WEST GOSHEN >> All coaches want to have the belief that their team can summon up a little extra when challenged.
West Chester East’s Tom Durant doesn’t yet know everything about his Vikings, but Thursday he saw his squad finish forcefully in a Ches-Mont National boys’ basketball clash against Bishop Shanahan. It was impressive because it happened at a critical juncture — in the final three-plus minutes of regulation — and led directly to a 62-47 triumph over the visiting Eagles.
“We had some brain freezes out there,” Durant said. “We left some of our big guys on an island where I should have called a time out, that sort of thing. But our kids played hard – like they always do.”
Winning the entire way, but clinging to just a four-point lead with 3:09 on the clock, East promptly reeled off 13 of the next 14 points to abruptly end all comeback hopes. Now 3-2 in the league and 7-3 overall, the Vikings have won three in a row since back-to-back losses to West Chester Henderson and Coatesville in mid-December.
“We know how important all of these Ches-Mont games are,” said East senior guard Ryan Price. “So we have to defend our home court every single time.”
It was the second setback of the regular season for Shanahan against the Vikings, who lost at home by eight back on Dec. 9th. The Eagles fall to 1-4, 5-7.
“When you get good looks, you have to knock them down, and West Chester East knocked theirs down when it mattered, and we didn’t,” said Shanahan head coach John Dougherty. “But I know we can. We just have to be better.”
Down by 12 at the half, the Eagles turned things up a notch defensively in the third quarter by holding the Vikings scoreless and forcing four turnovers in the opening 3:44 of the second half. It enabled Shanahan to slice the lead in half, but that’s when East senior winger Bryce Cox buried consecutive 3-pointers to stem the tide.
“That was a huge swing for us – it got the bench and the crowd into it,” Price said.
“That was huge,” Durant echoed. “We say to our guys that the opposition is going to put a lot of their defensive energy on Ryan (Price), who is a four-year starter, so the other guys have to be ready.”
The Eagles stayed within striking distance with their defense, however, and after junior David Maddrey-Rylander connected on a 3-pointer with 3:23 remaining, it forced Durant to call a timeout with the score 48-44.
That set the stage for the Vikings to go on a 14-3 run to end it. It started with a Kahseem Bronzell jumper, and continued with two free throws by Becker Al-Tikriti after Shanahan’s Sean Griffin fouled out.
“(Griffin) is one of our better players. That didn’t help us,” Dougherty said.
Price added two inside buckets and a free throw, and junior Fenton Culp chipped in four points in the final two minutes.
“We talked about what we were going to do when (Shanahan) made their run,” Durant said.
“(Price) had some big rebounds, and big put-backs. When Shanahan made their run, we needed to respond. And Ryan was the response guy.”
Price led all scorers with 14, while Bronzell added 12 for the Vikings. Griffin and Maddrey-Rylander paced the Eagles with 10 apiece.
East broke open a close battle with a 23-point second quarter outburst. The Vikings scored the final seven points of the first half, including a 3-point play by Bronzell in the final second of play.
Despite the loss, Shanahan still remains atop the District 1 4A Power Rankings.
“We played good defense over the holidays, but it was lacking tonight, especially in the first half,” Dougherty pointed out. “When we give up a bunch of easy points, our inexperience shows.
“We should have started the game like we did in the third quarter. We need to put four consistent quarters together to be where we want to be. When we are good, we are really good. We just need to put those really good quarters together.”
West Chester East 62, Bishop Shanahan 47
BISHOP SHANAHAN – Ambrose 1 0-0 2; Aquila 3 1-3 7; Corcoran 1 0-0 3; Griffin 4 2-2 10; Keenan 4 0-0 8; Maddrey-Rylander 4 0-0 10; Scaggs 3 0-0 6. Totals 20 3-5 47.
W.C. EAST – Sherlock 2 2-4 6; Cox 3 0-0 8; Al-Takriti 1 3-3 5; Keefe 1 0-0 3; Bronzell 4 4-4 12; Williams 3 1-3 7; Price 6 1-1 14. Totals 23 11-15 62.
Bishop Shanahan 7 15 15 10 — 47
West Chester East 11 23 11 17 — 62
3 pointers: Maddrey-Rylander 2,Ambrose, Cox 2, Keefe, Kulp, Price.
