Saturday
April 27, 2024 
The Archbishop Wood Vikings were in danger of going one and done in the PIAA Class 6A boys basketball playoffs.
And then Jalil Bethea took over.
Wood trailed Methacton by two with a little more than four minutes remaining, but Bethea put the Vikings on top to stay with a four-point play followed by a three-point play. In the final minute, he grabbed an offensive rebound and converted a three-point play, then stole the ball and dunked to cap Wood’s 81-73 victory over Methacton at Cardinal O’Hara.
What was Bethea’s mindset with his team’s season on the line?
“Take over the game,” he said.
When you’re No. 6 in the ESPN 100 rankings of top seniors in the country, you can take over a game.
After the game, Bethea acknowledged he was surprised his team trailed late.
“We were losing to a team we weren’t supposed to be losing to,” he said. “I knew they could shoot, but we were the better team.”
Bethea, a 6-foot-4 guard, said a loss would have been a major disappointment.
“Going on a state run is our highest goal,” he said. “It means a lot because this is my last year. You can never get your senior year back.”
Wood coach John Mosco was not surprised Bethea took over the game.
“He’s a McDonald’s All-American,” Mosco said. “He’s where he’s rated and ranked for a reason.”
Wood (17-8), the third-place team from District 12, advanced to face District One champion Lower Merion (26-1) on Wednesday night at Bensalem in a second-round game that was played after the Herald went to print.
The Vikings almost did not make the state tournament after a home-court upset loss to Father Judge in the Philadelphia Catholic League quarterfinals. The loss also cost them a chance to play in front of a sellout crowd at the Palestra.
“We were all devastated by that loss, but we had another goal to accomplish,” said senior guard Josh Reed. “We didn’t want to go out without winning a state championship.”
Wood had to live with that loss for 11 days before clinching a trip to states by beating Northeast. There was another 11-day layoff until the Methacton game.
Reed wasn’t surprised the Warriors (19-8), the fifth-place team from District One, put a scare into the Vikings.
“Any team on our schedule comes out with their best game,” he said. “We have a target on our back. It came down to intensity and physicality. I’m happy we came out with the win.”
Bethea, who will play at Miami, led all scorers with 31 points. The Methacton student section attempted an “overrated” chant, but quickly abandoned that.
Reed, a Drexel recruit, added 24 points.
Mosco was not happy his team allowed 24 points in the third quarter but was happy that his two stars combined to shoot about 80 percent from the field.
“Jalil and Josh were efficient,” he said, “and we made our foul shots (19-for-22).”
Deuce Maxey added 10 points for Wood, including a key basket with about three minutes to go to give the Vikings a six-point lead.
Sophomore Christian Matos led Methacton with 28 points. Sal Iemmello and Alex Hermann added 13 and 10 points, respectively.
“I expected it to be a tough game,” Mosco said. They’re a good team. They make shots.”
Mosco, in his 11th season, has led Wood to Catholic League championships in 2017 and ’21 and a PIAA Class 5A title in 2017. He’s happy the Vikings were able to bounce back from the loss that kept them from playing at the Palestra, but didn’t kill their dream of reaching the state final.
“We had to regroup and get our batteries charged to try to get to Hershey,” he said.
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