Neighborhood Academy makes winning late-game stand in PIAA Class A final

By: Chris Harlan
Thursday, March 27, 2025 | 5:08 PM

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HERSHEY — Shamar Simpson missed his first five shots from beyond the arc, but his sixth was golden.

A 3-pointer by Simpson with 40 seconds left keyed a late-game stand as Neighborhood Academy defeated Sankofa Freedom Academy, 60-51, in the PIAA Class A final Thursday at Giant Center.

Neighborhood Academy’s 13-point second-half lead had shrunk to two when the ball found Simpson alone in the left corner for a gutsy shot that propelled the WPIAL champions to their first state title.

Even after five misses, Simpson said he had only one thought: “Shoot.” His 3-pointer gave Neighborhood Academy a 56-51 lead that stood.

“I knew that my team trusted me,” said Simpson, a senior, “and they’ve trusted me all year to make that shot.”

His coach Jordan Marks said that teamwide trust is what let Neighborhood Academy (30-1) win.

The Bulldogs entered with four scorers averaging double figures, and it quickly was obvious that they’d all need to contribute. Especially since Sankofa Freedom looked determined to keep the ball away from leading scorer Courtney Wallace, a Yale-bound senior.

“I recognized it as soon as the ball went up,” Wallace said. “I just try to stay composed when that happens and trust my teammates.”

Wallace fought off a defensive shadow to score 16 points, while adding 13 rebounds, five steals, three blocks and three steals. But he got plenty of help.

Syncer Nicholson scored a team-high 18 points, Kedron Gilmore had 13 and Simpson finished with seven.

“The thing I like the most is how they trust each other,” Marks said. “When Shamar shot it, I think I was the only one (who was stunned). I thought he was going to drive it, but he shot it in rhythm, and he knocked it down. I love it.”

Nafis Dubose led Sankofa Freedom Academy (19-12) with 18 points. The Philadelphia school was in the state finals for the second time after winning the Class A title in 2019.

The Warriors held Wallace to 5 for 14 shooting. He made 5 of 7 free throws.

“I don’t think our strategy mattered defensively because it didn’t work,” said Sankofa coach Isaiah Thomas, adding that Wallace “was even better in person than what we saw on film.”

Neighborhood Academy led 20-11 after one quarter, 32-24 at half and 48-37 after three.

Thomas was critical of the officials shortly after the game, saying they’d shown him “disrespect” when they issued a warning for questioning a call, and he implied there was a racial bias. Thomas, who is Black, is also a city councilman in Philadelphia.

He reached out later to retract his criticism and said he wasn’t mistreated by officials because of his race.

“I was not,” Thomas said by phone. “And if I said that, I was upset in the moment and I apologize.”

PIAA executive director Bob Lombardi had said Thomas’ criticism may have violated PIAA rules. Lombardi said the PIAA would reach out to the school’s administration to investigate.

“I find that to be totally disrespectful to the organization and all of the good men and women who work in our organization,” Lombardi said. “It’s not accurate.”

Neighborhood Academy started slowly, missed its first six shots and trailed 8-2. But baskets by Nicholson and Gilmore sparked a 10-0 run to take the lead.

The Bulldogs led 20-11 after one quarter.

“We watched the on film and saw how they play defense,” Simpson said. “They’re a gritty team. … We knew they were going to give Courtney hell. Syn, Kendron and myself, we kind of made sure we picked up the slack to help him out.”

Nicholson made some of his own dramatic shots with a buzzer-beating layup at halftime to lead 32-24 and a 3-pointer late in the third to spark a key run.

The Bulldogs scored 10 straight points late in the third to lead 48-35 with 35 seconds left. Wallace capped the run with a putback and foul shot.

The 13-point lead was their largest.

“Me and coach Jordan had a long talk before the game,” said Nicholson, a senior. “We all knew the game plan would be to try to limit Courtney. He told me, ‘I need you to show everyone who you are.’ … When I came out today, I wanted people to remember who I am.”

Neighborhood Academy also made a name for itself in only its fifth season in the WPIAL. The private school in Pittsburgh’s Stanton Heights neighborhood hired Marks as coach when this year’s seniors were freshmen.

“I was so nervous this morning I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t do anything,” Marks said. “I told them before the game, ‘I just didn’t want you guys to lose.’”

Neighborhood Academy entered the fourth quarter with a 48-37 lead, but it began to dwindle.

A 3-pointer by Sankofa’s Kaden Stewart cut the margin to three points with 3 minutes remaining. A foul shot by Terrance Fortson narrowed the margin to two with 90 seconds left.

After Wallace and Dubose traded baskets, the Neighborhood Academy lead was 53-51 with 50 seconds left.

Ahead by two, Gilmore passed to Simpson alone in the corner, and Simpson took the shot.

“If there’s a video, I’m standing at half-court with my mouth wide open,” Wallace said. “As soon as he made it, I’m smiling. There’s a big smile on my face. It was a crazy shot. A big shot for us.”

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.

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