Gillespie leads Wood into PCL championship
Some at the Palestra Wednesday night may have anticipated a timeout from Archbishop Wood coach John Mosco after Archbishop Ryan ran off eight straight points late in the first half.
Some at the Palestra Wednesday night may have anticipated a timeout from Archbishop Wood coach John Mosco after Archbishop Ryan ran off eight straight points late in the first half.
Seemingly unperturbed, Mosco placed his faith in the able hands of Collin Gillespie, Wood's 6-foot-2 point guard, who is headed to Villanova.
The typically poised Gillespie rewarded his coach's faith by scoring back-to-back baskets during a 6-0 run punctuated by a Karrington Wallace dunk that ensured a double-digit halftime edge, which Wood would never relinquish.
"We talk about that every day in practice," Mosco said postgame. "Never get too high, never get too low. When you have three ball handlers (Gillespie, Andrew Funk and Matt Cerruti), guys who make free throws and Collin makes play after play it makes me look like a good coach."
Despite a phenomenal performance by Izaiah Brockington, the Vikings' 75-66 victory means a Catholic League championship matchup with Neumann-Goretti. The Saints beat Roman Catholic, 67-56, in Game 1 of the PCL semifinal doubleheader at the Palestra.
Gillespie finished with 33 points and 10 rebounds and presided over an offense that saw seven players score, with three finishing in double figures.
Although Wednesday was Wood's first time competing in the semifinals at the Palestra, the Vikings seemed to handle the stage well, while Ryan, which got walloped by Neumann-Goretti in the semis last season, appeared at times frenetic.
"I was a little bit concerned before the game, (but) when they came back in pregame I could tell in their eyes (that they were ready)," Mosco said, "especially when you have seniors who played a lot of games, along with Tyree (Pickron) who started as a freshman. I thought they handled it (well). One thing I do is try to stay out of the way and let them get a feel for it. They looked like they were handling it fine and we didn't have to use a timeout."
Brockington finished with 31 hard-earned points, including 20 in the second half before fouling out with 3 minutes, 22 seconds left.
In addition to the scoring load, Brockington spent the bulk of the evening guarding Gillespie, who finished 16 of 18 at the foul line and added three assists.
Each time the Raiders (19-5) made a run, Gillespie seemed to orchestrate an answer. With about 5:30 left, Gillespie's assist led to a Seth Pinkney dunk, which yielded a 9-point advantage.
Wood finished 25 of 49 overall and 4 of 13 from three.
Andrew Funk added 10 points off the bench and Matt Cerruti also added 10 points. Pinkney finished with eight points and two blocked shots.
In contrast, to Wood's balanced offense, Brockington carried much of the early load. Only Matiss Kulackovskis and Chris Palantino netted points for the Raiders in the first half.
Kulackovskis finished with 10 points, while Palantino added 10 more. Fred Taylor had eight points and blocked four shots.
The Vikings (21-3), however, always had an answer for the Raiders. Wood will compete for its first Catholic League basketball championship.
On Jan. 26, the Vikings knocked off the Saints, 82-73, behind 42 points from Gillespie.
Mosco, formerly a longtime assistant coach under Arrigale before taking over at Wood in 2014, knows the matchup will be intriguing for various reasons.
"It's gonna be a war," he said. "It's gonna be special because I talk to (Arrigale) every day. I talk to him more than I talk to my wife. I talked to him today before the game and he was trying to calm me down. . .We're friends beyond basketball. We grew up together. We had a good run and he was happy for me when I moved on."
@AceCarterINQ
Archbishop Wood 17 19 18 21 - 75
Camden 9 16 18 23 - 66
AW: Collin Gillespie 33, Tyree Pickron 8, Seth Pinkney 8, Keith Otto 2, Andrew Funk 10, Matt Cerruti 10, Karrington Wallace 4.
AR: Izaiah Brockington 31, Matiss Kulackovskis 10, Fred Taylor 8, Jacquill Stone 7, Chris Palantino 10.