Braswell coaching debut a success as Canaries take down Whitehall
Darnell Braswell’s debut as the Allen High boys basketball coach Saturday afternoon looked a lot like Braswell’s time as a Canaries player.
In 2005-06, Braswell was the catalyst for a 27-5 Allen team that won Lehigh Valley Conference and District 11 titles and advanced to the state quarterfinals before losing a thriller to Chester.
Two months shy of 15 years later, Braswell walked the sidelines in front of Canaries team with similar star power, chemistry and passion.
Allen used its quickness on defense to create scoring opportunities and had 18 assists on its 25 field goals in a 64-41 win over Whitehall at Sewards Gym in a long-awaited Eastern Pennsylvania Conference opener for both teams.
Mel Copeland and Manny Ozuna scored 15 points apiece and Nate Ellis chipped in 10 points, five assists and five rebounds as the Canaries never trailed and lived up to their billing as one of
area basketball’s top teams.
Braswell, a former All-American at DeSales and one of the most beloved figures in local basketball, downplayed the significance of the win.
“It’s one game,” Braswell said after officially succeeding Doug Snyder, who coached the previous 23 seasons at Allen and carved out a legendary career by winning championships and developing quality players and young people such as Braswell.
“But it was a long time coming and I was very pleased with how together we played. That was one of the keys to the victory. I put ‘Togetherness’ on the board, and the guys came out connected and played for one another on both ends of the floor.”
Ozuna, a 5-foot-10 senior guard, scored 11 of Allen’s first 13 points. The Canaries, who made 25 of 58 shots from the field and had just six turnovers, built a 21-6 lead by the end of the first quarter.
They couldn’t quite sustain the brilliance of the fast start but were always in control as Whitehall fought to stay within striking distance. The Zephyrs actually outscored Allen in the second and third quarters but couldn’t get the deficit under 11.
“We came here knowing Allen has three tremendous guards with a lot of experience,” Whitehall coach Jeff Jones said. “I knew it was going to be an uphill challenge, but I’m still proud of our kids.
“I told them they would get opportunities. I got 13 of them in the game, and most of them were in for meaningful minutes.”
Jones was pleased his team was down only 43-30 after three quarters, but the Canaries used a 12-4 run over the first three minutes of the final stanza to put away their first win in the Braswell era.
“It felt good to be out here and get the season started,” said Ellis, who was a big reason Allen won a District 11 6A championship two years and the EPC title last year.
“We came out hot and really wanted to pressure them on defense.”
Canary comfort zone
Braswell, who was an assistant coach at Central Catholic and DeSales University before coming back to his alma mater, felt comfortable on the sideline even if the atmosphere was nothing like he was used to as a player when the Canaries played in front of large crowds.
Due to the pandemic, no fans are allowed inside most gyms.
“Canary Nation is strong and it was a little weird to just have the band, the cheerleaders and the media here,” Braswell said. “But to see these guys come out in the Allen white uniforms, run up and down the floor and enjoy themselves, it felt amazing. I enjoyed every second of it.
“Ultimately, we want to compete for championships, and to do that you need to win games. I’m pleased to get this one, but it’s back to work on Monday.”
Back-to-back banter
One of the quirks in the abbreviated 10-game, county-only league schedule EPC teams are playing is that they will play each other twice in a row, just changing venues. So Whitehall will host Allen on Tuesday night.
“I am not sure we can change the result, but we’re certainly going to try our best,” Jones said. “We just want to get better every day. I am sure our kids will come again to compete Tuesday night.”
Braswell expects some adjustments from the Zephyrs.
“It’s a unique situation and it might be tough for high school kids to process that,” Braswell said. “Jeff Jones and the Whitehall staff is excellent. They’re going to make the necessary adjustments. Our staff will have to do the same. It’s unique, different and challenging, but we’re looking forward to it.”