Post & Pivot Reindeer Games

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Williams and the Post &amp; Pivot crew continue to organize events that showcase the best that Philly basketball has to offer. Sunday, December 19, they hosted six teams who each brought talent to the match-up.</span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Father Judge</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Judge was back, playing their second games in as many days and Ernest Shelton (6’3 G 2023)  was still hot. His jumper didn’t fall early, but he was able to attack closeouts and get to the paint for some floaters. With his three point attempts falling in the 2nd and 4th quarters, Shelton finished with 23 points with 5 threes. Kyle Jones Jr. (6’3 G 2023) is steadily coming along as the Crusaders’ primary ball-handler. He scored 14 points, going 4 of 6 from the free throw line.</span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Abington</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Ghosts got down early, then made a late comeback led by Derrius Lucas (6’6 F 2022) and Connor Fields (6’6 F 2022). Lucas created havoc defensively with his top tier physical tools. He contested shots, deflected passes, and grabbed defensive rebounds. 10 of his 16 points came in the 2nd half when he made mid-range shots. Fields made connecting plays and scored 13 points, on 7 of 8 from the line. </span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Malvern Prep</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In this biggest win of the day, Malvern was firing on all cylinders. Andrew Phillips (6’4 F 2023) led both teams in scoring with 23 points total. The Friars jumped ahead quickly with Phillips hitting 2 threes and scoring 10 points in the first quarter. The deep ball from [player_tooltip player_id="991421" first="Ryan" last="Williams"] (6’3 G 2024) wasn’t falling, so he did most of his damage off the bounce. Williams’s 19 points came from mid-range and self-created rim attempts. Joey Vandergeest (5’7 G 2022) also had 12 points of 4 threes. Babson-commit Tyler Lauder 6’7 F 2022) only scored 1 point, but he contested shots and racked up rebounds on both ends.</span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Life Center Academy (NJ)</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">LCA got out to a slow start and picked it up in the 3rd quarter. [player_tooltip player_id="901963" first="Justin" last="Hawkins"] (6’7 W 2022) got into a rhythm in the 2nd half once he was able to get into the paint and connect with Landon Shivers (6’19 C 2022) rolling to the rim. Hawkins and Shivers finished with 18 and 13 points respectively. </span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Penn Charter</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Quakers looked like a team whose core has been together 3 seasons. They out-executed their opponent and didn’t force anything for an all-round good team performance. Isaiah Grimes (6’3 F 2023) hustled to turn rebounds into second-chance points and closeout defensive possessions. He led PC with 17 points. [player_tooltip player_id="991383" first="Mark" last="Butler"] (6’0 G 2023) consistently got into the paint and to the free throw line, finishing with 16 points. [player_tooltip player_id="1116056" first="Trey" last="Shinholster"] (6’2 G 2023) had 13 points too.</span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Cardinal O’Hara</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">O’Hara was up at half but couldn’t pull away. [player_tooltip player_id="1281811" first="Izaiah" last="Pasha"] (6’6 W 2023) was responsible for the primary ball-handling and made tough shots, scoring 17 points. [player_tooltip player_id="933049" first="Josh" last="Coulanges"] (6’0 G 2023)  put up 14 points on pull-up threes and mid-range shots. [player_tooltip player_id="1137668" first="Hunter" last="Johnson"] (6’2 G 2024) had 10 points as well.</span></p> <p>For more PA basketball coverage, follow me on twitter @CGraham_Sports</p>