Brazil drops 48 as Imani Christian runs away
Saints will have rematch in the state title game
Imani Christian Academy boys basketball coach Khayree Wilson said following his team’s lopsided victory against Bishop Carroll that he wished the Saints could leave for Hershey tonight.
For how fast Imani Christian played in Monday night’s contest, it was easy to tell the Saints were just as excited as their coach.
The Saints used their stellar fast break offense to jump in front of the Huskies early, and behind a 48-point performance from Nate Brazil, coasted by Bishop Carroll, 98-69, in a PIAA Class 1A semifinal at Hempfield High School.
“I don’t believe people think we play as fast as we do,” Wilson said. “We practice that fast, and we have to play that fast. We didn’t have our best showing against Farrell, so tonight we wanted to prove a point and get back on track.”
Imani Christian will look to defend its PIAA crown against District 5 champion Berlin Brothersvalley, a 7765 winner against Linville Hill, in the title tilt at 2 p.m. Thursday inside the Giant Center in Hershey.
The back-to-back District 7 champion Saints (18-10) claimed last year’s state championship with a 17point victory against the same Mountaineers squad, led by Gannon University commit Pace Prosser.
“This feels great,” Wilson said. “No one really gave us a shot when we were the little small team before we joined the WPIAL, and how we’re here. This is an amazing opportunity for the guys.”
The Saints scored the game’s first six points, and after the Huskies answered with a 3- pointer, Imani Christian closed the first quarter on a 23-4 run to hold a 22-point advantage after one frame.
Brazil recorded 15 points in the opening quarter, including going past the 1,000point mark for his career with a layup at the 4:26 mark.
Bishop Carroll was able to keep itself in the game by knocking down six of their 12 3-pointers in the second, and even outscored Imani Christian 26-25 in the frame.
The Huskies closed the gap to 19 points with a layup to begin the third quarter, but got no closer.
Brazil added 15 more points in the third and 12 in the fourth, capping off the game’s scoring with a thunderous dunk right before the final buzzer.
RJ Sledge also got into double figures with 13 points for the Saints. Jace Casses topped the Huskies (18-11) with 25.
“We knew (Bishop Carroll) could shoot the ball very well,” Wilson said. “We came in with a defensive mindset and used our press to try and slow them down from getting open looks. I think we handled that tremendously.”