Boys Latin

The Math, Civics and Sciences boys' basketball team resembles a closely knit family. One could even call the Mighty Elephants brothers from other mothers. Sure, they might disagree a bit behind closed doors. But on game days, the Math, Civics and Sciences players are closer than a set of twins. "We just want to come out, have fun and play as a family," senior guard Jose Ortiz said. "Even in practice, we just want to keep it close. " Yesterday, Boys' Latin found out just how close the Math, Civics and Sciences players are. Displaying their trademark team balance, the Mighty Elephants defeated the Warriors, 72-61, in the Public League D Division game at Shepard Recreation Center.

The hot, hazy sun was baking the sidewalks along Market Street in West Philadelphia. And the 25 teens who gathered late last week in an office building meeting room could have been whiling away their time with myriad summer activities. Instead, the incoming ninth graders at Boys' Latin of Philadelphia Charter School were so determined to get a head start at their new college-prep school that they had volunteered to spend the morning poring over John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men and the thick novel Troy , about the Trojan War. Many had been showing up twice a week for the sessions since the start of July to read, discuss and write about the books they were assigned to read this summer.

There might be a lot of things that the La Salle basketball team doesn't want to remember about its first game of the season. Missed free throws, giving up a halftime lead, not having that added vigor in the four minutes of extra time. But that overtime loss to State College a little more than a week ago did more than provide the Explorers with regrets - it also was a learning experience. That experience came in handy Saturday, at Cheltenham's Coaches vs. Cancer tournament, as the Explorers defeated Boys' Latin in overtime, 70-64.

After the way Boys' Latin lost on Thursday, surrendering a six-point lead with less than a minute to play, a letdown seemed likely considering the Warriors faced another game Friday night, against a Penn Wood program that had advanced to, at least, the PIAA state semifinals in each of the last three seasons. But no one told that to Maurice Watson Jr. Watson Jr. led all players with 25 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter, to give Boys' Latin an affirming, 61-57 nonleague victory over Penn Wood.

Boys' Latin senior Maurice Watson made an oral commitment Wednesday to play basketball at Boston University. The 5-foot-10 point guard, who had 18 scholarship offers, ultimately picked the Terriers over Virginia, La Salle, Niagara, and Hofstra. "The reason I chose BU was because I could see myself going to the university [even] if it wasn't for basketball," Watson said. "I've been out to the city. I love the city. It reminds me of Philly so much. "I have some friends that are already on the team.

The cheers and shouts rang across the water as the Boys' Latin crew team rounded the bend in the Schuylkill. The four rowers glanced over and ripped their blades through the current, speeding their boat - the 40-foot jet-black Darth Vader - to a second-place finish in the race. It was their first competition. They were the only team of Philadelphia public school students rowing April 19 at the Philadelphia Scholastic Rowing Association's fifth Manny Flick regatta this year.

"Boys' Latin is the start of something very big, a new tradition to your neighborhood," Gov. Corbett told the inaugural class of the state's first single-sex college-preparatory charter school. "In many ways you - the first graduating class - are the founders of your school," Corbett told the 79 young men who received their diplomas before a cheering audience of parents, friends, and supporters who packed the Zellerbach Auditorium at the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg Center for an emotion-laden, high-spirited commencement ceremony Monday.

Boys' Latin put two straight defeats - and three years of state-playoff frustration - behind it on Friday night. Coming off losses in the Public League final and District 12 championship, the Warriors gained their first PIAA Class AAA state victory in four tries with a 70-49 romp over undermanned Pope John Paul II at Southern High. Maurice Watson (23 points), Carlos Taylor (20), and Yahmir Greenlee (15) sparked the historic victory. "We beat them with our speed, fast-break points, and defense," said Greenlee, a 5-foot-9, 150-pound junior point guard.

U.S. Sen. Rand Paul (R., Ky.) said in Philadelphia on Monday that he was trying to rally Americans to join a class-action lawsuit against President Obama's controversial telephone and Internet surveillance programs revealed last week. But when asked whether Edward Snowden, the National Security Agency contractor who leaked the existence of the top-secret programs, should be praised or prosecuted, Paul replied, "I don't know if I have an opinion of what exactly you do. " Paul is seen as a 2016 contender for president, and he pounced on the news that the NSA was collecting phone records from millions of Americans and had direct access to user activities at major Internet companies.

ANTONIO HARRIS lives on South Ringgold Street, little more than a mile from Citizens Bank Park, and his favorite sport is baseball. So, maybe he can tell some stories about brushes with famous Phillies. Securing an autograph from Ryan Howard. Being tossed a batting-practice ball by Roy Halladay. Dancing on top of the dugout with the Phillie Phanatic. Um, not quite. "My favorite team is the Yankees," Harris said. Yankees?! Seriously?! Should we end this story now?!

Boys' Basketball BICENTENNIAL QUARTERFINALS Church Farm 57, Phil-Mont Christian 18 Holy Ghost Prep 53, Christopher Dock 34 Calvary Christian 64, New Hope-Solebury 42 PA. INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS TOURNAMENT FIRST ROUND Malvern Prep 40, Friends' Central 39 Penn Charter 52, Hill School 51 PIONEER ATH CHAMPIONSHIP Perkiomen Valley 44, Methacton 41 PUBLIC LEAGUE A SEMIFINALS Math, Civics & Sciences 93, Strawberry Mansion...

A game that featured 26 lead changes came down to a final play as Germantown Academy pulled out a 65-63 win over visiting Sanford (Del.) in a nonleague boys' basketball game Friday. Penn State-bound center Julian Moore blocked a shot at the buzzer to secure the triumph over the defending Delaware state champs. James Drury combined on the stop. Germantown Academy earned the win from the foul line. The Patriots shot 22 for 25 and were perfect in the fourth quarter. Lafayette recruit Nick Linder went 6 for 6 from the line down the stretch as the Patriots nursed a three-point lead they took late in the game.

There might be a lot of things that the La Salle basketball team doesn't want to remember about its first game of the season. Missed free throws, giving up a halftime lead, not having that added vigor in the four minutes of extra time. But that overtime loss to State College a little more than a week ago did more than provide the Explorers with regrets - it also was a learning experience. That experience came in handy Saturday, at Cheltenham's Coaches vs. Cancer tournament, as the Explorers defeated Boys' Latin in overtime, 70-64.

A former Strawberry Mansion player himself, coach Matt Johnson gathered his players before Thursday's Public League boys' basketball game. "I said if this was going to be our last home opener, then we better make it count," Johnson said. A few hours after they learned Strawberry Mansion is one of 11 high schools slated for closure at the end of the school year, the Knights rallied in overtime to edge visiting Paul Robeson, 65-64. Donovan Barnes led the way with 27 points, including six in the extra period.

NOT SURE HOW many kids care for chemistry, but it's going to decide the Public League basketball championship. Not the kind of chemistry that comes before math or after history. We mean the not-completely-tangible kind that every team, hopefully, finds a way to achieve. Almost every strong team in the Pub features some to many to an outrageous number of transfers - big surprise, right? - and it'll be interesting to see how holdovers react to newcomers. Maybe the mindset will be all for one, one for all?

NONLEAGUE Furness vs. Prep Charter at Southern, 6 Mastbaum vs. University City at Northeast, 6 Boys' Latin vs. Imhotep Charter at Simon Gratz, 6 Phoenixville at Spring-Ford, 7 CENTRAL LEAGUE Haverford High at Upper Darby, 10:45 a.m. SUBURBAN ONE CONTINENTAL Pennridge at Quakertown, 10:15 a.m. NONLEAGUE Fels at Frankford, 9:45 a.m. Father Judge at Lincoln, 10 a.m. Archbishop Ryan at Washington, 10 a.m....