Derrick Jones would no doubt like to see Archbishop Carroll play more of its boys' basketball games at Colonial Elementary School.
Earlier this season, the sophomore racked up 22 points, 17 rebounds, and seven blocks in a nonleague triumph over host Plymouth Whitemarsh.
Tuesday, back in Plymouth Meeting for a PIAA Class AAA second-round playoff against Pope John Paul II, Jones produced 19 boards, 16 points, eight rejections, and two assists as the Patriots advanced with a 57-40 victory.
"I don't know what it is," the 6-foot-6, 185-pound forward said. "This gym, I play pretty well in it. It's been good to me."
Jones, who is already hearing from a number of Division I programs, posted 12 of his points, including two putbacks, in the second half.
Still, he was hard on himself afterward: "I know I could have done a better job at finishing. But it's basketball. It happens."
Next for Carroll (21-6) is a quarterfinal matchup Friday night vs. District 7's Chartiers Valley.
Overall, Jones shot 6 for 13 from the field and 4 for 6 from the line. Nine of his 18 boards came on offense.
The soft-spoken Jones has heard from Penn State, Rutgers, St. Joseph's, Syracuse, Villanova, and Xavier.
"I'm thinking about the future, but it's not on my mind all the time," he said. "We'll just see what happens."
Yosef Yacob, Carroll's floor general and a Binghamton recruit, was slowed by foul trouble. All eight of his points came in the fourth quarter.
"Any time your senior point guard goes out, it's not a good feeling on the bench as a coach," Patriots boss Paul Romanczuk said.
With Joe Mostardi nailing a pair of three-pointers, Carroll, which advanced to the state quarters last season, sprinted to a 19-5 lead.
Down by 27-17 at intermission, the Golden Panthers rallied in the third quarter and trimmed the gap to 33-30 on Brent Mahoney's follow slam.
Carroll sealed the deal with an 8-0 burst at the start of the fourth quarter. It included a pair of driving layups by Yacob (six boards) and sub Armand Sorrentino's trey from the left baseline.
Nick Jones aided the Patriots with 10 points and four assists, Ernest Aflakpui managed eight points and eight boards, and Sorrentino had eight points.
Mahoney paced PJP II (16-11) with 13 points and seven boards.
Pope John Paul II 7 10 13 10 – 40
Archbishop Carroll 22 5 8 22 – 57
PJP: James Bleming 3, Mike Cianciulli 2, Jamel Stinson 10, Brent Mahoney 13, Alex Plate 7, Nick Demeno 5.
AC: Yosef Yacob 8, Nick Jones 10, Ernest Aflakpui 8, Derrick Jones 16, Joe Mostardi 7, Armand Sorrentino 8.
Contact Rick O'Brien at robrien@phillynews.com. Follow @ozoneinq on Twitter. Read his blog, "The O'Zone," at www.philly.com/ozone
