Looking to watch some great basketball this weekend before the PIAA District 1 playoffs start?
Check out the games for the Boy’s and Girl’s Central League Championship games:
click on the bracket for a larger view
Need directions to get to one of the schools in the bracket? Check out our Delaware Cty Schools page.
Webmaster’s note: The Central League Boy’s and Girl’s Basketball Championships on February 11th will be audio broadcast LIVE right here on Delcohoops.com!
Radnor’s Jahmir Dixon fires a shot against Strath Haven in the fourth quarter Thursday. The Raiders hung on for a 48-46 victory. (Pete Bannan/MediaNews Group)
By Matthew DeGeorge
A year ago, the scoreboard at Radnor High School showed the same final score. But the teams involved could scarcely be in more different places a year on.
In the 2018-19 season finale, Radnor beat Strath Haven, 48-46, to clinch a District 1 Class 5A playoff berth. It paved the way for the Raiders to be dispatched by Unionville in the first round of the postseason and Haven to cap a moribund 3-19 season, leading to an offseason coaching change.
Thursday night, Radnor wound up on top, again by a 48-46 margin. But where last year’s combatants combined for a mere 14 wins, the total this year stands at 29 and counting. Both are in position to host District 1 Class 5A playoff games. Both qualified for the first installment of the extended Central League playoffs, to start Saturday.
And both face incalculably brighter horizons now then they did a year ago.
“It’s been a great four years,” said Radnor’s Colin Lane, one of seven Raiders celebrating senior night, a group that endured its three-win campaign as sophomores. “It’s been a great journey. We’re just going to keep getting better, keep getting stronger and keep going as a team.”
Webmaster’s note: The Central League Boy’s and Girl’s Basketball Championships on February 11th will be audio broadcast LIVE right here on Delcohoops.com!
Jack D’Entremont (32) goes up for a rebound during the first half of Radnor’s win over Strath Haven on Thursday night. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)
By Josh Verlin
Inside Radnor’s locker room, the same phrase gets written on the board no matter the situation: ‘one-game win streak.’
“It was written when we won eight in a row at the start of the season, and it’s the same thing when we hit that tough stretch in the middle, and it’s the same thing up there now,” said senior forward Jack D’Entremont, referencing the six losses in seven games that followed the Raiders’ unbeaten streak through the first three weeks of the season.
Coming down the stretch, Radnor needed a few one-game win streaks to rally for playoff positioning in the Central League, with a final opportunity coming on Thursday night at home against Strath Haven.
Win, and they’re into the league playoffs, with the added bonus of moving into a better spot for a home game in the first round of district playoffs. Lose, and not only might they miss out on the league playoffs, but it could be the last home game for a dedicated group of seniors.
Webmaster’s note: The Central League Boy’s and Girl’s Basketball Championships on February 11th will be audio broadcast LIVE right here on Delcohoops.com
Grant Sareyka scored 28 points Thursday to spark The Christian Academy to a 64-58 win over Morrisville and a perfect 16-0 Bicentennial League record.
Isaiah Mitchell and Sam Geathers scored 10 points apiece for the Crusaders.
Sareyka drilled three three-pointers for TCA, which elevated to 18-4 on the season.
Elsewhere in the Bicentennial:
Delco Christian 70, MaST Charter 42 >> The Knights trailed by one point after eight minutes, but outscored Charter the rest of the way, 57-28.
Jackson Piotrowski had a huge night, going off for 35 points to lead DC. Obinna Nwobodo added 14 points.
In Del Val action:
Amiri Stewart (above, in January) had 19 points as Carroll snapped a three-game PCL losing skid. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)
By Carter Filman
The Philadelphia Catholic League can be a brutal beast. It can be a quick turn around from playing a local power like Archbishop Ryan to a national powerhouse like Neumann Goretti or Roman Catholic.
With Archbishop Carroll in a spiral after dropping three straight, all it took was a text from a senior captain to coach Francis Bowe to get things back on track.
“[Amiri Stewart] texted me,” Bowe said. “It was refreshing and it was awesome, because you know I’ve been doing this now for about 13-14 years, how mature he was about it. A lot of seniors can say ‘screw this, I’m ready to go to college’… But he said, ‘coach we’re going to do something special, it’s not over yet.’”
And when Carroll needed something special, the senior captain delivered, scoring eight points in the final frame as the Patriots battled with and knocked off visiting Cardinal O’Hara 60-57. It was a much-needed victory for a team coming off a difficult loss to Archbishop Ryan.
Here are your rankings as of today, February 5, 2020:
click on the image for larger “easy-to-read” version
Penncrest’s #12 goes up for the shot in the Penncrest win last night. Photo by: Delcohoops/Mike Mayer
By Mike Mayer, Delcohoops.com
In a low scoring slug fest both Harriton and Penncrest ran down the court at lightening speeds shooting from everywhere but with more misses than hits. The pace of the game was very quick but shots went awry whether they were simple lay-ups that missed or NBA distance 3-point attempts which missed their mark.
Harriton shot only 33% from the field while Penncrest did a bit better at 38%.
No team led by more than 5 points the entire night with Penncrest finally sealing the win in the last two minutes with a four point lead.
Penncrest’s Aldan Carroll (at the 1:43:30 mark in the archive below) interviewed after the game by Brian Carroll (no relation) and Pete Fulginiti. Photo by: Delcohoops/Mike Mayer
Aidan Carroll hit four 3-pointers and tallied a career-high 20 points to go with three steals and five rebounds as the Lions (16-5, 10-5) pulled out a tight one late.
Marquis Tomlin added 10 points, and Saahir Lee chipped in eight.
Khayri Ransom led the Rams with 11 (but fouled-out mid 4th quarter) while Alex Torbeck was good for 9 points and Markus Bradley-Lowry for 8.
Webmaster’s note: Missed the game? Listen to the entire game on our archive file listed below. Go to our Broadcast Archives page for all game archives. The Central League Boy’s and Girl’s Basketball Championships on February 11th will be audio broadcast LIVE right here on Delcohoops.com!
Click on this icon for the complete Box Scores for this game!
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Will Higson (above) had a career night as Haverford topped Ridley on Tuesday night. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)
By Josh Verlin
Will Higson has gotten plenty used to playing with John Seidman over the years.
The two Haverford High School juniors go back before their freshman year on the Fords’ team, to their middle school days as seventh graders. That’s given Higson plenty of time to get to know Seidman, but also understand his game –– which is why the Fords’ 6-foot-2, 215-pound forward knows exactly what to do whenever Seidman starts to drive to the hoop.
“When I see him drive…I’ve seen that it’s tough to stop him when he gets a head of steam,” Higson said. “So the guy that’s guarding me usually has to come up and help, and I just know I’m going to be open after that.”
And Seidman knows it, too.
“I’ve been playing with (Will) for a while, I always trust him to catch it and he’s obviously good at finishing it, he doesn’t miss many,” he said. “And he makes his foul shots, that’s nice to have.”
Webmaster’s note: The Central League Boy’s and Girl’s Basketball Championships on February 11th will be audio broadcast LIVE right here on Delcohoops.com!
By Matthew DeGeorge
Akeem Taylor scored 24 points and Shaquan Horsey added a double-double in his starting debut Tuesday to spark Chester to its 29th straight Del Val League victory, an 81-27 decision over Interboro.
Horsey collected 14 points, 16 rebounds and five blocked shots for the Clippers (18-3, 8-0), who completed their third consecutive unbeaten season under coach Keith Taylor.
Donziar Ellis registered eight points and four steals for Chester.
Penn Wood 57, Chichester 55 >> Jeremiah Flynn’s tap-in of a missed foul shot just before the buzzer lifted the Patriots to the win.
The Eagles had the Patriots right where they wanted them.
Trailing by three points, Josh Hankins of Chi hit a trey knotting the game at 55 with four seconds left.
With 1.7 ticks left, the Patriots missed two free throw attempts, the second of which Flynn capitalized on for his eighth and ninth points.
Flynn had nine points, Shamir Baynes 19 for the Patriots.
Hankins netted 13 points, Paris Blackwell 14 for the Eagles (8-12, 2-5). Andrew Monroe added 10 rebounds and seven points, Hankins four assists.
In Bicentennial League action:
Lower Merion coach Gregg Downer (above) capped off an emotional few weeks with his 600th career victory. (Photo: Mark Jordan/CoBL)
By Mitchell Gladstone
Gregg Downer knew the significance of Tuesday night’s game. Yes, it was a chance for his Aces to lock up the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye in the Central League playoffs.
But it was also Downer’s first opportunity to get win No. 600. He just didn’t tell his players.
And though it took the entire 40 minutes, Lower Merion eked out a 41-39 victory on its home floor, holding off a late-charging Conestoga squad and overcoming a miserable second half of offense. Senior Eli Rothman stepped up with 16 points, stepping into the starting lineup and playing all 32 minutes as he shouldered the brunt of the Aces’ scoring.
“It’s great to be a part of the team that got him that 600th win,” senior James Simples said. “I just want to make Coach happy — he works hard, we work hard, and it makes us happy when we get the results.”
Webmaster’s note: The Central League Boy’s and Girl’s Basketball Championships on February 11th will be audio broadcast LIVE right here on Delcohoops.com!
