State of survival

The field of 16 Public League District XII basketball teams that had qualified for the PIAA state tournament was quickly whittled to three.

Thirteen teams, including all eight girls’ squads, were eliminated in first-round games Friday and Saturday. The casualties included the Prep Charter girls’ and Bok boys’ teams.

But the Prep Charter boys entered the week still in contention for a state title. Heading into last night’s Class AA second-round game against York Catholic, which started after press time, the Prep Charter Huskies joined Public League champ Central and Frankford in representing Philadelphia.

When the Huskies took the Community College of Philadelphia court Saturday afternoon against Mahanoy Area, Public League teams already were 1-8 in state play; Central was the lone winner at that point. Prep coach Dan Brinkley used the news to motivate his players.

"I told them that now we’re representing Philadelphia and they took that to heart," the coach said. "They did a great job of it. We had good fan support."

The fans were rewarded with a 49-39 victory, which was hard-fought until the end.

Prep Charter charged to a 39-24 lead early in the fourth quarter, but Mahanoy soon went on a 9-0 scoring run.

With 48 seconds left, the Huskies were up by only four points, 43-39.

But this would not be a repeat of the Public League championship game, in which Prep Charter’s late mistakes handed the title to Central.

"Against Central, we started turning the ball over and everybody got frustrated," said Huskies sophomore center Markieff Morris. "[Against Mahanoy], we started turning the ball over in the first half, but we just kept our composure and that’s how we won."

Prep Charter needed to win last night’s game to advance to Saturday’s quarterfinal round against the winner of Milton Hershey and Dunmore. The semifinals will follow on Wednesday.

The Huskies were ranked second among AA teams in the Harrisburg Patriot-News‘ final standings of the season.

After Saturday’s win, Morris was confident that his team had arrived.

"We showed them why we are going to be on top for the next couple years," he said.

PREP CHARTER GIRLS’ BASKETBALL

The Lady Huskies didn’t fare as well in their PIAA debut, losing Friday night’s Class AA opener, 68-35, to St. Pius X at Upper Moreland High.

Despite being outmatched, senior guard Ashley Pearsall refused to give up.

Even after spraining her right ankle at the 3:51 mark of the third quarter, the player tried to keep Prep Charter alive. When coach Linda Page was debating whom to put in for the fourth quarter, Pearsall raised her hand to signal that she was ready to go.

"I don’t like to get hurt," said the athlete, who finished with a team-high 13 points. "I knew my team needed me more. I just wanted to get it fixed and back in the game."

Fellow senior guard Jakiyyah Workman was proud that her Lady Huskies were among the elite eight representing PIAA District XII in the state tournament.

"This is a big accomplishment for me," said the player, who tallied four points. "I am glad we made it this far."

The game was all but decided before the fourth quarter, but Prep Charter showed a lot of heart by scoring 12 points in the final eight minutes to record its best quarter of the contest.

BOK BOYS’ BASKETBALL

Playing an opening-round game in Philly against a suburban squad was supposed to give the Bok Wildcats an edge. But when the local team took the court against Phoenixville at Germantown High School on Friday night, it was Bok who looked like the outsider.

As each minute ticked off the clock, the Wildcats’ deficit kept growing. Bok was trailing by 24 points heading into the fourth quarter on its way to an 83-71 loss.

Junior James Jones kept playing like Bok still had a chance.

"You’ve got to rally them up and go out with a fight," reasoned Jones, who finished with 14 points. "We were down by 24 and only lost by 12."

But at this time of year, moral victories don’t mean much.

The Wildcats shocked a lot of city teams by defeating Strawberry Mansion at the buzzer to claim the Public League’s lone AAA state tournament nod. After losing the quarterfinal to Prep Charter, however, the season suddenly took a downward spin. Instead of chasing a Public League crown, the Wildcats spent three weeks on the sidelines waiting for their next game.

"Everyone was still feeling down from that game," senior guard Marquise Salley said of the Prep Charter defeat.

Salley tried to help the Wildcats redeem themselves with a team-high 18 points Friday, but acknowledged that their opponent wanted it more.

"I give Phoenixville a lot of credit," he said. "They came out and played like they wanted to win."

The opening-round loss was the second for a Bok athletic team in state tournament play. Last fall, the football squad became the first program to represent the Public League in the PIAA state tournament, but lost 35-0 to Great Valley.

Jones played on the football team as well. The three-sport athlete, who also runs track, said he will use his experiences to prepare for senior year.

"I’ve got to be able to carry my weight," said Jones, who is expected to be Bok’s starting quarterback in the fall.