League playoffs: Imhotep boys extends home winning streak to 90, Wood girls keep rolling

The Philadelphia Public League boys tournament continued on Thursday with eight teams vying for a spot in Tuesday’s semifinals at Temple’s Liacouras Center. The Philadelphia Catholic League girls kicked off their postseason with a quarterfinal round that included a bit more excitement as four teams advanced to Saint Joseph’s University Center City campus next week.

Here’s our coverage of the action from both tournaments.

» READ MORE: Catholic League roundup: Roman Catholic boys enter quarterfinals as top seed

PCL newcomer Nazareth sent a shockwave through the league with an opening round 47-45 win over Neumann-Goretti, booking a trip to the league semifinals in its debut season.

Junior Reese Power scored a game-high 24 points. Nazareth led 25-11 early in the second half before holding on in the fourth as Saints junior Carryn Easley scored 16 of her 21 in the final period. Abby Rock added nine for Nazareth, which plays Archbishop Wood in next Tuesday’s semifinal.

“I already have people texting me shocked like, ‘you just beat Neumann?’... Yeah, I beat Neumann,” Power said with a laugh.

Senior Army recruit Brooke Wilson found freshman Abbie McFillin under the basket with 0.4 seconds left as Carroll edged defending PCL champion Lansdale Catholic, 35-33, in Thursday’s quarterfinal.

“I was just thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, if she gives this to me, I have to make this layup,’” said McFillin of what she called her first game-winning basket. “It was so in the moment, it was like, ‘I can’t believe I made that.’”

The Patriots needed others to step up as Wilson, the PCL MVP, was held to just four points. McFillin and sophomore Alexis Eberz both scored 10. Lansdale Catholic junior forward Grace McDonough scored 12.

Top seed and last year’s runner-up Archbishop Wood had no problem cruising past Conwell-Egan to open postseason play, earning a 74-30 victory to set up a matchup with Nazareth. Junior wing Emily Knouse, a St. Joe’s recruit, poured in 19 points with senior Lauren Greer (12), senior Ava Renninger (10), and freshman Makayla Finnegan (10) joining her in double figures. Bri McFadden scored seven for Conwell-Egan.

Junior Molly Rullo, a Drexel recruit, guided O’Hara into the semifinal round with a 58-23 win over West Catholic. Rullo scored 11 points in the first quarter as the Lions jumped out to a 17-2 lead. She finished the game with 21 points, adding nine more in the third. O’Hara senior Carly Coleman added eight. The Lions will match up with Delco rival Archbishop Carroll on Tuesday.

Math, Civics & Sciences took down Sankofa Freedom, 63-48, in Thursday’s quarterfinal at Bright Hope Baptist Church, securing a spot in next week’s semifinal round.

Sankofa trimmed a 10-point first quarter deficit down to 24-22 with 2:53 left in the first half as junior Kaden Stewart scored all 11 of his points in the period. MCS senior Kevin Carter answered with a three plus the foul, starting a 10-1 run for MCS to close the half back up double digits, 34-23. The Warriors never got closer than eight the rest of the way.

Sophomore Milak Myatt scored 13 points to lead MCS, which had 11 different players score. Junior Alantay Dawson added eight points, Carter added seven and senior Azeem Murphy chipped in with six. Sophomore Nafise Dubose scored 17 for Sankofa.

“That’s why we’re so hard to match up with,” Murphy said. “First man, every man to the bench. We’ve got some guys.”

Northeast’s Darrius Gaeta cut Constitution’s 15-point fourth-quarter lead to five with 35 seconds to play. While the Generals had to sweat things out, clutch free throws from Khair White-Blaylock, Amir Speights, and Khaleek Johnson helped them pull out a 58-48 win over Northeast and book their spot in next Tuesday’s semifinal against MCS.

Constitution senior Kyree Latimer (13), Speights (12), and senior Perry Fields (10) all scored in double figures. Gaeta scored 22 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter, for Northeast, making its deepest Public League playoff run since 2003.

“We gotta play harder,” Constitution senior Kyree Latimer said. “MCS, they’re a tough team. It’s always going to be a dog fight because they’re a tough team, they play hard and they’re going to get stops. We just have to match their intensity, if not have more, better energy than them.”

» READ MORE: Public League playoffs: Imhotep boys are front-runners to defend their title

Senior Aldonis Martin scored 25 and classmate Malachi Montgomery scored 24 as Lincoln rallied from an eight-point deficit for a 64-57 on road victory and book its semifinal trip, where the Railsplitters will face Imhotep. Engineering & Science, the ‘B’ Division champions, led 36-28 at halftime behind a well-balanced scoring effort, including eight points from senior Tali Simpkins, who finished with 10 total. Sophomore Fareed Brown led the Engineers with 15 points.

Montgomery scored 13 in the third quarter to tie the game, 48-48, entering the fourth. Martin had eight of his points in the final period to help lead Lincoln to a win. The Railsplitters also earned a spot in the District 12-class 6A title game and a state playoff berth with the win. E&S will still represent the Public League in the District 12-4A championship game and the state playoffs.

The three-time defending Public League champions will continue to defend their crown. Imhotep stretched its home win streak to 90 games with a 73-59 victory over the Speedboys in a rematch of last season’s PPL title game. Senior UConn recruit Ahmad Nowell powered the Panthers with 22 points. Sophomore forward Latief Lorenzaon-White added 14, and sophomore guard R.J. Smith scored nine. While both Class 5A schools will advance to the state playoffs, Imhotep locked up a spot in the District 12-5A championship game with the win.

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.