Game Report: West Philadelphia at MCS
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At 3:15pm, the MCS Elephants hosted the Speedboys of West Philadelphia in a great Public League matchup. Both teams came out with intensity and got up-and-down. Senior-leader Elijah Hester Elijah Hester 5'11" | PG West Philadelphia | 2023 State PA…
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Continue ReadingAt 3:15pm, the MCS Elephants hosted the Speedboys of West Philadelphia in a great Public League matchup. Both teams came out with intensity and got up-and-down. Senior-leader Elijah Hester Elijah Hester 5'11" | PG West Philadelphia | 2023 State PA (2023) pushed them early as the point in their 1-3-1 defense, turning steals into layups. As West Philly head coach Adrian Burke shared, “He’s like the heart and soul of our team,” Hester also initiated their sets on offense. The advantages he created resulted in two first quarter 3s for Abdurrahman “AB” Coulibaly (2024) on the wing and paint touches for center Jaden Williams Jaden Williams 6'3" | C Harrisburg | 2025 State PA (2023) in the second. MCS fought back with paint touches of their own. Isaiah Griffin (2023)took advantage of his quickness around the basket with 8 first quarter points on putbacks and by flashing to open space inside. Next, Nasseem Wright (2024) gave them 9 points the next period by attacking from the mid-post, putting West Philly into foul trouble, and making 5-of-6 from the line. But the Speedboys went on a run with plays from Branden Williams (2024) to take a 37-29 lead at the half.
The third period was just as uptempo as the first, only West Philly won the battle on the glass. Jaden Williams Jaden Williams 6'3" | C Harrisburg | 2025 State PA , along with guards like Hester, Jabril Jackson (2024), and Jayden McKie Jayden McKie 5'10" | CG West Philladelphia | 2026 State PA (2026) crashed the boards to extend possessions and create second-chance opportunities.They moved the ball and got everyone involved. MCS forced some turnovers of their own, but it wasn’t enough to get their offense going. Then things swung in the fourth quarter. The Elephants slowed down the Speedboys by doubling and trapping at the point-of-attack. Jeff King III (2023) and Kevin Carter (2024) brought sparks off the bench by creating and hitting shots. And Rashan Locke-Hicks Rashan Locke-Hicks 5'11" | PG Math, Civics & Sciences | 2023 State PA (2023) got in his bag. “Nizzy” played great on-ball defense, grifted fouls, and got to the charity stripe, scoring 13 points in the final quarter. MCS got within a single score until Jackson stepped up and took back control of the game for West Philly. When asked how he settled his team down during MCS’s late push, Coach Burke said “I have so many guards that can really handle the rock. So what I did was I put it in my hot man’s hand. The hot guy was number #14 [Jabril Jackson]…He made some tough baskets, he went to the foul line, made some nice shots.” Jackson’s critical plays down the stretch helped West Philly edge out MCS for a 69-64 win on the road.
Top Scorers
WP: Jackson 21, Hester 14, J. Williams 8
MCS: Locke-Hicks 25, Wright 21, Griffin 10