Breaking News
Late Sports

Hershey Bound: St. John Neumann routs Pottsville Nativity and reaches Class A state championship

By Chris Masse 7 min read

COAL TOWNSHIP--As students stormed the court and Hershey Kisses rained down, St. John Neumann assistant coach Chris Reed bear hugged guard Naseer Dymeck, sending him sky high.

Neumann players and classmates celebrated at midcourt as fans who packed Shamokin’s cavernous gym saluted their conquering heroes. It was a moment frozen in time; one this team will never forget.

So many athletes dream about reaching a state championship but that is all it ever remains. Neumann is living the dream and this dream season continues.

Pack your bags, Neumann. You’re headed to Hershey.

Davion Hill scored 39 points, Hanief Clay dealt nine assists and every Neumann player produced a spectacular performance Friday against defending state champion Pottsville Nativity. The Knights played their best game at the perfect time, led from the first quarter on and routed Nativity, 82-62 to capture the Class A Eastern Region championship.

On the 50th anniversary of Neumann capturing its lone state title, the Knights (26-3) are headed back to the final. Neumann will play Bishop Canevin, a 47-21 winner of Elk County Catholic, in Thursday’s championship.

"They were awesome. I’m just so happy for the guys," Neumann coach Jamie Spencer said. "It was a great team effort. Everybody should be congratulated and feel good about life."

"Everyone had an outstanding game; everyone did their job so well," Naz Smith said after scoring a season-high 12 points and playing super defense. "I don’t even know what to say. I’m at a loss for words."

It’s hard finding the right words to explain how good Neumann was against the team which ended its season a year ago in the state quarterfinals. Nativity had steamrolled three straight state tournament opponents by a 28-point average and featured 6-foot-6, two-time all-state forward Marquis Ratcliff, as well as dynamic guards and a 6-7 forward.

No Neumann starter is taller than 6-1. Nativity certainly was bigger.

Neumann was just better.

After experiencing heartbreak and losing by two at Nativity a year ago, Neumann did a complete 180 and delivered a virtuoso performance. Four players scored in double figures, Neumann controlled the boards and the defense slowed a powerful offense.

Simply put, Neumann left no doubt that it is the best Class A team in Eastern Pennsylvania. Now it gets to go for the ultimate prize.

"I can’t even feel my body right now. It feels great to go to Hershey, especially after last year losing to these guys," Hill said after topping 30 points for a second straight game, while adding six rebounds, five steals and three assists. "They’re a great coached team and have great players all-around and I think we wanted it more. We came out firing the whole game and we’re all very happy to be going to Hershey."

"It’s surreal," Clay said after adding 15 points, six rebounds and four steals to go with his nine assists. "I’ve had a roller coaster high school career, so it’s still unreal. I’m just living in the moment and taking everything in."

Neumann held a pep rally Friday afternoon and the energy produced their carried over. Neumann played like a team on a mission, ran its offense at peak level, constantly contested shots and showed no fear. Dymeck (10 points, 3 steals) helped fuel the defense and his 3-pointer a little more than two minutes into the game erased the only lead Nativity held. It also triggered a 7-0 run as Neumann went ahead to stay, 9-5.

Clay picked up his second foul a few seconds later and exited, but Neumann kept surging. Smith hit a big 3-pointer, Hill scored eight points and the Knights built an 18-9 lead. They extended that lead to 13 with 24 seconds remaining in the half as Clay returned and started carving up the defense.

Even when Nativity scored four quick points, cutting it to 37-28 at halftime, Neumann was in control. What felt like it might be a lifeline for the Hilltoppers was just a ruse, tricking some into thinking Neumann was going to let them back in the game.

The Knights started dominating all facets and went up by 18 midway through the third quarter. Nativity never pulled closer than 14 again.

"The energy was already high. I don’t know what it was," Smith said. "It was like a switch went off in the game, especially in the second half. We just took the lead and ran with it and keep running it up."

"Nativity is phenomenal," Spencer said. "Did I expect to get them by 20? No. But our guys played with so much funk that it didn’t matter who we played tonight. They just played great."

Ratcliff scored 21 point and grabbed 10 rebounds, but Neumann never let him heat up or start imposing his will inside. Hill did an outstanding job denying Ratcliff the ball while Dymeck and Clay harassed the guards. Smith and JerVal Weeks-Shuler were tremendous as well and turned what Nativity thought would be an advantage against it.

Weeks-Shuler was all over the glass, grabbing 12 rebounds as Neumann frequently limited Nativity to one and done possessions. Cody Miller (19 points) heated up and hit four second-half 3-pointers despite intense pressure, but everything Nativity scored came the hard way. And as Neumann continued dissecting it on the other end, the lead kept growing

Neumann led by 16 entering the fourth quarter and wasted no time going for the knockout blow. Clay scored off a putback before Hill found Weeks-Shuler inside and gave Neumann its biggest lead yet, 65-45. Everybody was a threat and players moved as fast as the ball did as Nativity never cut that deficit to closer than 16.

"We were at our peak. We needed that. The last game we didn’t play to the best of our ability with passing the basketball. This game was beautiful," Clay said. "We executed and we attacked early. It was a good game, and everybody was involved, even the bench. There weas great energy."

Hill was a force again. After going for 31 points against District 3 champion Linville Hill Christian, the junior guard scored a season-high 39 and produced 19 in the middle quarters when Neumann started taking over.

Nativity did all it could to slow Hill, but for a second straight year it could not. After scoring 34 points in last year’s game, Hill helped Neumann drop the hammer in the fourth. He made five straight foul shots at one point and helped the Knights answer any time Nativity looked like it might make a run.

"If I wouldn’t have had that much of an impact on the game, I would have stayed in and kept my team up," Hill said. "But it definitely feels nice to have a big impact on the game and help my team win."

Dymeck found Clay for a layup which made it 71-51 and Neumann pushed the lead to as many as 24 against the three-time defending District 11 champions. Spencer emptied the bench late and Neumann was able to savor the moment as the final minute wound down.

Following last year’s gut-wrenching loss at Nativity, then-senior Keon Burkholder delivered a passionate speech. He implored the returning players to never take anything for granted, never stop working and to always leave everything they have on the court.

Neumann turned those words into actions and now they are headed where only one other Knights team ever has. The journey is not over and the work continues.

But what a night this was.

"Today we walked in the gym and thought, ‘Wow, we’re going to the Final 4,’ and now we’re going to the championship. It’s unreal," Spencer said. "I’m so happy for everyone. This is special. This is once in a lifetime."

NEUMANN (82)

Davion Hill 13 10-14 39, Hanief Clay 6 3-10 15, Naseer Dymeck 4 0-0 10, JerVal Weeks-Shuler 3 0-0 6, Naz Smith 3 4-4 12, Joe Savage 0 0-0 0. Totals 29 17-28 82.

NATIVITY (62)

Marcus Ratcliff 8 5-11 21, Cody Miller 7 1-1 19, Julius Walborn 0 1-2 1, Justin Sickle 3 0-0 6, Jack Miler 2 2-2 7, Ben Sipes 2 2-2 4, Liam Relley 1 0-0 2, Ty Kaumas 1 0-0 2. Totals 23 11-18 62.

Neumann 18 19 24 21--82

Nativity 9 19 17 17--62

3-pointers: Neumann 7 (Hill 3, Dymeck 2, Smith 2); Nativity 5 (C. Miller 4, J. Miller).

Records: Neumann 26-3. Nativity 22-7.

Starting at /week.