Only Northeastern, York High left standing in PIAA boys’ basketball state action


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.

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Steve Payne’s OT bucket sends Lower Merion into second round

Steve Payne of Lower Merion goes through the Garnet Valley defense for a basket in a January game. Photo by CHARLES FOX / Staff Photographer

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.

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Corbett, Lincoln send a stern message in ousting Upper Darby

Photo by: Digital First Media

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.”

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Constitution presses issue to run past Delco Christian

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.

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Penncrest’s ‘other guys’ help sink Ship

Photo by: Digital First Media


By Matthew DeGeorge

Malcolm Williams’ voice trails off in a bout of sheepishness. Even at the lower volume, the point comes across.“When he’s not on, we can score,” Williams said. “A lot of people think we can’t score. But we can.”

The “he” for the last two seasons — the last two District 1 Class 5A championships — has been Tyler Norwood. And for three quarters Friday night at Interboro, Norwood wasn’t exactly Norwood.

But Penncrest’s winning ways flowed on without interruption.

Norwood weathered those rocky quarters to finish with 20 points. But it was the defense of the Lions, their dogged rebounding and ability to share the ball that made the difference in a 49-36 win over Shippensburg, the 10 seed out of District 3, in the first round of the PIAA Class 5A Tournament.

Williams set the tone early for the Lions (26-3), who notched the program’s first PIAA victory since 1968 and usurped that team’s record for most wins in a season in school history. Williams scored eight of his nine points in the first half, including seven in the first quarter, tossing in a pair of jump shots. His 3-pointer in the first, with the Ship defense giving him acres of space and daring him to shoot, was the first in his varsity career, in game no. 58.

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Taylor and Chester buck odds again in state debut

By Bob Grotz

Right or wrong, Chester High basketball coaches are measured by how they fare in state competition.And so it is with Keith Taylor, the program’s rookie head coach.

Taylor didn’t just get the Clippers ready to battle Martin Luther King and 6-foot-9 giant William McNair Jr. Friday night in the first round of the PIAA Class 5A playoffs at South Philly High. He got them to play the way he did when the Clippers were a force in the state playoffs.

The Clippers scored almost half of their points on hustle plays in a 61-47 upset of the Cougars, who still are wondering how in the world they could be so much bigger, and so less effective.

Whether the Chester points came from loose balls, offensive rebounds or steals, backdoor inbounds passes or blind look passes, the Clippers (19-8) turned a four-point halftime lead into a 15-point cushion before spending the last 3:37 largely at the free throw line.

Webmaster’s note: The Abington Heights vs Chester PIAA 5A Round 2 playoff game is this week’s Game-of-the-Week and can be heard LIVE right here on Delcohoops.com. Our game broadcast will begin at 7:45 pm.

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