NORRISTOWN — With a four-point lead and less than three minutes remaining, Spring-Ford was close to reaching the state semifinals.
Unfortunately for the Rams, Archbishop Wood senior Jalil Bethea managed to complete his outstanding performance within that time.
Miami-bound Bethea scored 18 of his 31 points during a thrilling fourth quarter, carrying the Vikings to a hard-fought 67-61 comeback win over Spring-Ford and advancing to play District 11 champion Parkland.
Bethea stated, “The fourth quarter is crucial, so I believe that’s when I need to give my all. It was a slow start for me in the first half, so at halftime I just told myself, ‘You got this.’ I pumped myself up, and everything fell into place.”
Bethea only had six points at halftime, while the Rams were leading 29-28. Wood’s other Division-I recruit, Drexel-bound Josh Reed, had a strong first half with 10 points.
However, Bethea came alive when it mattered most. Spring-Ford relied on the shooting skills of senior E.J. Campbell, and juniors Jacob Nguyen and Matt Zollers for the first three quarters, taking a 40-36 lead late in the third.
As Campbell expanded the lead to six, Bethea responded quickly, reducing it to four. Zollers then gave the Rams their largest lead at 45-38, but Bethea finished the quarter with a critical and-1, making the score 45-41 going into the fourth.
This was just the beginning for Bethea.
With Miami head coach Jim Larrañaga in the stands, Bethea started the period with a 3-pointer, and added two more later on, tying the score at 54 with 4:15 to play. His dunk on the next possession tied it at 56 with 3:28 left, but Spring-Ford managed to take a 61-57 lead with 2:55 to play.
Wood senior Tahir Howell scored, bringing the Vikings within two, and Bethea tied the score at 61 with a driving layup with 1:53 to play after a costly turnover by the Rams.
“He’s so athletic that you can’t even contain him,” said Spring-Ford head coach Joe Dempsey about Bethea. “I have really good athletes, but he’s on another level. He creates space for himself and is a really fantastic player. He’s already projected to be an NBA player, so you’re not going to stop him. You can only hope to slow him down and we lost him and gave him a couple easy ones.”
With 1:17 left on the clock, the Rams attempted to keep possession for the final shot, but Wood’s aggressive pressure at halfcourt led to a steal by Howell. He then made two go-ahead free throws with 39.4 seconds remaining. Nguyen had a good opportunity to score with a baseline jumper, but it bounced off the rim. Bethea then made four more free throws, securing the victory. He scored 18 points in the final period, outscoring Spring-Ford 18-16 by himself.
“I will always believe in myself,” Bethea stated. “I will continue to shoot until I make it, and that's exactly what I did. I remained composed and let my performance speak for itself.”
Bethea made 9 of 17 field goals, 4 of 10 from beyond the arc, and 9 of 13 free throws. In the last three state games, he has averaged 13 points in the fourth quarter alone. Despite Wood missing 10 free throws, they scored the final six points of the game from the free-throw line.
“We started making crucial free throws,” Wood head coach John Mosco commented. “We faced a tough situation and had to react, or we would have been eliminated.”
It was especially difficult for the Rams (23-8), who played well enough to win and received strong performances from Nguyen, Campbell, and Zollers. Nguyen, in particular, bounced back after a 0-for-7 shooting night in Spring-Ford’s second round win. However, the Rams managed to contain him when necessary, limiting him to only two points in the fourth quarter and causing him to miss a critical shot in the final baseline attempt. Zollers contributed five rebounds and three assists to his 13 points, while Campbell added five assists.
“Milan Dean defended Nguyen effectively in the second half, and our defense improved,” Mosco mentioned.
Dean (11 points) and Reed (14 points, five rebounds) also scored in double figures for the Vikings.
“We had a couple of crucial turnovers, and our key player had the ball at the baseline and missed a shot,” Dempsey explained. “We almost got the rebound, and it was a close call at the end. I'm very proud of my team. We played hard, but Bethea managed to make a couple of crucial shots. Only one team will win the state tournament, and if things had gone a bit differently, the outcome could have been different.”
Campbell’s outstanding high school career has come to an end, and Spring-Ford will now have to bid farewell to him and senior reserve Jake Dellangelo. The Rams will have plenty of talent returning in 2024-25, but replacing Campbell will be a significant challenge.
“E.J. has been an exceptional leader who has grown a lot as a young man,” Dempsey expressed. “Someone is going to get a fantastic college player and an amazing person. I'm extremely proud of all of them for making it this far with only two seniors.”
Bethea had a lengthy conversation with Larrañaga after the game. After reaching the Final Four in 2023, the Hurricanes had a tough year and didn't make the tournament this season. With Bethea joining them soon, it wouldn't be surprising to see Miami back in next year’s NCAA Tournament.
“It means a lot to see Coach at the game,” Bethea remarked. “Having a strong overall performance in front of him shows that he can expect something great from me next year.”
Archbishop Wood 67, Spring-Ford 61
Spring-Ford 17 12 16 16 – 61
Wood 20 8 13 26 – 67
Spring-Ford: Kelly 3 0 0-0 6, Nguyen 2 5 3-4 22, Zollers 3 2 1-4 13, Campbell 3 2 1-1 13, Mokonchu 2 0 1-1 5, Marsilio 1 0 0-0 2, Dellangelo 0 0 0-0 0, Turner 0 0 0-0 0, Pufko 0 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 9 6-10 61
Archbishop Wood: Maxey 2 0 0-0 4, Bethea 5 4 9-13 31, Dean 4 0 3-6 11, Reed 7 0 0-2 14, Howell 1 0 3-4 5, Green 1 0 0-0 2, McAdams 0 0 0-0 0, Beyah 0 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 4 15-25 67
