Of all the SCH boys basketball teams, not a single one has advanced past the second round of the PAISAA tournament. Star-studded lineups have consistently come up short, and no banner hangs in the Kingsley for a PAISAA championship.
That has the potential to change this year, as the 2024-2025 Blue Devils lineup might be one of the best in recent memory, breaking numerous records on the way to being second in Inter-Ac play.
Senior guard Keni Williams etched his name in the history books as he notched his thousandth point this season. The Devils got their first 20-win season since 2010 as well, taking down some top-tier teams along the way.
With a good run in the PAISAA tournament, the team could make their case for being the best in school history.
“We feel good,” said head coach Julian McFadden ahead of the game against Phelps. “We finished out the Inter-Ac well, we won our last two…I think we feel pretty good.”
McFadden later said that “winning builds morale”, and the Devils have been doing quite a lot of that. They won games against Episcopal and Malvern to end the season, taking that last one against Malvern off a Keni Williams half-court buzzer-beater.
Still, a winning streak isn’t enough to guarantee they’ll advance in the PAISAA playoffs, a tournament where fourteen of the best teams in PA come together in a single elimination tournament to crown an eventual champion.
“It’s win or go home,” said junior forward Owen Kelly pregame. “But we got a home state playoff game, and that’s exactly what we wanted.”
Their first-round matchup came against 13-seeded Friends Central, who SCH had beaten previously in the season in their home opener, 61-54. This time, the Phoenix were looking for revenge.
SCH started incredibly slowly, dropping a meager 13 points in the first quarter, as they led by one. SCH struggled to create any semblance of separation, as Friends Central blanketed the Blue Devils early.
The scoring stayed fairly low until midway through the second, when the Devils exploded offensively, which was capped off by senior Kam Waters hitting a turnaround three to put SCH up 33-20.
“We picked it up defensively,” Coach McFadden elaborated. “Our defense turned into offense, and that’s kinda where we live.”
Once SCH got back home, the Devils absolutely demolished Friends Central’s defense en route to a 67-54 victory, allowing them to advance to the next round to play eight-seeded Phelps.
Despite the win, Coach McFadden knows that the job isn’t finished, and SCH will need to play a better game if they want to win on Tuesday. “I’m a little frustrated, honestly,” said McFadden postgame. “We played well for the most part, but we started getting lax, not doing things the way that we do them.”
Still, spirits are high as the Devils advance forward to play Phelps. “We’re ready,” said Gametime Sports Player of the Game, junior Julian Sanders. “These are the last couple of games, so we gotta get in the gym.”
SCH has their work cut out for them against Phelps, the eight-seed who will be bringing their national team to the Kingsley on Tuesday after beating ANC 66-56.
Their roster is incredibly tall, sporting a multitude of D1 commits, including 6’11 center Justin Houser, who’s committed to Penn State, 6’9 forward Onyx Nnani, who’s committed to Arkansas State, and others.
The matchup will be similar to SCH’s matchups against Penn Charter and ANC, where they’ll be facing talented teams with a height advantage as well. SCH played well against Penn Charter in their first matchup and beat ANC in OT 72-67.
Their trip through the tournament continues on Tuesday at 6:30. Tune in live on Gametime Sports to catch all the action, alongside pregame, postgame, and halftime content!
