Recap of St. Joseph's Prep vs Archbishop Wood Basketball

“We embraced [overtime], we knew we had some guys in foul trouble but we just settled down and played our brand of basketball.” That is what Coach Jason Harrigan said about his team to Anthony Sorgi ‘28 and I after St Joe’s Prep comeback win over Archbishop Wood. The Hawks were down double digits with four minutes remaining in their game against Wood; however, Will Lesovitz ‘26, Jaron McKie ‘25, and Jordan Ellerbee ‘25 were the ones to thank for igniting a Hawks run and eventually  forcing the game into overtime. In overtime, The Prep were able to jump out with a lead and never looked back, winning a game that could’ve ended the squad’s unbeaten Philadelphia Catholic League record. That wasn’t the case, as The Prep was able to finish the game by winning 76-65 in overtime.

In the first quarter, The Prep battled in a contest that was decently close. There were back and forth shots from both teams but the first quarter did not look like The Prep’s best showing. What was fairly evident from the beginning stages of the game was the lack of ability to make three point shots. There was definitely something off about their  shooting in this game as they were able to find open looks, but they just couldn’t knock them down. 

In the second quarter, the Hawks were able to find ways to get into the paint and look like the team we have seen all year. Mehki Robertson ‘27 found ways to get inside and make layups over a Vikings team that had a clear height advantage. Ellerbee was able to make a few baskets to help The Prep stay in front for the majority of the quarter. Furthermore, Julian McKie ‘28 was definitely the MVP of the quarter, as he was able to knock down two three point shots to give the Hawks some much needed momentum.

In the third quarter, things started to unravel for the PCL’s only unbeaten team. The three point woes continued and the defense started giving up too many easy points. They started to give up offensive rebounds to Wood and it wasn’t looking good for the Hawks. There wasn’t much scoring in the third quarter for The Prep as no one could really get going offensively.

The first four minutes of the fourth quarter had every fan of The Prep stunned. Mike Green ‘25 started making threes that helped  Archbishop Wood jump out to a ten point lead. It was senior night for Wood, so the senior magic was definitely coming out late in the game. With four minutes remaining, the WSJP crew looked at each other in disbelief as we couldn’t believe that we might lose the unbeaten streak. However, Lesovitz did not let the team lose hope. When Jaron McKie and Ellerbee couldn’t make their three point shots, he came to the rescue. The 6’3 junior  was able to knock down two clutch three point shots to give The Prep some momentum. With another step back jump shot from Jaron McKie, Ellerbee’s ability to lead the team in transition offense, and free throws from Olin Chamberlain, The Prep was able to come back down double digits and get a two point advantage with just six seconds left. Brady Macadams ‘26 was able to get a layup to tie the game going into overtime.

While Archbishop Wood was celebrating, The Prep calmly walked back to their bench ready for overtime. The Hawks were ready to play, as they came out with suffocating defense inside and the ability to make shots on the offensive end. While the Hawks took over in overtime, Lesovitz and Robertson each fouled out of the game. Julian McKie and Myles Peterson ‘27 had to come in and fill their roles. Archbishop Wood did not have much of a chance to capitalize as The Prep had taken a commanding lead with just a minute to go. The game had ended after a rebound from Peterson and two made free throws from Chamberlain. The Hawks had completed the comeback!

Leaders of the game for the Hawks were Ellerbee with 21 points, Jaron McKie with 16 points, and Robertson with 13. I was able to catch up with Robertson after the game and when asked about what the message was from Coach Harrigan going into the fourth quarter, he stated, “It was just stay confident and try to play as a team. Don’t lose sight of the goal, the goal is to win the game. So don’t try to play hero ball, stick together and that’s what we did.” The Hawks now improve to 14-4 (10-0) on the year and will play Neumann Goretti next on Monday, February 3rd at 4pm. The Vikings fall to 9-10 (4-6) on the year and will battle West Catholic on Monday February 3rd at 7pm.