Two much

Jamal West and James Post sit on the Bok bench studying their stats after the game. It’s not like the senior basketball players to care about tallying their points, but last Thursday marked their final high-school contest, and they wanted to know exactly how well they did.

The high-scoring duo quickly noticed that they combined for 50 points; West led the way with 33, while Pope chipped in 17.

More importantly, they helped Bok defeat Prep Charter 70-69 to finish the season with a 7-7 record.

"We just play to win," West said. "Since this is the last game and we didn’t make it to the playoffs, we just grabbed the [statistics] book."

Filling the scoring column is nothing new for the two guards, who combined to average just under 43 points per game. Some nights, Pope was the high scorer by far, while other times it was West, but in most games the two were pretty even. In a recent win over local rival Furness, West finished with 24 points, and Pope had 25.

The two are such well-matched teammates, it’s tough to even egg them into some friendly trash-talking. When the players were asked who would win a one-on-one contest, they each gave a diplomatic response.

"Back and forth," said West, formerly of Seventh Street and Snyder Avenue.

No trash-talking?

"Back and forth," agreed Pope, of 23rd and Dickinson.

The response didn’t surprise Bok coach Lloyd Jenkins, who has considered the two guards an essential part of his squad.

"They’ve been playing the same way for three years," Jenkins said. "They are going to be very tough to replace. If you check the stats on any given day, one of them has 27 and the other one had 24.

"They love it when they get 18 from one side and 18 from the other."

The athletes put up their strongest numbers this year. Pope averaged 12.6 points per game as a junior, while West tallied 10.7 a game, but academics forced him to the sidelines for the final three games. When he came back this season, it was with extra motivation — especially for that final contest.

"You always want to remember your last game in high school," West said.

The only downside is the Wildcats missed making the postseason for the fourth straight year, leaving the departing seniors without playoff experience.

Last season, Bok finished 8-5, missing the cut by one game. This year’s 7-7 mark put the Wildcats in a three-way tie with local rivals Audenried and Prep Charter. Bok had a slight edge by virtue of victories over both teams.

West and Pope likely will go their separate ways after Bok, but both plan to play college ball. Since neither is being heavily recruited, they must find their own route to success.

"We are just going to try a community college or prep school and go from there," Pope said.

Jenkins believes both players will do well at the next level, and hopes to find suitable replacements, which he admits won’t be easy.

"I hate to lose them," the coach said. "I hope I find two more just like them somewhere. Bok’s program will survive. I’ll dig up something and we’ll be competitive."

In Public League playoff news, the Division D champion Southern Rams took their 14-0 record to the opening round Tuesday, only to lose 62-55 to the University City Jaguars.

It was a huge upset by University City, which was the ninth seed in the A-B Divisions. The Jaguars clinched the win by outscoring the Rams 18-6 in the fourth quarter.

Southern senior Shawn Saab chipped in 14 points and seven rebounds, while fellow senior Antoine "Doo Dirty" Brown finished with 13 points and five assists.

Final Public League Division D standings

Southern 14-0

Roxborough 11-3

Lamberton 9-5

Audenried 7-7

Prep Charter 7-7

Bok 7-7

Parkway 6-8

Furness 2-12

Swenson 1-13

GAMP 0-14