Williams, Arbogast get Penncrest back on track

Penncrest’s Matt Arbogast, right, shoots as Garnet Valley’s Neel Beniwal defends Wednesday at Kaufman Gymnasium. (Digital First Media/Pete Bannan)

By Matthew DeGeorge

Within four seconds Wednesday afternoon, Penncrest guard Marquis Tomlin took the tap from forward Malcolm Williams, charged the lane and earned a trip to the line. That’s four seconds for Penncrest, coming off three straight losses, to get two points and define one goal for the day: Bust a slump and nudge ahead of Garnet Valley, the team it entered one game behind in the Central League standings.

From that first sortie to the basket, the Lions did just that, and ruthlessly so. Near perfect days from Williams and Matt Arbogast helped Penncrest ends its slide with a 59-42 win over the Jags.

Though just one trip up the court, the Lions wasted no time in establishing what they wanted to do. They led 11-4 some 3½ minutes in, with all five starters scoring points. They were up 21-8 after a quarter, led by 11 at the break and never saw their lead trimmed to fewer than nine points the rest of the way.

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Chester wins 8 straight with win over Academy Park

Chester shoots from foul line in their victory over Academy Park. Photo by Delcohoops.com

By Dave Burman

The Chester High Clipper boys high school basketball team holds off a tough Academy Park squad, 67-61 in Sharon Hill. Clippers have won 8 straight and are now 12-4 on the season and 5-0 in the Del-Val.

Academy Park falls to 10-5 overall and 2-3 in the Del-Val League.

Chester now leads the all-time series between the teams 58-3.

Karell Watkins after-game interview with Dave Burman and Andrew Kaufman. Photo by Delcohoops.com

Super sophomore Karell Watkins led the Clippers with 18 points and 10 rebounds and was our Player-of-the Game and did an outstanding interview after the contest with yours truly and broadcast partner Andrew Kauffman.

5-11 senior guard Michael Smith had 16 for Chester. 6-3 senior Maddy DeJearnette with 14 for the Clippers.

Academy Park 6-0 senior Naseim Harley scored 24 points.

With Academy Park 3rd-year head boys basketball coach and fellow York College grad Frank Wolf (left), who is doing a tremendous job with the the program

By PAPrepLive

Karell Watkins posted another double-double of 16 points and 13 rebounds as the Clippers led by as many as 15 points and withstood the Knights’ late run to cut the spread to within one.Michael Smith added 16 points, Rahmaad DeJarnette tossed in 14 points and Akeem Taylor added 10 for the Clippers (12-4, 5-0) in their eighth consecutive win.

Naseim Harley led all scorers with 22 points, and Derrick Northern added 17 points for AP (10-5, 2-3).

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(Webmaster’s note: The Chester vs. Academy Park game was our Game-of-the-Week and can be heard in its entirety below or on our Archived Broadcasts link listed in the menu at the top of our page.)

Lundy-Byrd leads Chichester to upset win

Chichester’s Jamese Lundy-Byrd, seen last week against Glen Mills, scored 30 points Tuesday in a win over Penn Wood. (Digital First Media/Pete Bannan)

By PAPrepLive

Jamese Lundy-Byrd picked a great time to have a career day, making Penn Wood pay for every time they sent him to the line.

Lundy-Byrd scored a career-high 30 points as Chichester blew open a one-point game after three quarters to run away from Penn Wood, 78-59, in a big Del Val League upset Tuesday.

Chichester was 32-for-42 from the line. Twenty of those makes came from Lundy-Byrd on 25 trips to the charity stripe. Lundy-Byrd scored 16 points in a fourth quarter in which the Eagles outscored Penn Wood, 27-9. Penn Wood had four players foul out and was assessed four technical fouls.

Josh Hankins added 22 points, and Calvin Church paired 12 points with six assists for Chichester (3-14, 2-3 Del Val).

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Perretta’s 10 birthday treys sets record, boosts Bonner

Photo by: Digital First Media

By PAPrepLive

Mike Perretta saved the best game of his life for a special day.

Celebrating his 18th birthday, Perretta poured in 30 points on a Catholic League record 10 3-point field goals Monday as Bonner & Prendergast downed St. Joseph’s Prep, 86-63.

According to Tedsilary.com, the previous Catholic League record for 3-pointers in a game (nine) was held jointly by Bill Comminskey of Father Judge (1989), Neal McGee of the Prep (1992) and Tom Tobin of Archbishop Carroll (1993).

Isaiah Wong, the reigning Daily Times Player of the Year, reached the 1,000-point plateau as a Friar. The senior guard hit the mark in less than two seasons, having transferred to Bonner & Prendie prior to his junior year.

Elsewhere in the Catholic League:

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Chester comes into town and topples Penn Hills in local showcase

Penn Hills’ Tyree Spencer is blocked by Chester’s Akeem Tyalor, Jr. in Sunday’s game. Photo by Stephanie Strasburg/Post-Gazette

By Mike White

So how would one of the best teams in WPIAL boys basketball fare against a perennial power from near Philadelphia? Pretty good for one half, actually.

But then came the second half and Chester acted like … well, Chester.

On a frigid night outside, Chester turned up the heat in the second half Sunday night and went on to defeat Penn Hills, 84-77, in the Stand Against Violence Showcase at Woodland Hills.

The Showcase is a three-day event at Woodland Hills that will conclude Monday. Although some teams pulled out of the event because of the weather and some games were cancelled, 20 games still will be played. A number of the teams involved came from out of state.

Penn Hills is the defending WPIAL Class 6A champion and is the Post-Gazette’s No. 3 WPIAL Class 5A team this season. The Indians should challenge for a WPIAL title.

(click on this link for the full story)

 

Veteran Haverford adds on to Springfield’s growing pains

Haverford’s John Seidman (24) and Jake Ruane (21), seen in a game against Upper Darby last year, powered the Fords to a 66-36 win over Springfield Saturday. (Pete Bannan/Digital First Media)

By Matthew DeGeorge

In the two years since Springfield’s last visit to Haverford, the situations for coaches Kevin McCormick and Keith Heinerichs have flipped 180 degrees.Then, in December 2016, the Fords tasked a group of freshmen and sophomores with navigating what became a one-win season. The Cougars were on the path to a state tournament berth.

Two seasons later, as the pendulum of time and the vagaries of age-group cohorts have swung, the roles were diametrically reversed Saturday. On one side was Heinerichs with a team in District 1 Class 6A playoff position. On the other stood McCormick, before a bench lacking a senior, staring at a 15th straight loss.

After spotting the Fords 22 points, that loss fell duly into place, a 66-36 victory for Haverford in an odd, frame-shifted before-and-after portrait.

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