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By Matthew DeGeorge

The watch word uttered Friday from the Archbishop Carroll huddle, and reiterated by Luke House after the game, was “resilient.”

For most of the game, save for a slice of the end of the second quarter and start of the third, the Patriots played catch-up against Roman Catholic. But when Carroll fell behind by six in the fourth quarter on two different occasions, it twice summoned the resilience to get back on level terms.

In that department, however, Roman Catholic fared just a little better on the evening.

Lynn Greer III’s running layup with 37 seconds left was the final say in a 70-66 Catholic League thriller, one where Roman executed just one play more than the hosts.

The reason, by and large, was Seth Lundy. The junior wing scored a season-high 30 points, needing just 15 field goal attempts. He was 8-for-8 from the free-throw line on an evening where the Cahillites (10-5, 5-2) were a perfect 17-for-17 at the charity stripe.

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By Matthew DeGeorge

There are plenty of reasons why Garnet Valley sits at 12-4 and is projected as one of the eight teams to receive byes in the first round of the District 1 Class 6A playoffs. And among the most understated yet valuable is Greg Vlassopoulos.

Yes, Austin Laughlin is the team’s most prolific, most explosive scorer, averaging 21.1 points per game. And yes, Connor O’Brien’s long-range shooting makes him apt to go off at any time, while he’s also the only player on the team to have scored in double-figures each game this season.

But those two are granted the space to operate because of a dangerous tertiary threat like Vlassopoulos. And with Vlassopoulos contributing much more than just on the offensive end, he provides just enough rebounding and defense to allow Garnet Valley to outscore opponents in their free-wheeling style.

“He’s critical in a lot of ways,” coach Mike Brown said after last week’s win over Strath Haven. “He’s averaging over 12 points per game and as consistent as can be — probably the most consistent scorer on the team — but he’s also our second-leading rebounder. He rebounds a lot; he gets double-figure rebounds almost every game.

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By Matthew DeGeorge

The statistic was readily shared with Zach Crisler off La Salle’s iPad program, so he’s all too happy to pass it along.On 20 made baskets against Bonner & Prendergast Wednesday night, the Explorers handed out 13 assists, led by the five dimes that the 6-foot-9 Crisler distributed. When the junior forward, after a 61-50 win, opined that, “You couldn’t ask for a better team win that that,” he had the facts to back it up.

That’s before he got into specifics. About the no-look pass that Sean Simon tossed to Kahlil Diarrah for a corner 3-pointer that put La Salle up five in the fourth quarter. Or the pass that Diarrah, while falling out of bounds, directed volleyball-style toward Titus Beard for an open triple. Or Crisler threading a pass to Diarrah for a lay-in that put the Explorers (10-6, 3-4 Catholic League) up seven with three minutes to play and on the way to handing Bonner & Prendie (13-3, 6-1) its first league loss.

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By Matthew DeGeorge

It takes about 30 seconds after the coy, “you shouldn’t have” smile and silver balloons spelling out “200” recede into the distance for Mike Doyle to turn the conversation away from himself.

As the Penncrest coach recounts all the figures that led to the 199 wins before Tuesday’s 56-26 pasting of Ridley, the discussion meanders away from the coach’s contributions. It veers toward players and assistant coaches he’s been fortunate to work with. It ambles toward what Doyle calls his “classical training” as a coach, a path studded by notable mentors — Buddy Gardler at Cardinal O’Hara, Herb Magee at Philadelphia University, Jim Boyle and Phil Martelli at Saint Joseph’s.

And finally, Doyle finds himself at the point he really wants to sink his teeth into: How good was his team’s defense today, especially Justin Heidig?

“He was gold,” Doyle said, squarely rooted in his post-game wheelhouse. “He was unbelievable. He has really stuck with it and we were just waiting. I believed in him and knew he was ready for a breakout game.”

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By Matthew DeGeorge

At the halfway point of the Inter-Ac season, in search of its first league title since 1999, Haverford School is in the driver’s seat.

The Fords finished a perfect run through the first half of the league slate with a 60-48 win over Penn Charter Tuesday. Gavin Burke rediscovered his shooting touch to score 14 points, and Christian Ray chipped in 14. Christian Clover scored seven of his nine points in the first quarter as the Fords jumped out to a 21-8 league they would not relinquish.

Asim Richards chipped in 10 points for Haverford School (14-5, 5-0).

Also in the Inter-Ac:

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By Josh Verlin

Ever since he was a young boy, Harrison Klevan has wanted to play basketball for Lower Merion High School.

Now, he’s finally getting his chance to play a significant role for the Aces’ varsity squad — and he’s not letting it pass him by.

The senior guard has stepped up big-time for Lower Merion this season, playing a crucial role on a team that’s got Central League title aspirations, not to mention high hopes for the district and state tournaments as well.

After scoring a career-high 25 points in a win over Neshaminy on Sunday afternoon, the 6-foot-tall, 150-pound guard followed that up with a 15-point outing in a 77-69 win over Springfield (Delco.) on Tuesday evening.

“I’ve been an Aces fan for a while, so to be playing meaningful minutes for this team and producing has been really good,” he said. “Feels great.”

Born and raised in Lower Merion Township, Klevan says he’s attended basketball camps run by Aces coach Gregg Downer from the time he was four years old.

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