On Monday, in boys' hoops, Liberty High School won its semifinal contest against Allentown Central Catholic, 60-53. Then in a game that went into overtime, William Allen edged Parkland, 66-61.
Last night, Becahi eliminated Freedom, 59-38, while Nazareth's Blue Eagles got by Stroudsburg, 44-38.
Tomorrow night, the Liberty and Allen boys teams will face off for the 'ship, while the girls' trophy will go to Bethlehem Catholic or Nazareth.
I was at Monday night's game. As much as I like college hoops, and I do, there is no replacement for the excitement and enthusiasm of high school basketball game. You can throw team records out the window. In high school, anything can and does happen. This is magnified when a game is played at PPL Center.
In addition to the gigantic jumbotron at the center of the arena, the place was packed with bands, cheerleaders, players from other high schools cheering on their friends, alumni, parents, teachers. My favorites were the ball boys, grade school kids festooned with lanyards and grey "ball boy" t-shirts. When a ball rolled out of bounds, one of them would dash for it and come back, dribbling a few times before passing it to the ref. Every time the whistle would blow, one or all of them would be out on the court, mopping it dry. At half time, I thought they were going to mop the entire arena while simultaneously pretending they were scoring themselves.
Liberty's band is always exceptional, and Mionday night was no exception. William Allen Chorale surprised me with a stirring rendition of the National Anthem, far better than I've heard anywhere else in quite some time. Parkland's brass, a combo of saxophones and trombones, were spectacular.
The games themselves were among the best I've seen this season. I was particularly impressed by William Allen PG Nate Ellis. He's just a sophomore and was not the high scorer, but he won a game in which the Canaries had to claw their way back. He did it with strong defense that frustrated the taller Trojans.
Had the opportunity to see some of these games because SECTV carried them.
ReplyDeleteWent Monday night as well, had a great time sitting with the Allen fans and rooting against Parkland.
ReplyDeleteThursday will be fantastic!
The Banker
LVCI, I saw SECTV was there. The jumbotron was showing shots from above the basket, which was a nice angle. Hope that was on TV.
ReplyDeleteBanker, Thursday night should be a great game. Wish I could go, but am already blowing off two nights this week for b-ball.
Sorry you'll miss it Bernie, make sure you tape it should be great!
ReplyDelete