Bethea, Archbishop Wood look confident in PIAA-6A playoff opener against Plymouth Whitemarsh

MARPLE >> It’s all confidence.

Whether it was coming off the bench, as he did for most of the season, or starting as he’s done the last two games, Archbishop Wood sophomore guard Jalil Bethea knows his success hinges on his confidence. A lights-out shooter, Bethea’s insertion into Wood’s starting lineup has given the Vikings an injection of offense they hope propels them on a run back to Hershey later this month.

Bethea’s confidence was high on Wednesday as he went off for 23 points as the Vikings handled Plymouth Whitemarsh 77-50 in their PIAA Class 6A boys basketball opening round game at Cardinal O’Hara.

“Coming off the bench, you know how the game is going but starting, you just have to get used to it,” Bethea said. “Once I got used to it, I just started going with the flow. My first start, I was nervous, I said some butterflies and all that but this time, I was locked in.”

Bethea scored eight of the Vikings’ first 10 points, his second 3-pointer of the opening quarter staking Wood to a 6-4 lead it would hold the rest of the game. Once he knocked down a couple early shots and Tyson Allen helped push the lead, the Vikings settled in and started doing what they wanted offensively, which was pushing the ball up the floor off every rebound.

The Colonials were shorthanded before the ball was even tipped, with senior Zende Hubbard having to sit out with an injury. Even without one of their starting lineup mainstays, PW still had to contend with a Wood team that brought in a lot of offensive firepower but more importantly, had recovered its confidence after being knocked out of the PCL playoffs in the quarterfinal round.

“You have to play that game loose, confident and physically tough,” PW coach Jim Donofrio said. “All season long, we’ve kind of shown where we are as a team. Every time we lost one, we learned from it but the one last step these guys needed to take was having a loose confidence when you’re playing a really, really talented team.”

Qudire Bennett pulled PW within 10-7 when he converted a three-point play midway through the opening quarter and a 3-pointer from Trey Jones got the Colonials within 17-11 late in the quarter but Wood answered both times, then started to pull away in the second quarter. Six straight from Carson Howard out-weighed a Marshall Baker score to open the frame, then a driving take by Bethea kicked off an 8-0 Wood run that extended the Vikings lead to 33-14.

By halftime, Wood led 35-19 and only two of those points had come from senior Justin Moore, who threw down a dunk during the second quarter run. Instead, Moore was able to focus on playmaking and doled out eight assists, a byproduct of Bethea stepping into the starting lineup during the team’s District 12 seeding win over Boys’ Latin last week.

“He adds more scoring,” Moore said. “He’s getting better every game on defense so when we have him out there, he spreads the floor more and when he gets rolling, he likes to do what he can do, which is putting the ball in the basket.”

Bethea hit 8-of-11 shots to get his 23 while the Vikings had plenty of other contributors including Allen’s 12 points, seven rebounds and usual good defense and 10 points from Howard inside. Bahsil Laster, who moved from the starting five into Bethea’s reserve role, also flourished as a distributor with six assists and six points.

PW’s Jaden Colzie scored 14 of his team-high 17 after halftime, highlighted by a 3-pointer to beat the third quarter buzzer, but every foray the Colonials made toward cutting into the lead was answered by somebody on Wood’s side getting a basket. Bennett, a junior, had 14 while senior Marshall Baker had 12 in his last game for the program.

“Their guards are all bigger than us but just as fast,” Donofrio said. “It’d be one thing if we said we couldn’t even get a look here but we got plenty of looks and you’ve got two made threes on the night with four minutes to go. You have to have 12, you watch these NCAA games right now and you’re fascinated with the confidence, there’s times ‘this team shouldn’t even be in this game,’ it’s all confidence and we needed one of those.”

Bethea wasn’t short on confidence on Wednesday, hitting 4-of-6 from long range and scored at least three points in every quarter.

“I’m still looking for the same kind of shots whether I’m starting or coming off the bench,” Bethea said. “Once I see it go in, I get streaky after that. I see that first one go in, then it comes after that.”

PW has two very solid pieces back in Bennett and Colzie but loses three starters in Hubbard, Jones, Baker and Taji Hubbard, who filled in for his brother in Wednesday’s first five.

“We weren’t going to be in districts,” Donofrio said. “You end up going 4-1 in districts and you’re the fifth seed in the state tournament, all of that can not be disrespected. You make the state tournament for the first time in three seasons, so it’s all good. If you’re going to play Wood in your matchup, you have to flip it, you have to be great immediately.

“I want the guys coming back, that humbles you to get your work in for the next eight months.”

Wood advances to Saturday’s second round against a very familiar foe in District 3 champion Reading at a site and time to be determined.. The Red Knights beat the Vikings in last year’s state title game and handed Wood a loss at the Geigle Complex earlier this season.

Moore said he’s eager to get another look at one of the top programs in the state and knows his team will be confident going in.

“I loved playing against Reading,” Moore said. “It was a hard, physical game, they play with so much energy. It’s always a dog fight, they got us last time so we’re looking to go out there, play hard and hopefully come away with a win.”

Archbishop Wood 77, Plymouth Whitemarsh 50
Archbishop Wood 19 16 17 25 – 77
Plymouth Whitemarsh 11 8 13 18 – 50
Archbishop Wood: Justin Moore 2 0-0 5, Tyson Allen 6 0-0 12, Jalil Bethea 8 3-4 23, Mike Knouse 2 0-0 6, Carson Howard 3 4-5 10, Josh Reed 0 3-4 3, Bahsil Laster 3 0-1 6, Deuce Maxey 1 0-0 2, Markus Dixon 5 0-0 10. Totals: 30 10-14 77.
Plymouth Whitemarsh: Jaden Colzie 7 1-2 17, Marshall Baker 5 1-2 12, Trey Jones 1 0-0 3, Qudire Bennett 6 2-2 14, Robin Vinsen 1 0-0 2, Najee Moore 1 0-0 2. Totals: 21 4-7 50.
3-pointers: AW – Bethea 4, Knouse 2, Moore; PW – Colzie 2, Baker, Jones.