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Neumann produces well-rounded performance; wins state tournament opener

By Chris Masse 6 min read

Davion Hill whipped a pass toward Joe Savage and added some instructions: “Shoot it.”

Savage responded and before the shot went through the net, Hill raised his arms in the air, signaling it was good before starting back on defense. He was right, too. Trust and chemistry were high Tuesday night at the Catholic Community Center and because of that, St. John Neumann is moving on in the Class A state tournament.

Hill scored 20 points, Hanief Clay added 19 and every player coach Jamie Spencer used played well as Neumann led from start to finish and defeated High Point Baptist, 63-40 in its state tournament opener. The Knights (23-3) effectively moved the basketball, produced 16 assists, played strong defense and earned a spot in Friday’s second round against District 1 champion Faith Christian, a 49-45 overtime winner over Roberto Clemente Charter, at a time and place to be determined.

“We’ve learned a lot of chemistry. At practice we’ve been swinging the ball around trying to break it down instead of jacking up 3s,” Clay said. “The last few games we were jacking up 3s and playing 1-on-1. We’re at our best when we’re swinging the ball, and finding the open man and attacking the basket. It’s all about trusting each other.”

Neumann displayed that throughout, repeatedly breaking down the defense by constantly moving the ball and themselves. Players were constant motion, seeing the court well and setting up one another for good shots. The result was Neumann (23-3) building a 43-20 halftime lead and imposing the mercy rule two minutes into the third.

All five starters scored in the opening quarter, four doing so in the game’s first five minutes. Neumann used a 14-0 run to build a 12-point lead it never relinquished and played with an intensity that sometimes was lacking for stretches during its march to a third straight district championship.

“Our focus and intensity throughout was good. It wasn’t lackadaisical like in some of our other games,” Spencer said. “I really liked our mindset. Our goal was simple: Come in here, put on a show, win the game, move on and that’s what we did.”

Neumann had its fans who filled nearly every section of the bleachers cheering loud throughout, breaking the game open with a 13-0 run to close the first half. Instead of settling for perimeter shots after a pass or two, Neumann kept working the ball, finding what it liked and going after it. Everyone was involved and everyone was producing on both ends.

Naseer Dymeck scored five second-quarter points and produced two steals. JerVal Weeks-Shuler and Naz Smith were all over the glass and combined for 12 rebounds and Savage added five points off the bench. Neumann closed the district final against North Penn-Liberty strong and picked up where it left off, going up 52-22 two minutes into the third quarter to essentially end this game early.

“Our thing in the second half was don’t let up, don’t let up,” Clay said. “We remember times when we did let up and let teams come back on us. We came out strong and stepped on their necks today.”

“JerVal was an animal early and got some big rebounds. Naz Smith stepped up and everyone did their part,” Spencer said. “That was a good win.”

High Point (21-7) did not earn the win, but the ending hardly diminished its achievements. The Eagles completed one of the best seasons in program history and the senior class helped them make a dramatic turnaround.

As freshmen, that group was part of a three-win team. High Point improved each season, finished third in District 3 and Tuesday’s result was more about what Neumann did right than what it did wrong. Junior Drew Hoffman scored his 1,000th career point in the second quarter and senior guard Nate Ehst scored a game-high 22 points, closing his season with a remarkable 104 3-pointers.

“We went from 3-16 four years ago to 21-7 this season, so seeing that build has been amazing. I couldn’t be prouder,” High Point coach Anthony Burke said. “Three of these guys came in on a team that was rebuilding. Every single year they worked hard and developed. Just seeing them put it all into practice and having the record we did was incredible.”

High Point did its best to stay with Neumann and trailed 19-10 after the first quarter. The Eagles still were within striking distance at 30-20 midway through the second quarter when Neumann really started taking over. The ball moved as fast at the Knights did and a blistering 13-0 run had Neumann up 23 by halftime.

Hill (8 rebounds, 7 assists) and Clay (8 rebounds, 6 assists) combined for 10 first-half assists and five players again scored in that second quarter. The defense was equally effective, contesting shots well and hounding a team which had hit more than 200 3-pointers into a 28 percent performance from behind the arc.

Neumann did not let up early in the third as it quickly scored five straight points with Savage’s 3-pointer capping the 18-0 run. Moments later, a Clay steal and layup had Neumann up, 52-22 as the mercy rule came into play.

“Hanief’s pass to JerVal (in the second quarter) was huge for us. It finally got us some separation,” Spencer said. “It was a fun night.”

“It’s not about one or two guys. It’s about everyone getting involved,” Clay said. “It doesn’t matter who’s scoring. Nobody cares about that. It’s about everyone playing hard. We want everybody to eat.”

Neumann ate well Tuesday, but a bigger challenge comes Friday. The Knights remain mighty hungry.

HIGH POINT (40)

Drew Hoffman 3 2-2 9, Nate Ehst 9 0-0 22, Austin May 1 0-1 2, Matt Meshey 1 0-0 3, Jack Kauffman 2 0-0 4, Ben Spacek 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 2-3 40.

NEUMANN (63)

Davion Hill 9 0-0 20, Hanief Clay 9 0-2 19, Naseer Dymeck 3 0-0 7, JerVal Weeks-Shuler 3 0-0 6, Naz Smith 0 1-4 1, Joe Savage 2 0-0 5, Kane Wright 1 0-0 3, Josiah Coleman 1 0-2 2, Angelo Fernandez 0 0-0 0, Corey Agnew 0 0-0 0, Chase Wright 0 0-0 0. Totals 28 1-8 63.

High Point 10 10 7 13-40

Neumann 19 24 13 7-63

3-pointers: High Point 6 (Ehst, Hoffman, Meshey). Neumann 6 (Hill 2, Clay, Dymeck, Savage, K. Wright).

Records: Neumann 23-3. High Point 21-7.

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