Archbishop Wood pours it on in ACC Philly vs. Everybody High School Basketball Showcase (PHOTO GALLERY)

Archbishop Wood senior Matt Cerruti (20) looks for the open man in the first half of the Vikinsg win over Our Saviour Lutheran in the ACC Philly vs. Everybody High School Basketball Showcase tournament Friday, Dec. 23 at Ben Franklin HS, Philadelphia, Pa. (Steve Sherman – 21st-Century Media)

PHILADELPHIA – In a college showcase tournament, you come out and score as many points as you can as quickly as possible, right?

Archbishop Wood did just that in the ACC Philly vs. Everybody High School Basketball Showcase tourney against Empire State rival Our Saviour Lutheran (OSL) Friday night at Ben Franklin High School.

Defending the City of Brotherly Love’s home court, the Vikings put on a virtual shooting clinic facing their rivals from the Bronx, canning 10 3-pointers in the contest including six in the first period. Surely, the visiting Falcons didn’t really know what hit them until the halftime break but by then, they trailed 43-21.

OSL must have read the scouting report on Wood as they started the game with a hand in the face of senior standout Collin Gillespie on every trip up the court.

No matter.

The Vikings opened with a pair of 3-pointers by senior Keith Otto then followed with a pair of treys by classmate Matt Cerruti (19 points).

“We preach every day in practice – we’re not one guy,” said AW head coach John Mosco. “Otto stepped up and hit a couple threes. And Matt Cerruti stepped up.”

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Gillespie entered the 3-point shooting display late in the period, hitting a pair of his own shots from behind the arc to help Wood out to a 20-9 edge by the end of the initial frame.

He finished as the game’s leading scorer with 26 points – 13 in each half – including four 3-pointers.

“We really moved the ball around and found the open guy,” added Mosco. “It all starts with Collin (Gillespie); he’s unselfish and it just trickles down from there.

“He’s playing like a senior. He’s getting everybody involved.”

From there, Wood mounted a 21-2 second-quarter scoring spurt to start the third quarter. With that, the Vikings were up 41-11 with 2:05 still to play in the first half.

It all happened so fast, it was hard to track.

AW junior Karrington Wallace opened the second period with a 3-point play and curruti followed with a driving layup. OSL freshman Posh Alexander countered with his own layup but Wood answered back with 3-balls by Gillespie and Otto to expand the lead to 20 points with 4:30 remaining in the first half.

Gillespie added a driving layup and a pair of free throws, and junior Andrew Funk added a jumper and a bank shot. Together with a driving layup by Cerruti, it all adds up to a 30-point lead for the Vikings.

Archbishop Wood senior Collin Gillespie was awarded the MVP trophy after scoring 26 points for the Vikings in Friday night’s win in the ACC Philly vs. Everybody High School Basketball Showcase tournament at Ben Franklin High. (Steve Sherman – 21st-Century Media)

To their credit, the Falcons finished the half with a 10-2 run on a pair of 3-pointers by junior Adonis Fishburne (18 points) and another trey by senior Zahir Porter but really, OSL had to be asking themselves in the locker room just who are these boys from Bucks County.

Starting the second half trailing by 22, the Falcons countered with junior Jared Rhoden and classmate Fishburne. The OSL duo combined on 21 points in the period with Fishburne hitting for four field goals including a pair of 3-pointers.

Rhoden – who led his team with 21 points – hit for three field goals in the third quarter and was 5-of-6 from the foul line. Back to back jumpers by Adonis and Jared cut the Vikings’ lead to 15 with 2:30 to go in the third period though the outcome was never in question.

That’s because Wood answered the bell, with Wallace canning a putback bucket, Gillespie hitting one of his own then adding a 3-point play for good measure that expanded the Vikings edge back to 20 points with 1:05 remaining in the third period.

OSL opened the fourth quarter with a 7-3 scoring spurt capped by a 3-point play by junior Ismael Valdez that whittled Wood’s lead down to a dozen points with 5:30 remaining.

The Vikings simply countered back with a 22-3 scoring run to finish the game, sparked by a trio of buckets by Cerruti. AW junior Tyree Pickron added a three and sophomore Julius Phillips added a pair of field goals late in the quarter and the Vikes made 7-of-10 shots from the foul line.

Heck, even running back Shawn Thompson – fresh off this week’s nomination to the All-Pennsylvania Class 5A football team – got in on the scoring fray.

Contact Steve Sherman at ssherman@21st-Centurymedia.com or @BucksLocalSport on Twitter

Archbishop Wood 87, Our Savior Lutheran 56

(Dec. 23 at Ben Franklin HS)

ARCHBISHOP WOOD — Karrington Wallace 8, Seth Pinkney 4, Tyree Pickron 7, Keith Otto 11, Julius Phillips 4, Collin Gillespie 26, Shawn Thompson 2, Andrew Funk 6, Matt Cerruti 19; TOTALS — 30 17-25—87.

OUR SAVIOUR LUTHERAN — Matthew Williams 3, Posh Alexander 4, Adonis Fishburne 18, Amadou Sylla 2, Ismael Valdez 3, Jared Rhoden 21, Zahir Porter 5; TOTALS — 20 10-16—56.

3-POINT GOALS: AW — otto 3, Cerruti 2, Gillespie 4, Pickron; OSL — Fishburne 4, Williams, Porter.

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