PIAA tournament’s opening night: Jahrel Vigo reaches 1,000, ACCHS boys roll; Notre Dame girls fall in 2OT
Dame #Dame
Jahrel Vigo knew Friday night’s PIAA Class 4A boys basketball first-round game against Philadelphia’s School of the Future was his final home game of the 2023-24 season.
He knew he needed 26 points to become the 19th player in Allentown Central Catholic boys history to reach 1,000 points in a career. Even though he knew he still had an entire senior season left in his scholastic career, Vigo wanted to get the milestone out of the way.
“I definitely planned on getting it today,” Vigo said. “It was a home game and there were a lot of fans and a lot of students here.”
Vigo knew how many points he needed and so did his coaches, his teammates and many in one of the biggest and loudest crowds of the season at Rockne Hall.
As part of a first-half offensive blitz that saw ACCHS score 30 points in the first quarter and 62 by halftime, Vigo reached the needed 26 with just under three minutes left in the first half.
Before the next timeout was called to give Vigo a a moment to be recognized by his team and presented the game ball, Vigo had added two more layups. He had 16 in the first quarter, 31 at halftime and added four more in the third quarter before spending the rest of the night on the bench as the Vikings rolled to a 68-33 mercy-rule win.
The Vikings (21-6) will face Archbishop Carroll (18-8) of the Philadelphia Catholic League on Tuesday night at a time and site to be determined. Carroll, the third seed from District 12, beat Big Spring 66-59 in its PIAA opener.
Vigo, who joined former teammates Tyson Thomas and Liam Joyce with 1,000 points, said it felt amazing.
“Not a lot of people to get to do this,” said Vigo, who is averaging 18.9 points per game this season and was a first-team all-Eastern Pennsylvania Conference selection. “To join all of those names on the banner [hanging on the Rockne Hall wall], it means a lot.”
Vigo’s milestone punctuated a convincing fourth straight postseason win by the Vikings who swept through the District 11 tournament with victories by 29, 12 and 27 points. The team has been playing with intensity and consistency ever since losing to Liberty in the EPC tourney semis.
“It’s like last year; we know it’s a hard five games to get the chip and we want to get there and win it, so we keep putting in the hard work and keep it going,” Vigo said. “We have a lot of seniors on this team who were on a state championship team [in 2021] and they know what it takes.”
Vigo was The Morning Call’s rookie of the year in 2021-22 when he scored 113 points on a team that finished third in districts and lost to West Philadelphia 59-58 in the first round of the state tournament.
Friday’s game was much more like last year’s 78-46 rout of Carver Engineering and Science.
“I was really pleased with the energy our guys came out with,” said ACCHS coach Dennis Csensits. “Our calling card the last few weeks has been coming out with great energy on the defensive end and we were able to shut some of their guys down. I also thought we shot the ball pretty well.”
Junior Lucas Mushrush made his first two 3-pointers to set an immediate tone. He finished with 12 points with eight coming in the first quarter.
“Coming into this game we knew they were a ferocious team so we had the tone early,” Mushrush said. “We were all aware that Jahrel needed 26 points to get to 1,000. So, it was great to get the ball rolling with those early 3s and then it was about getting the ball to Jahrel. We wanted to get him to 1,000. We knew coming into the game that this was going to be a special night for him. We had cupcakes, a banner and everything ready for him. I’m so proud of him.”
Mushrush, who is also a sprinter during track season and is contemplating going out for football in the fall, will have his shot at 1,000 next season. He has more than 750 with at least one more game to go this year in addition to an entire season year ahead.
“We have to be ready for Carroll, a PCL team that plays really good teams like Neumann-Goretti and Roman Catholic all year,” Mushrush said. “We have to make a statement early. The big thing is we’re connecting better at this time of the year. Coach knows what we’re really good at and it’s a matter of using our abilities to their best capabilities.”
Central had a party for Vigo after the game and seemed to have one during it as well, at least in the first half. ACCHS scored only 16 points in the second half as the mercy-rule clock ticked fast.
In all, 15 Vikings got in the game and nine reached the scoring column.
But clearly the night belonged to Vigo.
“I told the guys in the locker room after the game that there’s an elite group of players who have scored 1,000 points here at Central,” Csesnits said. “I believe he’s just the third to do it as a junior along with Billy McCaffrey and Muhammad Ali Abdur-Rahkman and Jahrel is a special player. I feel blessed to have coached him and Muhammad. Jahrel’s best basketball is ahead of him. He works really hard and continues to get better each day.”
ACCHS 68, School of the Future 33
School of the Future 8 – 13 – 8 – 4 — 33
Central Catholic 30 – 22 – 6 – 10 — 68
SCHOOL OF THE FUTURE (33)
Jeune 4 3-4 14, Reddy 2 1-2 7, Lubin 0 1-2 1, Bank 1 3-4 6, Navarro 1 0-0 3, Bryant 0 2-2 2. Totals 8 10-14 33.
CENTRAL CATHOLIC (68)
Cook 0 0-0 0, Fridia 2 2-4 6, Spinosa 0 2-2 2, Csensits 0 1-2 1, Gonzalez 0 4-4 4, Davis 0 0-0 0, Jones 0 0-0 0, Leak 0 0-0 0, Ford 0 0-0 0, Isbel 0 0-0 0, Vigo 10 12-17 33, Mushrush 4 2-3 12, Roth 1 0-0 3, Ensley 1 0-0 3, Stewart-Smith 1 0-0 2. Totals 20 23-32 68.
3-pointers: Future (7) Jeune 3, Reddy 2, Banks, Navarro. ACCHS (5) Mushrush 2, Vigo, Roth, Ensley.
Officials: Will Cordero, Rob Bosak, Karen Pammer.
Notre Dame-Green Pond’s Brenna Hammerstone battles Lake Lehman’s Delcia Biscotto for the ball as they play Lake-Lehman in a PIAA 3A girls basketball playoff game Friday, March 8, 2024, at Allentown Central Catholic. (Amy Shortell / The Morning Call) Lake-Lehman girls outlast Notre Dame-Green Pond
Junior Ella Wilson scored 24 points, including six in the second overtime, to lead Lake-Lehman to a 50-43 double-overtime win over District 11 champion Notre Dame-Green Pond in a PIAA 3A girls first-round game at Rockne Hall.
The Knights, District 2’s No. 3 state qualifier, outscored the Crusaders 8-1 in the second overtime after the game was tied at 34 through regulation and both teams scored eight in the first overtime.
Wilson not only was the game’s leading scorer, but she also had 10 rebounds, 8 steals and 5 assists. She made a 3-pointer with 30 seconds left in the first OT to cut a 40-36 Notre Dame lead to one and then after Olivia Schweitzer made a pair of free throws for the Crusaders to get the lead back to three with 14 seconds left, Wilson’s teammate Delcia Biscotto stepped up.
Biscotto’s 3-pointer — her only field goal in the game — tied it up at 42 with three seconds left and Notre Dame could only get off a desperation show at the buzzer.
“Biscotto’s shot was huge,” said Lake-Lehman coach Charlie Lavan. “That was her first field goal, but she’s done that before.”
Lake-Lehman led most of the game and had a 17-11 advantage. The Knights played good defense throughout and allowed just a foul shot by Ella Schweitzer in the second overtime after Lake-Lehman scored the first four points of the second extra period.
Olivia Schweitzer led Notre Dame (21-6) with 21 points, 16 coming after halftime. She made three 3-pointers in the second half and was 4-for-4 at the foul line in the first OT. Emily Lessig chipped in 14 points, 10 in the second half.
Lake-Lehman’s Olivia Corcoran looks to get past Notre Dame-Green Pond’s Emily Lessig as they met in a PIAA 3A girls basketball playoff game Friday, March 8, 2024, at Allentown Central Catholic. (Amy Shortell / The Morning Call)
But in the second OT, the Crusaders were 0-for-6 from the field and had three turnovers. Notre Dame had 20 turnovers overall, spoiling the chance for coach Josh Kopp to get a win on the court bearing the name of his father, former ACCHS coach Mike Kopp.
Lake-Lehman (18-10) will face District 4 runners-up Loyalsock Township on Tuesday night. Last year, the Knights reached the state quarterfinals before losing to eventual state champion Dunmore, 58-19.
“This year’s team is not as good as last year’s team; we graduated our two best players from that team,” Lavan said. “But this team works hard and hangs in there. This was a good, gritty win by these kids. Wilson is a special player and No. 12 [Brenna Hunt] is a nice player and she played hurt tonight and Molly Jenkins hit a big shot for us late in the game. So, I am proud of them.”
Notre Dame-Green Pond’s Josh Kopp coaches at Rockne Hall and a game on Mike Kopp Court, named for his father, as the Vikings played Lake-Lehman in a PIAA 3A girls basketball playoff game Friday, March 8, 2024, at Allentown Central Catholic. (Amy Shortell / The Morning Call)
Lake-Lehman 50, Notre Dame-GP 43
Lake-Lehman 9 – 8 – 10 – 7 – 8 – 8 — 50
Notre Dame-GP 6 – 5 – 15 – 8 – 8 – 1 — 43
LAKE-LEHMAN (50)
Biscotto 1 1-2 4, Hunt 4 2-2 11, Wilson 7 8-10 24, Jenkins 3 0-0 6, Morgan 0 0-0 0, Oliver 2 1-2 5. Totals 17 12-18 50.
NOTRE DAME (43)
E. Schweitzer 1 1-2 4, Hammerstone 0 0-0 0, O. Schweitzer 2 7-8 21, Zambo 0 0-0 0, Shonk 0 0-0 0, Howlett 0 0-0 0, Lessig 5 4-6 14, Campbell 1 2-4 4, Ryan 0 0-0 0. Totals 12 14-20 43.
3-pointers: LL (4) Wilson 2, Hunt, Biscotto. ND (5) O. Schweitzer 4, E. Schweitzer.
Officials: Brian Golas, Jeff Zoltack, Rob Ruggeri.