Wood outlasts Shipley

2021
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WARMINSTER >> Seth Pinkney will say he’s the best foul shooter on the Archbishop Wood boys basketball team.

Tyree Pickron’s opinion is if the 6-foot-11 center says it, then he believes it. Pinkney had a chance to prove his point Saturday and came through, netting two huge free throws to go with a couple of other clutch plays to help the Vikings pick up a gut-check win.

Pinkney had four points, a block and a rebound in the final 37 seconds as Wood outlasted Shipley 57-56 in the finale of the Diane Mosco Foundation Shootout Against Cancer.

“It surprised me, but I am the best foul shooter and we do practice foul shooting a lot,” Pinkney said. “When it comes to foul shooting at the end of the game, it’s not really a big deal.”

The event, named in memory of Diane Mosco, the late wife of Wood coach John Mosco who passed away in September after a battle with cancer, raised $3,000 for the Breathing Room Foundation, which aids families battling the disease. Pinkney and Pickron said they were playing in Diane Mosco’s memory and wanted to pull through for their coach.

With the team decked out in red sneakers and white socks with a red stripe, Wood (2-1) had its hands full with a talented Gators squad. Wood only led by a point at the half and spent most of the second half trailing Shipley (3-2, 1-0 Friends Schools League), with their standout senior guard Sam Sessoms looking like he was going to will the Gators to the win.

Although Wood returns plenty from last year’s Philadelphia Catholic League and 5A state champion squad, it’s still a new team that hasn’t fully established its identity yet. On a night where the team’s shooters were struggling, it was up to the big men to carry the load.

“It’s a gut-check win and shows the character in just our third game of the year,” Wood senior guard Andrew Funk said. “I didn’t play great, Tyree didn’t play great, our shots weren’t falling but to gut it out and get some big stops at the end was really big for us.”

Pinkney (11 points), Karrington Wallace (12 points) and Julius Phillips (11 points) were up to it, dunking everything they could and battling Shipley’s 6-foot-10 Ray Somerville all game.

“This was the most dunks we’ve ever had in a game,” Pinkney said. “Those two (Phillips and Wallace) really put a lot of energy out on the court. Julius really showed out tonight, he’s been showing out since the season started so I think the three of us are in for a big season.”

Sessoms, a Binghamton recruit, was outstanding with a game-high 23 points plus eight rebounds, four assists and four steals. He kept answering every challenge by Wood, even draining two fourth-quarter jumpers over the outstretched, unending arms of Pinkney.

Funk, who led Wood with 13 points, said it came down to keeping focused and not letting Sessoms’ shot-making affect the Vikings negatively. Pickron echoed his backcourt partner and praised the team’s demeanor during a taxing game.

“We kept an even head,” Pickron said. “That’s something we’ve had trouble with since I’ve been here, us staying settled. If you look at the numbers, we only made two threes, we missed 10 free throws, but I think we kept a steady head and came out with the win.”

After Pickron split a pair of free throws to make it 54-53 Shipley with 58 seconds left, he helped force a quick turnover, setting up what would be the go-ahead play. The call was for the Quinnipiac-bound senior to get the ball, but part of what makes Wood so good is how free the players are on the court.

“It was a play for me to come off a screen and create but I saw Seth with his feet set,” Pickron, who dished eight assists, said. “Any time Seth has his feet set, it’s an automatic dunk. I knew he would make it. That gave us a major lift, usually our guard carry us but to see our bigs playing well, once we combine the two, I think we’ll be fine.”

Pinkney slammed the ball home and drew the whistle, hitting the freebie to give Wood its first lead since the 7:31 mark of the third quarter.

“That’s just Ty finding me in a good spot,” Pinkney said. “I think that was one of the best plays we’ve had so far this season. It really gave a lot of energy to the crowd and the bench and when I hit the and-1 foul shot, it gave me a lot of courage and a lot of energy.”

Pinkney hasn’t signed with a college yet, but given his size, defensive skills and improving offense, he’s going to end up at a Division I school before long and has plenty of interest. From where he was four years ago as a freshman to now though, he’s a different player completely.

“When I started at Wood, I wasn’t a good shooter and I didn’t even want to score the ball most of the time,” Pinkney said. “All the coaches here have helped me hone my form and get my footwork going so I can move around the basket and the perimeter as well. I’ve definitely increased my arsenal.”

The game wasn’t won yet. Funk helped force a turnover following the and-1, but Wood couldn’t convert, so Pinkney stepped up to get a piece of a Shipley put-back with about 15 seconds left, then grabbed the rebound and got fouled, splitting his foul shots for the winning point.

“Defense is my game,” Pinkney said. “I saw them coming down the court at the end of the game and I knew that’s my game, I have to block the shot. That’s my mindset. We got to the shooters, we made sure they’d be closed out well and we got the rebounds. We had to get that win.”

ARCHBISHOP WOOD 57, SHIPLEY SCHOOL 56
SHIPLEY SCHOOL 9 14 18 25 – 56
ARCHBISHOP WOOD 10 14 13 20 – 57
S: Sam Sessoms 10 2-2 23, Amyr Henry 4 0-0 9, Khai Champion 4 0-0 8, Ray Somerville 3 2-5 8, Chaz Owens 2 0-2 4, Tom Sobelman 1 0-0 2, Ronan Higgins 1 0-0 2. Nonscoring: Joey Gruzinski, Randall Brown. Totals: 25 4-9 56.
AW: Andrew Funk 5 1-2 13, Seth Pinkney 4 3-5 11, Karrington Wallace 5 2-2 12, Julius Phillips 5 1-5 11, Ty Pickron 2 4-6 8, Daeshon Shepard, 1 0-0 2. Nonscoring: Rahsool Diggins, Kyle McNamee. Totals: 12 11-22 57.
3-pointers: AW – Funk 2; S – Sessoms, Henry.

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Andrew Robinson

Andrew Robinson
Montgomery Media/Lansdale Reporter sports writer.

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