Timby makes the difference as La Salle edges Bishop McDevitt in PCL semifinals

PHILADELPHIA >> It’s not a good idea to lose track of Jake Timby.

It seemed like every time Bishop McDevitt lost the La Salle junior Thursday night, even if it was only for a second, Timby burned them. Early in the game, it was his outside shooting, but the 5-foot-11 guard came up with possibly the game’s biggest bucket late when he snuck away with everyone looking elsewhere.

Timby’s 14-point night was the X-factor as No. 2 La Salle edged No. 3 Bishop McDevitt 49-41 in their Philadelphia Catholic League semifinal game at the Palestra, sending the Explorers to Monday’s title game.

“I saw the first one go in, so I just kept shooting,” Timby, who hit on 4-of-5 tries from 3-point range, said.

When the teams met in the regular season both were undefeated but La Salle handed McDevitt an emphatic loss. The game changed the tide of the season for the Royal Lancers, who banded together behind their large junior class and established themselves as a defensive juggernaut, climbing all the way to the third seed in the PCL standings.

So, nobody was expecting another blowout on Thursday. McDevitt not only played well enough to be in the game, but the Lancers had a case for wining only to betrayed by some late shooting struggles.

“That’s all it was, they scored 49 points and we played to our plan,” McDevitt coach Will Chavis said. “Jake Timby stepped up and hit some big shots for them, we didn’t really have anybody step up and hit those type of shots for us and that really was the game.”

Chavis, the PCL Coach of the Year, has built the Lancers into a tough as nails defensive group, which they showed for most of the night. But, there’s a lot of veterans on La Salle’s roster and their nine seniors didn’t want Thursday to be their only time playing together in the Palestra.

Timby hit a three to open the game’s scoring, setting a tone for how his night was going to go and La Salle had a 6-0 lead before McDevitt got on the board. Timby, who added two rebounds and two assists, had nine points in the first half but his teammates gave plenty of help.

“He was huge,” La Salle senior Konrad Kiszka said of Timby. “Especially because we started out getting out-toughed, he was hitting shots for us every time and we needed him to.”

Kiszka set up Timby’s late layup, tearing down a rebound off a missed free throw then looking up court to throw a long pass to the junior on the outlet for a 43-39 lead with 1:50 remaining.

“I saw him when I started dribbling but my pass went a little to the right so he had to adjust a little bit, that’s my fault,” Kiszka said. “If I threw it right, I knew he would have hit a three.”

La Salle tried to get the last shot of the first half, running 1:30 off the game clock before McDevitt blew things up and Jamil Manigo converted to cut the Explorers lead to 23-21 at the break.

The Lancers, who didn’t make an outside shot, relied on their toughness, defense and a lift from reserves Cameron Garnder and Shamir Mosley to carry them in the first half. Gardner had six first half points, all as the result of offensive rebounds.

McDevitt took a 28-27 lead in the third quarter, but the Explorers didn’t let it last long.

“The kids know in an environment like this, it’s about who makes the least mistakes,” Chavis said. “Some of their players stepped up and hit big shots.

“It’s just hard work. I asked them what they learned, that’s the whole thing, if they learned something then they can take it with them and that’s the most important thing we can take away from this game.”

La Salle responded with an 8-0 run from the 3:03 mark of the third to the 1:25 mark. Timby was a big part of it, first hustling to get a rebound that allowed Zach Crisler to score, then hitting a corner three off a Titus Beard pass before Beard found Crisler for a three.

Crisler was aggressive for La Salle, scoring 14 points in the win.

“In the first half, we weren’t moving the ball on offense and we were playing on our heels so we came in at halftime, the coaches talked to us and we knew exactly what we had to do,” Crisler said. “We’ve been in positions like this, so we came together, got moving more on offense and things started to flow.”

La Salle had a great night at the foul line, missing its first free throw then making the next 16, including six straight by senior Allen Powell to seal up the win over the final minute.

The Explorers will face No. 1 Roman Catholic, the defending PCL champion, back at the Palestra on Monday in the title game at 8:30 p.m.

“If you go up to the foul line composed, your shot is going to go in,” Powell said.