Behind Xzayvier Brown’s 29-point performance, Roman Catholic defeats rival Archbishop Wood in PIAA 6A semifinals

Cahillites guard Xzayvier Brown took over in the fourth quarter, giving Roman the upper hand that sealed its 66-56 victory over Archbishop Wood in the PIAA 6A semifinals on Tuesday at Bensalem High school.

The senior guard, who is committed to St. Joseph’s University, led the team with 29 points, while junior guard Robert Cottrell added 15 points. Archbishop Wood was led by Jalil Bethea, one of the top prospects in the class of 2024, with a 23-point performance.

In a rematch between the Philadelphia Catholic League semifinal teams, Roman Catholic and Archbishop Wood rallied back and forth with little room for mistakes. After Cottrell made a first-half buzzer beating three, Roman held a 29-27 lead.

It wasn’t until the fourth quarter when the Cahillites separated themselves on the boards, thanks to Anthony Finkley’s crashing dunks and Brown, who added 15 of his 29 points in the fourth.

Roman Catholic has earned four state championships since 2015. They’ll take on Reading High, who defeated Spring-Ford on Tuesday, in the PIAA 6A final at Giant Center in Hershey on Saturday at 8 p.m.

A second-half eruption gave Archbishop Wood girls’ basketball the edge they needed to defeat Bayard Rustin High, 52-35, in the PIAA 5A girls’ semifinals on Tuesday at Bensalem High School, advancing Wood to its second-straight state final appearance.

The Vikings (24-5) were led by Ava Renninger’s 17-point performance. Sophomore Emily Knouse also carried the load in scoring with 13 points. Golden Knights’ Elizabeth McGurk was the lone scorer to finish in double-digits with 13, while her sister, Laine, who’s committed to play at Drexel in the fall, added seven — six of which came in the third quarter.

Archbishop Wood carried the lead for most of the first half, but Rustin held the Vikings to nine points in the second quarter, their lowest scoring quarter, and went into halftime trailing 25-19. The Golden Knights (27-3) even narrowed their deficit to one point (29-28) in the third, after Laine stole the ball, forcing a Wood turnover, then nailed a three-pointer.

But the Vikings eventually went on a run and contested Rustin’s shots from the inside, where they scored just six points in the fourth.

Wood, the defending champions beat Lansdale Catholic, 57-45, last season in the 4A class. The Vikings switched to 5A this year, and will take on South Fayette at the Giants Center in Hershey on Saturday at 6 p.m.

As for Rustin, this season marked a number of firsts. The Golden Knights won the District 1 5A Championship and advanced to the state semifinals for the first time in program history.

Lansdale Catholic senior guard Gabby Casey’s 25 points led the Crusaders to a 60-28 victory over Scranton Prep in the PIAA 4A girls’ semifinal at William Allen High School in Allentown on Tuesday.

Outside of making shots, Casey, who is taking her talents to St. Joseph’s University in the fall, also finished with five steals.

» READ MORE: Behind the shot that lifted Lansdale Catholic to its first Catholic League title

After going on a 8-0 first-quarter run, Lansdale Catholic (28-2) began to dominate. In the first half, the Crusaders went 14 of 25 from the floor, including making 4 of 7 three-pointers. Scranton Prep (24-3) trailed by 20 points at halftime.The Cavaliers made 6 of 19 first-half shots and relied too much on forward Rita Collins, who scored 9 of the team’s 15 first-half points. In the fourth quarter, the Cavaliers scored only two points.

Lansdale Catholic will face Blackhawk in the PIAA 4A final on Saturday at the Giant Center in Hershey. Tip-off is set for 12 p.m.

In a close matchup, West Catholic came out on top, 52-49, against Trinity at Governor Mifflin Int. School on Tuesday, sending the Burrs to its first PIAA 3A boys championship game in program history.

Burrs seniors Adam “Budd” Clark and Zion Stanford contributed a team-high of 13 points apiece. Senior wing Trey Weiand led Trinity with 17 points, which included five 3-pointers.

All 32 minutes of the game were tightly contested as both teams traded baskets till the final seconds.

West Catholic tried to pull away in the second quarter with a 13-3 run. However, Trinity weathered the storm and went into the half down by three points (38-35). The Shamrocks were fueled by Weiand’s three first-half 3-pointers.

» READ MORE: West Catholic creating a new basketball tradition

The game stayed tight as Trinity went into the fourth quarter up by three. However, a three by West Catholic’s Micah Waters Jr. tied the game at 47, before the Burrs built another lead with more than two minutes left and held onto it.

The Burrs put themselves in a tough position, though, as a carrying violation gave Trinity the ball with less than 40 seconds remaining. However, a stop at the rim by Stanford sealed West Catholic’s trip to Hershey.

West Catholic will take on Deer Lakes in the PIAA 3A final at the Giants Center on Saturday at 2 p.m..