Author: delcohoops

By Ryan Brennan

In a game that featured a 51-point scorer, a 36-point scorer and a 21-point scorer, it was a put-back layup attempt from an unlikely source that would prove to be the difference in Neshaminy and Lower Merion’s double overtime thriller Wednesday night.

Chris Arcidiacono was outstanding all game for Neshaminy finishing with a game-high and school record 51 points, but it was Greg Deluca’s offensive rebound and subsequent layup (his only made field goal of the night) that made him the hero of the game.

“I only got one but I sure as hell made it count,” Deluca said, “I was struggling with the shot and getting down on myself during the game, but I knew I had to just keep going and one would fall and one did fall.”

Trailing by one in the dwindling seconds of the second overtime period, Neshaminy had the ball in the hands of their star, Arcidiacono. He drove right but was unable to finish a contest layup. After the ball was juggled by multiple Neshaminy and Lower Merion players it wound up in the hands of Deluca who converted the layup attempt and sent Neshaminy into the PIAA 6A state quarterfinals with an  88-87 victory.

(click on this link for the full story)

By Rich Flanagan

Brian Randolph III could sense it.He and the Chester Clippers trailed by one point with less then 10 seconds to play. A miss off of a one-and-one and he knew the ball was going to be in his hands with an opportunity to win it. He had practiced this time and time again. The crowd’s cheer had grown immensely during Chester’s comeback and it was going to reach its apex once he sealed the game.

Unfortunately, the crowd noise that greeted him came from the Abington Heights faithful.

Randolph’s missed layup as time expired lifted Abington Heights to a 49-48 victory over Chester in the second round of the PIAA Class 5A Tournament at Liberty High School.

The Comets ended the Clippers season for the second year in a row in the same gym. Last year, Abington Heights pulled out a five-point win in double overtime of the state quarterfinals, and this game had a similar atmosphere.

After the Comets’ Jackson Danzig stepped to the line and missed the front end of a one-and-one with 12.1 seconds remaining, Karell Watkins secured one of his seven rebounds and made an outlet pass to Randolph. The 6-3 senior guard did the only thing any player with that much confidence fueled by a ferocious comeback would do: Drive straight to the hole to win it.

(click on this link for the full story)

Webmaster’s note: The Abington Heights vs Chester PIAA 5A Round 2 playoff game was our Game-of-the-Week and can be heard on our Archives link by clicking on the player below:

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By Bob Grotz

A few minutes from the Shady Maple, where the all-you-can-eat smorgasbord can put a smile on the sourest faces, Penncrest was living the basketball dream.

The Lions were doing just about everything right in their second round PIAA Class 5A tournament game with Northeastern. They owned a 16-point lead in the first minute of the fourth quarter at Garden Spot High, dead scoreboard bulbs notwithstanding.
And then it happened.

The Bobcats erupted for 32 points, much of it off full-court trapping pressure, to secure a 63-60 victory and a date with Abington Heights in the quarterfinals.

“We picked a very bad time to play our worst quarter of basketball in two years,” Lions coach Mike Doyle said. “Give them credit. We didn’t do what we normally do. I told our guys during a timeout that this style we were playing against was in our wheelhouse. Teams have tried to speed us out and get us out of comfort zone. And we’ve responded for two years. And we came up eight minutes short.”

The Lions (26-4) lost despite a game-high 27 points by senior Tyler Norwood, who the Bobcats kept away from the ball for a chunk of the final frame. With a few seconds left, the Lions got it to Norwood for a last shot. The 50-footer hit the back of the rim.

(click on this link for the full story)

By Bruce Adams

Four days after earning their first PIAA tournament win in program history, Bonner & Prendergast’s boys revealed themselves as viable state contenders via a 93-73 victory over William Penn York in the second round of the PIAA Class 5A tournament Tuesday night at the Geigle Complex.

With the victory, the District 12 champions (24-4) now will face District 11 champs Allentown Central Catholic (25-4) in the state quarterfinals Friday. Allentown CC edged Dallas, the second seed from District 2, 61-59, in double overtime Tuesday.

Against William Penn, the Friars relied on a red-hot second quarter to make the difference, outscoring their opponent 25-10. Speaking of scoring, Bonner & Prendie’s 6-foot-3 junior guard Isaiah Wong followed up his great performance last Friday night against New Oxford (22 points, 12 rebounds, seven steals) with a 32-point effort Tuesday.

(click on this link for the full story)

 

By Michael Bullock

A. J. Hoggard wasn’t worried, nervous or even anxious.

Didn’t matter that Archbishop Carroll’s confident and remarkably talented sophomore guard was standing on the foul line with just a few tense seconds remaining in a single-possession contest that had been see-sawing back and forth for the better part of an hour.

Hoggard was right where he wanted to be under those circumstances.

On the free-throw stripe with the outcome of an all-or-nothing scrap riding on what he did in that particular moment — or didn’t do — with half the gymnasium hooting and hollering at him and the other half nibbling on their fingers and leaving little more than a single knuckle.

“That’s what I live for,” Hoggard admitted. “This is what you live for growing up playing basketball. You want to be put in pressure situations that you can thrive in.

“And tonight I just happened to be in a situation that I love to be in.”

(click on this link for the full story)

 

By COBL Staff

Abington Heights (2-1, 23-3) vs. Chester (1-4, 19-8) at Bethlehem Liberty HS, 8
While these highly successful programs collided in last year’s state quarterfinals at the same locale — Abington Heights utilized just five guys in a 65-60 victory that needed two overtimes to settle — Ken Bianchi’s District 2 champs are heading into Tuesday’s scrap after using a productive third quarter to pull away to a 75-46 triumph over Garden Spot. Jackson Danzig, George Tinsley, Jack Nealon and Corey Perkins combined for 59 points as the Comets booked their seventh straight victory. Tinsley, a 6-5 junior, also stuffed 13 rebounds and nine assists into his crowded stat line. As for Chester, 6-4 soph Karell Watkins hopped off the bench and popped a double-double (20 points/10 rebounds) as Keith Taylor’s Clippers pounded out a 61-47 victory over Martin Luther King. Eight of Watkins’ points arrived in the second quarter, as Chester opened a 23-19 halftime lead. Brian Watkins III chipped in 14 points and Rahmaad DeJarnette added nine as first-year skipper Taylor logged his first state playoff win.

Webmaster’s note: The Abington Heights vs Chester PIAA Round 2 playoff game will be audio broadcast LIVE right here on Delcohoops.com! 

(click on this link for the full story)

 

By Elijah Armold

The first weekend of PIAA basketball action is in the books, and it wasn’t very kind to area teams.

Only two squads remain in the tournament, which is set to begin second-round action Tuesday.

Friday, Kennard-Dale bowed out with a loss to Imhotep Charter in a Class 4-A opener. The Rams took their program to historic heights this season, reaching the state tournament for the first time since 1996. This came after appearing in the York-Adams League tournament for the first time since 2003.

Also Friday, York Country Day couldn’t turn the momentum of erasing a 19-point deficit to capture its third-straight District 3 1-A crown into state-level success. The Greyhounds’ season ended with a loss to Plumstead Christian.

Dallastown wrapped up a hard-luck season, that saw it fight through some key injuries and a slow start, before heating up late in the year to reach the PIAA 6-A tournament. The Wildcats lost to Plymouth-Whitemarsh Saturday.

(click on this link for the full story)

By Corey Sharp

Steve Payne’s driving layup with five seconds remaining in overtime gave the Lower Merion boys’ basketball team an 88-86 triumph Saturday over Manheim Township in the PIAA Class 6A first round.

Payne finished with a game-high 26 points, while Jack Forrest added 16 points. Julian Hairston, Harrison Klevan, and Josh Martin all reached double figures for the Aces. Lower Merion will play Neshaminy on Wednesday.

In other 6A action, Trevor Wall shot 8 of 14 from the field for 21 points as St. Joseph’s Prep topped Northampton, 62-57. Ed Croswell contributed a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Hawks. Aidan Ellwood led all scorers with 28 points for Northampton but was held to just two points in the second half. St. Joseph’s Prep will take on Abington on Wednesday.

Ahmin Williams led a balanced Plymouth Whitemarsh attack with 15 points in a 71-47 victory over Dallastown. Ahmad Williams, Ish Horn, Alan Glover, and Danny Cooper all scored in double figures for the Colonials. Plymouth Whitemarsh will battle Roman Catholic on Wednesday.

Chris Arcidiacono poured in 27 points as Neshaminy knocked off East Stroudsburg, 62-47. Anthony Papeo added 15 points for the Redskins. Neshaminy will battle Lower Merion on Wednesday.

(click on this link for more game stories and scores)

By Matthew DeGeorge

 Just in case his play didn’t deliver the gist of it, Tyree Corbett had one more message to share Saturday afternoon at South Philadelphia High.Corbett and his Lincoln teammates had heard the rationalizations explaining away last week’s District 12 championship game win over Roman Catholic, the Catholic League champ. He’d gathered whispers about luck, about a Roman hangover following a last-second win in a tense Catholic League finale, about how a city Class 6A title wasn’t all that important and maybe even fluky.

The Rail Splitters heard all of it. And in response, Corbett and company delivered a stirring testimonial.

The final margin showed a 67-46 win over Upper Darby in the opener of the PIAA Class 6A tournament. But a game where the margin crept to 37 points early in the fourth quarter wasn’t nearly that close, and Corbett made sure that was known.

“We came out here knowing we were going to blow them out,” Corbett said. “We sent a message that there’s no luck. Any person or any time you come out and play basketball, we play like it’s their last, and that’s what we did today. We’re going to play every game like it’s their last. We’re going to play hard and show everybody that we can’t be beat and we can beat every team and Roman wasn’t just luck.”

(click on this link for the full story)

By Rich Flanagan

 Mike Walker’s first season as Delco Christian head coach has had its ups and downs.In the Bicentennial League playoffs, his team downed Phil-Mont Christian before being upended by Lower Moreland. They rebounded to defeat Calvary Christian and Dock Mennonite to claim the program’s third district title. They were coming into the state playoffs, the fourth qualification in five seasons, with some momentum. But their stay was short-lived.

Despite 16 points from Tyler Penley and 12 points and six rebounds from jackson Piotrowski, Delco Christian was routed by Constitution, 86-53 in the opening round of the PIAA Class 2A Tournament.

The Knights struggled against the full-court pressure put on by the Generals as they committed 20 turnovers. Constitution (17-11) had four players score in double figures: Keshaun Hammonds (27 points), Damon Wall (13), Jabari Merritt (12) and Archbishop Carroll transfer Jahmir Marable-Williams (11).

Constitution, last year’s Class 2A runner-up, played like a team looking to get back to that title game. They recorded 16 steals and led by as many as 37 points.

(click on this link for the full story)