Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Thriller: Coatesville turns up heat, holds off Shanahan
Down by six points at halftime and being outplayed and outhustled by Bishop Shanahan, Coatesville boys basketball coach Chuck Moore riled up his troops and reminded them to play Coatesville style basketball — ramping up the defensive pressure and making every shot and movement uncomfortable for the opposition.
The talk must have set in as the Red Raiders harassed Bishop Shanahan into a 2 for 20 shooting performance the rest of the way, with 11 turnovers, and the Red Raiders came away with a thrilling 43-37 overtime win to give Coatesville its second straight league title before a packed house at Downingtown West High School.
“Let’s just say we had an emotional talk about defense at halftime,” Moore said. “We reminded them to play Coatesville basketball and they really clamped down on them. I think they only scored 13 points after halftime and that was our goal to make them uncomfortable. This is a testament to the kids’ hard work, my coaching staff and the entire community that packed the house tonight.
“When I came over from Plymouth-Whitemarsh,” Moore added, “I did not understand the importance winning the Ches-Mont had in Coatesville. But, I get it now and it is nice to do something good for the community.”
Coatesville was led by the sterling performance of senior Hasaan Young, who poured in a game-high 16 points and hit the big 3-pointer to start the overtime and propel Coatesville (20-4) to the win. Young also had two steals and played tough defense, as did the rest of the Red Raiders after halftime.
“Coach Moore told us at halftime that we were being outhustled and to pick things up,” Young said. “We had to stop their 3-point shooters and we did that. To win this league back to back is a great feeling. It did not happen for a while and I really can’t explain the feelings I have right now to do this with my teammates. We won the game by playing Coatesville basketball.”
Despite scoring just four points in a terrible third period, Bishop Shanahan (177) had the game tied at 2828 heading into the fourth. The Eagles did not score from the field in the third, with four points coming at the foul line. The teams then battled furiously through the fourth, and when Jhamir Brickus went to the basket with 3:12 left, Coatesville had a slim 33-32 lead with the sellout crowd roaring on every play.
The Eagles were not done yet however. After an Eagle miss, Coatesville came down the floor and Tion Holmes took a nice pass from Kamau Brickus for what looked like a gimme. But Holmes’ layup rimmed out, and Kevin Dodds, who had 12 points and eight boards for the Eagles, came down with the rebound. John Koziinski drove the lane for Shanahan, got fouled and hit just one of two free throws to tie the game at 33-33 with 59 seconds to play.
Coatesville called timeout and then came out and held the ball as the clock wound down and the fans came to their feet. But just as it looked like Coatesville would have a chance for the win, a turnover gave the ball to the Eagles with just 15 seconds