2022 PIAA Class 5A boys basketball championship breakdown: New Castle vs. Imhotep Charter

By: Chris Harlan
Friday, March 25, 2022 | 3:52 AM

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PIAA Class 5A boys basketball final

New Castle vs. Imhotep Charter

7:30 p.m., Friday, Giant Center, Hershey

On the air: TV: PCN

PIAA titles: New Castle 1 (2014), Imhotep Charter 7 (2009, ’11, ’12, ’13, ’17, ’18, ’19)

New Castle (27-2)

Coach: Ralph Blundo

Probable starting lineup

No., Name, Ht., Yr., Pos.

1, Michael Graham, 5-11, sr. G

3, Michael Wells, 6-4, sr., G/F

5, Isaiah Boice, 6-0, jr., G

10, Cahmari Perkins, 6-4, sr., G

12, Jonathan Anderson, 5-10, jr., G

Notable: New Castle has reached the state finals for the first time since 2014, when then-senior Malik Hooker led the team to the Class 4A title. Hooker now plays safety for the Dallas Cowboys. … The Red Hurricanes are 1-3 all-time in PIAA championship games with losses in 1998, ’82 and ’36. … Wells is a 22-point scorer and Boice averages 14. … Wells is a Youngstown State football recruit. … He scored 26 points in the state semifinals. … New Castle reached the finals by defeating Northeastern, 63-50; Central Mountain, 85-34; Penn Hills, 43-35; and Gateway, 59-39. … The Red Hurricanes average 69.5 points per game and hold opponents to 47.3. … The team is 24-1 in its past 25 games with its only loss coming in the WPIAL finals in double overtime. … New Castle once played host to a PIAA championship game between Jim Thorpe and Clarion at its gym in 1962. Jim Thorpe won the Class A final, 51-40.

Imhotep Charter (27-4)

Coach: Andre Noble

Probable starting lineup

No., Name, Ht., Yr., Pos.

0, Ahmad Nowell, 6-0, so., G

1, Rahmir Barno, 6-0, jr., G

2, Ronny Raphael, 5-10, sr., G

3, Justin Edwards, 6-7, jr., G/F

11, Mo Abdullah, 6-3, sr., G

Notable: Imhotep won the Philadelphia Public League championship. … The Panthers are loaded with Division I talent. Edwards is the biggest name with offers from Kentucky, Villanova, Virginia, Tennessee, Ohio State and Auburn, among others. Pitt and Penn State also are on his scholarship list. ESPN rates Edwards as a five-star prospect and ranks his 18th overall in the 2023 graduating class. … Edwards scored a game-high 18 points in the state semifinals. … Imhotep reached the finals by defeating Chichester, 78-51; Radnor, 62-39; Marple Newtown, 44-39; and Chester, 66-41. … Nowell’s top offers include Auburn and Kansas. … Barno has Temple, LaSalle and Drexel among his options. … Abdullah is committed to Rider. … Raphael is a Gannon recruit. … The Panthers own wins over PIAA Class 6A finalist Roman Catholic, 70-60; Class 4A champion Neumann-Goretti, 64-58; and Class 2A finalist Constitution, 76-30. … Imhotep’s only in-state losses were to Reading, 60-57, in the season opener, and to Philadelphia’s Abraham Lincoln, 69-66, in overtime Jan. 18. … They also lost to IMG Academy of Bradenton, Fla., and St. Paul VI of Chantilly, Va. … Imhotep’s offense averages 63.9 points and its defense allows 45.2.

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

Tags: New Castle