Can Archbishop Wood return to the state title game? Vikings appear to be on right path

Now Archbishop Wood head coach John Mosco can smile a bit.

It wasn't easy, but Mosco led the Vikings through the toughest part of their schedule. Now Wood is sitting pretty with a 6-3 mark and more importantly are 2-0 in the Catholic League after hanging on for a 64-61 defeat of league rival Roman Catholic Wednesday night.

"It's a good feeling," Mosco said. "I want to be good. I want us to play the best. Sometimes, you have to schedule games when you can get them. This year, for us, that was in the first half of the season.

"I think we have done pretty well. It was a much darker stretch when we were on it. I like the way our team is coming around. That's the beautiful thing about all of this. We've gotten better."

What Mosco has discovered is that his team will rally around a leader. Last season, Mosco guided the Vikings to the PIAA 6A championship game. It might be too early to start thinking about a state title, but the ingredients are there to produce one.

Senior guard Justin Moore, who has signed with Drexel University, scored 19 points but he fouled out with 4.5 seconds remaining and Wood leading 62-61 against Roman Catholic. Junior forward Bahsil Nash scored two of his 18 points from the line to seal a 64-61 victory for the host Vikings.

"We pick up for each other," Moore said. "I gave it all that I could, now someone else had to pick up. Tonight, that someone was Bashil."

In their first loss, the Vikings were manhandled, 64-46, by St. Frances Academy of Baltimore in a tournament. Then came a 66-65 setback to the George School before dropping a 73-41 decision to Camden High, two days after Christmas.

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"That game opened my eyes," Mosco said. "We weren't ready, and it showed, But again, we learned something from that.

"When you're playing all of these good teams in the beginning of the season, it has to pay off somehow. This victory (against Roman) showed us that we're on the right track."

Try as he may want to, Mosco can't forget about the 2020-2021 season. Sure he tries to orchestrate different scenes but the end result is always the same — the Vikings finished second in the state. Reading defeated Wood, 58-57, to win the PIAA Class 6A boys tournament title in Hershey. The loss ended Wood's season at 28-1.

Archbishop Wood's girls basketball team won its state title the night before so there was good feeling floating around that the boys may do the same.

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"Last year was such a magical year for us," Mosco said. "We came together as a family and worked very hard together. It was a very special moment for us and for the community."

This year's team is picking up the pace, and Mosco is smiling.

"We're coming along," Mosco said. "I like the way that we are developing."

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This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: PIAA basketball: Archbishop Wood hitting stride after tough schedule