After opening with three straight road Philadelphia Catholic League games, Archbishop Wood finally got to play at home last Thursday night in its standing-room-only gym.
It was a tough opening act. Neumann-Goretti (13-0), the defending PCL regular season champion and a 4A PIAA finalist last year, remained undefeated. Despite losing St. Joseph’s-bound point guard Khaafiq Myers late in the first half, the Saints scored at least 18 points in each quarter while cruising to an 83-61 win.
Jalil Bethea’s three gave Wood a 7-5 lead. N-G then ripped off eight straight points, yet Wood dug itself out of the hole. Josh Reed opened the second quarter with a dunk to tie the game at 20.
But N-G spent most of the second and third quarters on a 43-18 run, sharpshooting threes on offense and not allowing Wood to get consecutive baskets in the same half.
The loss made for a somber locker room. “They just played harder and tougher than we did,” said Wood coach John Mosco. “Every loose ball, they got. Every rebound that they needed, they got. They shared the ball better than we did. And we turned the ball over.” Wood had 17 turnovers to N-G’s six.
“Their senior leader didn’t care about points, he cared about winning,” Mosco added. “We have to get better offensively moving and setting screens.”
What were Wood’s takeaways? “Defense,” replied Deuce Maxey. “Defense, defense, defense. That’s it.”
Drexel signee Reed continued a notable Wood senior campaign with 17 points, his fourth straight PCL game of tallying at least 17. Maxey, a junior with a Binghamton offer already in hand, added 11 for his second straight double digit game. Miami-bound Bethea also chipped in 11.
Wood closed 2023 with an 89-82 win over Benton (Ark.) in the Pine Bluff King Cotton Classic. Reed’s 38 points turned heads. After overcoming a 21-14 first quarter deficit, Wood beat Father Judge 85-69 to open PCL play. Reed (22 points) missed a double-double by one rebound.
Then the Vikings entered their gauntlet. They fell to Roman 67-49 on Jan. 5, then stormed back from a six-point deficit with 41 seconds left to stun Archbishop Ryan 72-71. Mike Green sank a three, Bethea added a bucket and Reed hit a layup with 10 seconds left for the win.
While there are no easy PCL games, N-G ended a particularly difficult stretch. Mosco’s staff tried to make sure the team wouldn’t be flat after an emotional win.
“You’re in the Catholic League for a reason and you can’t worry about that,” Mosco said. “Every time out, you’ve got to be able to play. We talked about that and talked about being ready. We weren’t ready.”
“We’ve been trying to practice hard and play better defense. Our defense has been a little bit off recently,” Maxey continued. “That’s the main thing – trying to play better defense and get back into transition on offense. We haven’t been playing transition as much.”
The Vikings have made the PIAA final four in the last three seasons. The parts are there for another deep run. Wood is still a well-rounded club with formidable guard play.
“We don’t have a certain big man but we can all guard five positions,” Maxey pointed out.
“We’ve gotten better playing against the zone,” Mosco added.
Wood (6-7, 2-2 PCL) rebounded quickly, crawling out of a 50-39 fourth quarter deficit against Centennial (Calif.) in Springfield, Mass., on Saturday to win 73-71; Bethea’s two free throws – his 39th and 40th points – iced the game and broke a 71-all tie to give Wood a win against a school with both a UCLA and Arizona commit.
The Vikings closed the week with a Wednesday late home game against LaSalle. Wood next heads to St. Joe’s Prep on Friday night.
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