Author: delcohoops

  

By Matthew DeGeorge

In the minds of many around the Penncrest boys basketball program, the number 1,551 loomed large this season.For Tyler Norwood, the only one who ultimately had the power to vault that historic standard, it would be more of a byproduct than a long-term goal, merely something that might happen one day if Norwood accomplished many more granular goals.

“Every night, I just went out and played basketball,” Norwood said Sunday. “I didn’t really worry about if I was breaking a record or not. All I worry about is winning championships. It just so happened that I was close and able to do that.”

Sunday, Norwood was able to do both.

The Penncrest senior guard and reigning Daily Times Boys Basketball Player of the Year scored a game-high 22 points to get past Upper Darby, 52-39, in the Central League semifinals at Marple Newtown and set the Penncrest all-time scoring mark.

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Webmaster note:  Delcohoops.com will broadcast LIVE the Central League Basketball Championship game between Penncrest and Lower Merion. Our broadcast will begin at 7:45 PM. 

By Matt Smith

In the days and weeks ahead, Springfield freshman Alexa Abbonizio and her family will tell stories and share memories about her late grandfather.Robert J. Abbonizio, affectionately known as “Big Bob,” passed away Feb. 6. He was 80.

Alexa is one of Mr. Abbonizio’s nine grandchildren. And he was a big fan of his granddaughter, the basketball player.

Abbonizio was in the starting lineup for Springfield in its regular-season finale Friday. She had the best game of her young high school career when she scored 29 points to lead the Cougars to victory over Radnor. She dedicated that game to her grandfather.

Sunday at Marple Newtown, mere hours before she would attend her grandfather’s viewing service, Abbonizio helped Springfield defeat Haverford, 37-27, in the semifinals of the Central League playoffs.

The Cougars will play reigning league champion Garnet Valley in the final Tuesday night at Harriton.

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Webmaster note:  Delcohoops.com will broadcast LIVE the Central League Basketball Championship game between Garnet Valley and Springfield. Our broadcast will begin at 5:45 PM. 

By Matthew DeGeorge

Springfield’s boys basketball team entered last Friday’s twice-postponed game with Radnor with a simple imperative: Beat a team with an 0-15 league record and make the playoffs.

The Cougars didn’t. But the District 1 Class 5A power rankings still nudged the Cougars into the playoffs. Until the Cougars declined the invite.

Springfield won’t be participating in the District 1 Class 5A tournament, its athletic department confirmed Sunday, despite the Cougars finishing 16th in the standings. The final postseason spot, per brackets posted on the District 1 web site, will go to Upper Moreland, the 17th seed.

Springfield, which qualified for the state tournament last year, went 8-14, despite an 8-8 Central League mark. It won just two of its last nine games, yet snuck into the top 16 on strength of schedule as results trickled in Saturday. The 16th seed would’ve entailed a third meeting with top-seeded Penncrest; the previous two ended with the Lions winning by 27 and 29 points.

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By Delcohoops.com Staff

We have posted the unofficial game brackets for the PIAA District 1 playoffs on our Schedule page.  High school teams located in Delaware County are marked with a yellow box.  We are currently considering which playoff game to broadcast and will make that announcement in the next 24 hours.

  

By Josh Verlin

Locked in a battle with Garnet Valley in the Central League semifinals, Lower Merion was looking for someone step up and knock down some shots.

Typically one of the best teams in the area from outside the arc, the Aces were having issues with their 3-point shooting against the Jaguars, making just three of their 16 attempts in the first half of a game that was dead even at the midway point and a three-point game with two minutes left in the third quarter.

Finally, Harrison Klevan got hot.

The Lower Merion senior knocked down three triples in the span of 90 seconds to close out the quarter, and the Aces took what suddenly had become a double-digit advantage and held onto it to close out a 72-59 victory on Sunday afternoon at Marple Newtown HS.

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Webmaster note:  Delcohoops.com will LIVE broadcast the Central League Basketball Championship games for both girl’s and boy’s teams this Tuesday night. First broadcast will begin at 5:45 PM. 

By Matthew DeGeorge

Last time out, Chester could barely unlock the lid to the basket in a low-scoring win over Penn Wood that marked its lowest point output in more than three years.

Friday, they found all those points and more in the Clippers’ biggest offensive explosion in quite some time.

Michael Smith scored 29 points, and Rahmaad DeJarnette returned from a prolonged injury absence with 17 points as Chester walloped Chichester, 107-75, for an emphatic end to the regular season.

Brian Randolph scored 12 points, and Karell Watkins, Isaiah Schmidt and Kylair Blackston contributed 10 apiece for the Clippers (16-6, 10-0 Del Val). It was a far cry from the offensive output the Clippers used Tuesday to scrape by Penn Wood, 44-33.

DaQuan Granberry scored 15 points for Chichester (14-8, 6-4) before he was ejected for his second technical foul. Amiri Stewart and Calvin Church supplied 12 points apiece.

Also in the Del Val League:

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Webmaster’s note: The Chester vs Chichester 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 PAPrepLive

Garnet Valley’s girls basketball team can enjoy a relaxing off day Sunday thanks to some late heroics by Emily McAteer.

McAteer’s basketball with 17 seconds left was the difference in a 49-47 victory over Conestoga that completed an undefeated run by the Jaguars in the Central League.

By going undefeated, Garnet Valley advances to next Tuesday’s Central League championship game at Harriton against the winner of Sunday’s semifinal between Springfield and Haverford High. Tip-off in the final is 6 p.m.

Had Conestoga won, Garnet Valley (20-2, 16-0) would have had to play a semifinal game Sunday.

McAteer finished with 11 points. Brianne Borckly led Garnet Valley with 16 points, 10 rebounds and three assists. Nicole Barnes contributed 10 points, four assists and four steals.

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

Webmaster note:  Delcohoops.com will LIVE broadcast the Central League Basketball Championship games for both girl’s and boy’s teams this Tuesday night. First broadcast will begin at 5:45 PM. 

By Matthew DeGeorge

A season ago, with a berth to the PIAA Class 5A tournament on the line, Bonner & Prendergast came up short against Archbishop Carroll twice in one week. The Friars had made progress under coach Jack Concannon, but the pieces weren’t quite there yet.So as a contingent of upperclassmen who led the Friars out of the 2-20 doldrums of 2013-14 graduated, Concannon had spots to fill on his team. And the two primary names that filled the void showed just how big they are Friday.

Isaiah Wong and Tariq Ingraham both played like blue-chippers, the junior transfers keying a 79-72 win for the Friars over Carroll in a pulsating affair before a raucous capacity crowd.

Wong was unstoppable in the first half with 15 of his game-high 29 points, and he found time to collect 12 rebounds and five assists. Ingraham stepped in late, supplying 10 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter as the Friars (18-3 overall, 11-1 Catholic League) had the final say in a seesaw battle to get within one win of a regular season Catholic League title.

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By Matthew DeGeorge

To fulfill its hopes of qualifying for the Central League semifinals, Garnet Valley required something special in the final moments Friday. Cade Brennan stepped to the mark.

The forward laser-beamed home a 3-pointer, just his second of the season, as the buzzer sounded to give Garnet Valley a 53-50 win over Conestoga.

The win earns the Jaguars (16-6, 11-5) the third seed and a date with second-seeded Lower Merion in Sunday’s semifinal. It is Garnet Valley’s first trip to the Central League playoffs. Upper Darby (11-5 in the league) is the fourth seed. Had Conestoga won, it would’ve been the fourth seed and Upper Darby the third with Garnet Valley dropping to fifth.

Brennan scored 11 points, as did Greg Vlassopoulos. Austin Laughlin led the way with 15 points, and Connor O’Brien chipped in eight.

Also in the Central League:

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

Webmaster note:  Delcohoops.com will LIVE broadcast the Central League Basketball Championship games for both girl’s and boy’s teams this Tuesday night. First broadcast will begin at 5:45 PM. 

By Matthew DeGeorge

As Haverford School’s bright start to the 2016-17 season dimmed, coach Bernie Rogers knew in the back of his mind that the process could allow more than one chance at a championship.

Last year’s Fords won 16 of their first 17 games, but the season pivoted in a five-overtime setback at the hands of Germantown Academy Jan. 24. From there, the Fords lost three straight, five of six and six of their final nine to spiral out of the lead in the Inter-Ac, watching GA and archrival Episcopal Academy split the crown and the Fords drought stretch to 17 seasons.

But Rogers knew he had not a single senior among his rotation. He knew, in his second year in charge, that there was more room to grow.

“I think last year we were on such a roll, then we lost the five-overtime game, then lost again, and it’s almost like it’s the first time we got punched in the face,” Rogers said Wednesday. “I think this year when we faced adversity in games, it didn’t bother us.”

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