Sophomore Brickus scores 1,000th point, but Coatesville sent home in first round

LITITZ >> The Coatesville boys basketball team had its sights set on a deep run in the PIAA Class 6A playoffs, especially after two impressive wins in the playback rounds of the District 1 tournament.

Those dreams were dashed Saturday night at Warwick High School, as the Red Raiders’ cold shooting did them in to the tune of a 66-53 loss to Hempfield, ending Coatesville’s season at 21-7.

Coatesville shot a frigid 20 for 64 from the field and 12 of 20 from the foul line, while the Black Knights (25-4) went 31 for 36 from the charity stripe, with senior Ryan Moffatt going an incredible 21 of 24 from the free throw line.

The lone highlight for Coatesville was superlative sophomore Jhamir Brickus going over the 1,000-point mark before the end of his second season of high school ball. Brickus, who led Coatesville with 19 points, reached the milestone with 6:47 left in the third quarter by draining a free throw for his 12th point of the game.

“We just missed too many shots and shots we usually make,” said Coatesville coach Chuck Moore. “And we missed some layups and some inside shots. Hempfield won a couple games in the playoffs last year and some of our guys have not experienced this stage before. The anxiety of this stage can cause a player to miss some shots. And the foul situation is what it is. We expected a lot of fouls because of the way we play but the refs evened things up. We can’t worry about that.”

Hempfield broke the game open in the second period when they outscored Coatesville, 21-7, to take a commanding 32-20 lead at halftime, getting the Hempfield crowd — which had to travel just 15 minutes to Litiz — up on its feet.

Coatesville shot just three for 12 in the second period and the Black knights’ zone defense seemed to frustrate the Red Raiders. Hempfield shot five of seven in the period and it seemed to give the District 3 squad a lot of confidence.

Coatesville continued to shoot poorly from the field in the third quarter, and the Red Raiders were on the verge of being blown out when Anthony Alston strolled down the lane to give Hempfield a 46-31 advantage. But Coatesville big man Tyrel Bladen, an Eastern Kentucky University recruit, kept the Red Raiders in the game. Bladen dominated the third and ended the game with 13 points and 10 rebounds in a gallant effort.

Hempfield took a 12-point lead into the fourth quarter, but the Black Knights seemed intent on letting the Red Raiders back in the game. The Coatesville pressure forced five fourth quarter turnovers, and Brickus started to drive to the basket because his outside shot was not going in. Once that happened, Hempfield had little answer for the Red Raiders’ star.

“Teams design their defense to stop Jhamir,” Moore said. “And tonight, his outside shot was not falling and he started to go to the basket and we got back in the game. But it seemed we only could get one guy going at a time.”

When Hempfield turned the ball over with 1:57 to play, it looked like the Red Raiders would complete an amazing comeback. Aaron Young buried a 3-pointer from the left corner and it was a 58-52 game. The Black Knights turned the ball over again and Brickus went strong to the basket, got fouled and hit one of two from the foul line to make it a 58-53 game.

Then things went south for the game and, ultimately, the Red Raiders’ season. Moffatt brought the ball up the floor and Coatesville was whistled for a foul. Then, Dapree Bryant was hit with a technical and Moffatt drained all four free throws before Hempfield got the ball back, and the Black Knights had held off the talented Red Raiders.

Hempfield moves on to play Lincoln in Wednesday’s second round, while Coatesville’s season ends in a first round PIAA loss for the second year in a row.

“I am real proud of these guys but this was a frustrating game tonight,” Coatesville senior Avery Young said. “We played hard and tried our best but we did not make enough shots. The guys that are going off to college should be proud and the young guys have to keep working.”

Hempfield 66, Coatesville 53.
COATESVILLE: Brickus 7 5-8 19, Bryant 4 3-5 11, Bladen 5 3-3 13, Aa. Young 1 0-0 3, Av.Young 0 0-0 0, Smith 0 1-4 1, Holmes 0 0-0 0, Crews 2 0-0 4, Miller 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 12-20 53.
HEMPFIELD: Moffett 4 21-24 29, Washington 2 5-7 9, Wernoch 2 1-1 6, Alston 5 1-1 12, Martin-Robinson 2 0-0 5, Green 1 3-3 5. Totals 16 31-36 66.
Coatesville 13 7 16 17 – 53
Hempfield 11 21 14 20 – 66
3-point goals: Aa. young, Alston, Wernoch, Martin-Robinson.