Jeremy Horn (above) had 17 points and seven rebounds as Lower Merion dominated Conestoga, 68-45, to advance to the District 1 AAAA semifinals. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)
By Josh Verlin
Ever since his team got out to a hot start against J.P. McCaskey and cruised to a victory over the central Pa. powerhouse back in December, Lower Merion head coach Gregg Downer has been waiting to see his team play a complete 32 minutes.
His Aces couldn’t have picked a better time to finally put it all together than facing Central League archrival Conestoga in the District 1 AAAA quarterfinals.
Fueled by dreams of a semifinal at Temple University and two earlier defeats at the hands of the Pioneers, Lower Merion came out with its best start of the season and cruised to a 68-45 win in front of a packed house at Kobe Bryant Gymnasium.
“It feels crazy, going into the season nobody thought that we had a chance to make it here,” senior guard K.J. Helton said in a jubilant Aces locker room afterwards. “Proved a lot of doubters wrong, it feels great.”
Lower Merion, the No. 11 seed in the tournament, advances to the semifinals to take on No. 2 seed Plymouth Whitemarsh.