Archbishop Ryan and Roman Catholic advance to Catholic League final

Just seconds before tipoff in the Catholic League semifinal, Neumann Goretti’s Larenzo Jerkins and Archbishop Ryan’s Thomas Sorber shared a fist bump, a brief chat, and a smile.

“I was just saying, ‘Welcome to the Palestra,’ honestly, because last year he didn’t get to play,” Sorber said. “I was just saying, ‘Welcome to the Palestra, let’s have fun.’”

As it turns out, it was Sorber who had most of the fun in the battle of talented big men, as his Raiders squad shut down the Saints in the second half and came away with a 48-43 win to advance to Monday night’s Catholic League championship against Roman Catholic.

It’ll be Ryan’s second trip to the PCL title game in three years as Joe Zeglinski aims to bring home a Catholic League trophy for the first time in program history.

“I’ve been looking for this chip since I was in high school,” said Zeglinski, a 2006 Ryan grad who’s been head coach of his alma mater since 2015. “It means a lot to me, but it means even more to our school and our alumni to get it done with these guys. This group is so special.”

Sorber, a future Georgetown big man with an imposing 6-foot-10 frame of muscle and athleticism, entered the evening as most heralded player on the court. Jerkins didn’t back down initially, scoring 13 points in the first half as Neumann Goretti took a 28-22 lead into halftime.

After halftime was a different story.

The Raiders limited the Saints to just 15 second-half points, only six in the fourth quarter. Sorber didn’t pick up his fourth foul until there were just two minutes remaining, staying on the court the entire closing 16 minutes. He finished with 11 points, 15 rebounds, five assists, and five blocks in a terrific all-around performance.

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Jerkins, who’s heading to West Chester next year, didn’t score a point in the second half.

“It was very difficult, not jumping, going for blocks that I really wanted to go to, and stuff like that,” Sorber said. “My teammates and coaches just told me to keep my composure and not jump, not get my fourth foul.”

Darren Williams led Ryan with 13 points, all in the second half. Jaden Murray added 11 and senior guard Ryan Everett had three three-pointers for the Raiders.

Everett’s last triple of the night provided the final lead change, putting Ryan up 41-39 with 5:45 remaining.

“They were big shots, big key shots, he stepped up in big moments and most importantly he was confident,” Williams said. “He knows we believe in him, he knows we trust him to shoot the ball — we tell him to let it fly, don’t think about it.”

Though Ryan came in as the No. 6 seed in perhaps the most wide-open year in the Catholic League, the Raiders know they have a chance to win it all. They beat their title game opponent Roman Catholic, 64-57, on Feb. 11 in the regular-season finale.

“Sophomore year we got bounced out in the championship, that hurt us a lot, it hurt me a lot, mentally, too,” Sorber said. “Coming in Monday, [we’ve] just got to keep working and try to take home that PCL chip.”

Shareef Jackson had been to the Palestra before.

As he walked onto the court Wednesday night, however, the 6-8 Jackson carried his team’s Philadelphia Catholic League title chances on his broad shoulders for the first time.

Roman Catholic’s junior forward, the team’s only first team All-PCL selection, did not disappoint.

Jackson had a dominant 20-point, 13-rebound performance to send the reigning champs past Father Judge, 65-57, and into Monday’s championship game.

“I’ve been here a couple of times but not in this leadership role, so I was definitely a little nervous coming out on that court,” Jackson said. “But getting that win, especially against a team that you lost to earlier in the year, is such a good feeling.”

There were plenty of others who all had their hands involved in the outcome. Senior Travis Reed added 13 points, sophomore Sammy Jackson, Shareef’s younger brother, scored nine, and seniors Robert Cotrell and Hunter Johnson each added eight. Johnson’s points didn’t come until the fourth quarter, his back-to-back triples with less than five minutes left gave the Cahillites a 54-37 lead and provided the put-away punch.

The loss ended a terrific season for the Crusaders, who were making their first appearance at the Palestra since 1999. Archbishop Wood will be the second PCL team in the PIAA Class 6A tournament, joining Roman.

The Cahillites head back to the title game, looking for their first repeat since 2018-19.

“This is the game we wanted to be in all season long,” said Roman coach Chris McNesby. “Judge had a great year. They’re a great team. They’re really well-coached. We played a really, really good game, and I’m proud of our guys for getting up for the challenge.”

This story was produced as part of a partnership between The Inquirer and City of Basketball Love, a nonprofit news organization that covers high school and college basketball in the Philadelphia area while also helping mentor the next generation of sportswriters. This collaboration will help boost coverage of the city’s vibrant amateur basketball scene, from the high school ranks up through the Big 5 and beyond.