Late surge falls short, Coatesville’s season ends as Brickus sets scoring record
SPRINGFIELD – What began with so much promise — from the moment Coatesville fell in the PIAA boys’ basketball semifinals a year ago – ended on Saturday with a stirring late comeback that came up just short.
The terrific four-year career of Jhamir Brickus concluded with a PIAA Class 6A exit to powerhouse Roman Catholic, 81-75. But not before Brickus staged one final salvo, putting a serious comeback scare into the Cahillites, and moving past Amber White and into first-place on the Red Raiders’ all-time scoring list, male or female.
“I have a resilient group,” said first-year head coach Marc Turner. “We have a bunch of returning seniors who have been through this before.
“I didn’t expect us to wilt, and we didn’t – we persevered. We showed some resiliency, and that’s what Coatesville is all about.”
Played in front of a standing room only crowd at Cardinal O’Hara, the District 12 runner-up led wire-to-wire, but had to fend off repeated runs by the Raiders, who finished fifth in District 1.
In the final two-plus minutes of regulation, Brickus poured in 14 of his game-high 24 points, which sliced a 13-point deficit to four in the final 30 seconds. And the final bucket of the guard’s high school career catapulted him into the record books.
“It’s a great accomplishment knowing that I came from nothing and my name will be up on the (scoring list) at our gym,” Brickus said. “That means a lot to me.”
But Roman Catholic, which benefitted from a strong start, then buried eight of nine from the free throw line in the final 66 seconds to hold on. Now 17-10, the Cahillites advance to the round of 16 on Wednesday, and they did it without four-star point guard Lynn Greer III, who missed the game with a hip injury.
“Our kids played as hard, for as long, as I could possibly ask,” Turner said. “I’m extremely proud of the effort these guys gave.
“Everybody in this gym could see that (Roman Catholic) is a pretty talented team. We were within arms distance at the end, and that’s all we can ask for.”
It marks the end of a 20-7 season for Coatesville, as well as the final appearance of Brickus and backcourt mate Dapree Bryant – a pair of four-year starters. The duo, along with senior starters Donavon Brickus and John Proctor, had a different head coach in each of the last three seasons.
“We’ve had three head coaches in the last four years, so it was tough,” acknowledged Bryant, who scored 12 points.
“We all recognize that I am the third head coach in three years,” Turner added. “That’s tough for any kid. They are trying to do the right thing and play the way the coach wants to play. They did everything I could ask.
“I was actually surprised how willing they were to incorporate some different concepts. They embraced it. They looked forward to the challenge. If they had some continuity in the basketball program, I think this group would really have benefited.”
An inauspicious start put the Raiders behind by eight in a big hurry, and Roman Catholic led 22-14 after the first period. Thanks to an early second half surge, Coatesville sliced the deficit to two, but then the Cahillites reeled off nine in a row to up the margin to 16.
“We just got too far behind,” Bryant said.
“We did all we could do, but we didn’t pick it up right at the start,” Brickus agreed. “That’s why we lost this tough one. We kind of gave this one away by not starting quicker.”
An 11-0 surge put Roman Catholic in front by 17 late in the third, but the Raiders cut it to 10 to start the final period. It looked hopeless, however, with less than three minutes on the clock, but then Brickus breathed life into Coatesville.
It started with a pair of three-pointers, sandwiched around a steal and bucket, to make it 74-69 with 1:13 to go. Brickus then tipped in an offensive board and followed it up with consecutive drives to the bucket, getting the Raiders’ within four at 79-75 with 21.5 seconds on the clock.
“I was just trying to keep my team in it,” he said.
“Jig is a special offensive talent,” Turner added. “I’ve been coaching for 25 years and I can’t think of a more talented offensive high school player that I’ve ever seen.
“He is a special kid and talent. They don’t come along very often. I am happy for the kid because he left it all on the floor. I told him not to leave anything in the tank because when it is over, it’s over. He did. He went out there and did what he does.”
Roman’s Xzayvier Brown closed it out moments later with a couple free throws. He finished with 17 points, Justice Williams had 24 and Nasir Lett chipped in with 16.
Proctor closed out his career in style with 21 points for Coatesville, and sophomore Jaydon Brickus chipped in 12. Jhamir Brickus wound up scoring 19 points in the second half.
“(Jhamir) is a great player that can score whenever he wants,” Bryant said. “I am proud of him.”
Roman Catholic 81, Coatesville 75
Coatesville 14 18 14 29 — 75
Roman Catholic 22 19 15 25 — 81
COATESVILLE – D. Brickus 3 0-0 6; Bryant 5 2-4 12; Jh. Brickus 8 5-5 24; Ja. Brickus 5 0-0 12; Proctor 8 3-6 21. Totals 29 10-15 75.
ROMAN CATHOLIC – Lett 5 3-4 16; Williams 7 8-10 24; J. Flood 1 0-0 2; Duren 5 3-5 13; Norman 3 2-2 9; Brown 4 6-8 17. Totals 25 22-29 81.
Three-point goals: Jh. Brickus 3, Ja. Brickus 2, Proctor, Lett 3, Williams 2, Norman, Brown 3.
