PAISAA Playoffs: Semifinals Standouts

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With the PAISAA championship taking place this Sunday at Hagan Arena, I thought it would be good to preview the game by providing a recap of the semifinals. Numerous players produced in each game, but I could only choose five. Here they are:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1197611' first='KJ' last='Cochran'] | 6'3 G 2025 Perkiomen</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The two-way combo guard had a well-rounded performance to get the Panthers back to the PAISAA championship game. In the first half, Cochran layered in shots at the cup and from behind the arc to put his team up by 9. But after a quiet second half and the game going to overtime, they looked to him again. Cochran made plays on the defensive end and got to the line, making 5-of-6 to ice the game. He tallied 19 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 streals. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1589088' first='Justin' last='Houser'] | 7'0 C 2025 Phelps</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>By maxing out his major size advantage on the low block, Houser proved to be a huge difference maker for Phelps. His vertical spacing was a big part of that. Even if he didn't get the best pass from his teammates, his wide catch radius made up for it. From there, Houser dunked or layed the ball over whoever was on him. He was even more dominant on defense. Houser rejected three shots in the third to limit ANC to just 8 points. Just shy of a double-double, his 20 points, 9 boards, and 4 blocks punched the Phelps School's ticket to the chip. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2229148' first='Bahsil' last='Laster'] | 6'5 G 2024 Academy of the New Church</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Laster had a tall task against Phelps - defend Riley and lead the Lions offensively - and he performed well. Three inches shorter than the Phelps wing, Laster beat his man laterally, keeping him out of the lane. He came up with 3 opportunistic steals too. On the flip side, Laster played with a sense of urgency. His insistence on pushing the pace and attacking the basket boded well for ANC. Other than a pull-up three, 16 of his 19 points either came at the rim or the charity stripe. He chipped in 7 boards too. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1477774' first='Malik' last='Rasul'] | 6'7 W/F 2024 Westtown</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Rasul's hot start was pivotal for the Moose. He scored 20 points in the first quarter - flashing to open space for a layup plus the contact, driving for another, hitting a couple jumpers. His size and agility caused matchup problems all game long. Even when he caught the ball on the wing, he was able to play off of closeouts and get to the hoop. His atheism showed up on defense too. In all, Rasul totaled 20 points, 6 boards, 2 steals, and 1 block.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1865248' first='Will' last='Riley'] | 6'8 W 2025 Phelps </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With 25 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists, Riley backed up his composite five star status. He was sensational creating off-the-bounce. Even when he was cut off, he still delivered accurate passes overtop to Houser in the post or back out to the perimeter. In the fourth, he created for himself. Riley pushed the tempo in transition to score before the defense could get set and used ball-screens to force switches and then attacked his new man, leading to 13 points in that period. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->