Imhotep, whistles knock Bonner & Prendie off-balance in title game loss

HERSHEY — Throughout its run to the state finals, balance defined the Bonner & Prendergast offense. It wasn’t always Isaiah Wong or Tariq Ingraham, the two blue-chip headliners any opponent would list first on their scouting report, forced to provide most of the offensive production.

About the time that Wong, the reigning Daily Times player of the year, hoisted his second 26-foot 3-pointer of the third quarter for the trailing Friars Thursday, it was pretty clear that such balance had broken down. And as Bonner’s stars adhered to the extremes of the scoring spectrum, there was little that the Friars could do to dent Imhotep Charter’s dynasty.

Behind four double-figure scorers, the Panthers claimed their seventh state title in 11 seasons and third straight in Class 4A via a 67-56 victory in a whistle-marred final at Hershey’s Giant Center.

Wong did his part, with a game-high 29 points and seven rebounds. But he was one of five Friars to finish with four fouls each, as the referees lost the plot in the third quarter, whistling 11 fouls on Bonner in nine minutes, which robbed the high-flying rematch of the District 12 final from any sort of flow.

The raggedness was apparent early. The Friars (22-7) tried to force the ball to Ingraham in the post, but two first-quarter fouls meant he would have to sit for the last 10 minutes of the half.

“It was hard to establish a rhythm, everyone getting in foul trouble,” Wong said. “We were just trying to find another way to try to get a dub, but we couldn’t find another way today. I felt we did good as a team with the struggles we had.”

Ingraham was saddled with four fouls by the end of the third quarter, ending his career with zero points on just one field-goal attempt and three rebounds in 18 minutes. Wong was called for his fourth foul when Donta Scott tripped over the guard lying prone on the court late in the third. Imhotep was in the double bonus with 7:11 to play, going 19-for-28 at the stripe.

Through the refereeing crew of John Louis Jackson, Don McGettigan and Francis O’Neill took center stage by whistling 41 total fouls, it still was up to Imhotep to capitalize. And the main Panther doing so was reserve forward Elijah Taylor.

He stepped in when starter Jamil Riggins sat in the first half with – what else? – foul trouble, and promptly went 7-for-7 from the field for 16 points, plus seven boards and two blocks. Compared to the five points produced by Bonner’s bench, Taylor was the difference.

“When (Ingraham) steps out of the game, it’s like, ‘Yo, we’ve got to look in,’” Taylor said. “That was already the game plan from the jump, to beat them up inside because we’re so sizable. But when he got in foul trouble, it was like, ‘OK, this is where we’re going to feast.’”

Scott conducted the meal with four assists and five boards to go with 20 points for Imhotep (26-6). Dahmir Bishop, who hit two first-half 3-pointers but was otherwise held in check, finished with a pair of thunderous slams to tally 12 points, and Riggins added 10. The Panthers turned the ball over 15 times to keep the Friars within striking distance, aided by the snail’s pace to which the game had crawled, but the Friars didn’t have anyone step up to take advantage.

The closest to Wong in points was Donovan Rodriguez, who scored 14 points. The junior canned a pair of first-half triples, then worked the mid-range game to exploit seams in the Panthers’ rangy 2-3 zone.

“You’ve just got to stay under control and try your best,” Rodriguez said. “When it balances out, that’s when we’re at our best. But unfortunately, since Tariq was out, that took away our balance.”

No one else stepped up to be that offensive counterweight. Mike Perretta scored five points in the third but was deprived of any steady time on the court by fouls. Tyreese Watson scored on a first-quarter blowby, then didn’t hit another shot. Malik Edwards’ lone 3-point make came in the final minute, when Imhotep led by double-figures.

With the way the second half unfolded, it wasn’t hard to discern which team had played in three PIAA finals and which was making its first state championship appearance.

“We’ve been through plenty of wars way worse than this,” Taylor said. “When we went out to City of Palms (Classic), we played Oak Hill, everybody in the gym against us. Playing in atmospheres like that builds us up for games like this, so I feel like we were prepared in that sense.”

It’s a down note for the Friars’ four senior contributors – Wong, Ingraham, Perretta and Chris Haynes – to end on. But even in the disappointment of leaving with the second-choice trophy Thursday, the players understood that the state final run was a momentous achievement for the program.

“It’s definitely room for celebration, especially from what this team was a couple of years ago,” Wong said. “They were celebrating for a team that was the seventh seed (in the Catholic League). And I feel like as now, we were the No. 1 seed in states and last year were the No. 1 in PCL, and I think we all did good together as a team. We all had great accomplishments together.”