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By Ed Morlock

Dana “Binky” Johnson is a name synonymous with winning when it comes to Norristown basketball.He played varsity point guard for four years for the Eagles and started three years. He won league championships in 1989 and 1990 and a District 1 title in 1990.

He tallied another win Monday night.

In Johnson’s first home game as head coach, he led Norristown to a 53-41 win over Academy Park to improve their record to 2-1 early on in his first season at the helm.

Johnson, who graduated from Norristown in 1990 before playing college ball at Canisius College, preaches hard work and the five-P philosophy to his players.

“Our core values are play hard, play smart, play together,” he said. “They’re our core court values. We base that upon the five-P philosophy — our philosophy is proper preparation prevents poor performance. What we believe in is the fact that preparation builds confidence. With confidence, the sky is the limit.”

(click on this link for the full story)

By Matt De George

The plan Sunday afternoon was equally clear for Bonner & Prendergast and Malvern Prep.With its twin big men, Ajiri Johnson and Tariq Ingraham, presiding over the lane, Bonner’s advantage would reside in the half-court offense. Malvern’s hopes rested on tiring out those big legs by pushing the tempo and running the court.

No matter how much Malvern ran, though, they couldn’t escape the instant offense created by Bonner’s towering duo, which combined for 34 points and 19 rebounds in an 83-65 thrashing at the Performance Refinement West Chester Showcase.

By turns, the pair divvied up the domination duties. Ingraham poured in eight of his 10 points in the first half. He added nine boards and three assists with his exemplary low-post passing vision.

(click on this link for the full story)

By Matt De George

There was a little smirk and a lot of hedging from AJ Hoggard Sunday evening.For the Archbishop Carroll sophomore, playing against his hometown of Coatesville was just another game … but one where the layers tacked on made it not exactly just another game. The familiarity with friends and former teammates like Dapree Bryant and Jahmir Brickus (the latter of whom Hoggard carpooled home from their respective games) added something unique.

On the court, Hoggard didn’t try to do too much, and as the All-Delco point guard usually does, he discovered the right balance.

Hoggard took control early with Carroll flailing to sort out its halfcourt offense, then deferred late as others stepped up in a 70-55 win at the Performance Refinement West Chester Showcase.

(click on this link for the full story)

By Josh Verlin

Archbishop Carroll head coach Paul Romanczuk has been waiting all offseason to see who will step up in the scoring column for his Patriots alongside impressive sophomore A.J. Hoggard.

With his Patriots locked in a dead-even matchup with Coatesville at West Chester University’s Hollinger Fieldhouse on Sunday afternoon, Hoggard needed some help.

Keyon Butler, Luke House and Devon Ferrero answered the call.

Though Hoggard led the way with 19 points, it was 21 fourth-quarter points from Butler, House and Ferrero that proved to be the difference-maker in a 70-55 Carroll win.

(click on this link for the full article including the Bonner-Prendie game)

By Matt De George

Ryan Morris didn’t have to put into words what he and his Strath Haven teammates were feeling before Saturday afternoon’s tilt with Academy Park.Suffice it to say they weren’t happy, 18 hours removed from Friday’s 20-point shellacking at the hands of Avon Grove in which only one player, senior forward Cooper Driscoll, made more than one field goal. Though Morris didn’t put it into words, his actions spoke loudly enough.

Morris scored 15 points in the first quarter and 29 for the game as Strath Haven notched the first win for coach Dan Spangler in a 66-64 decision.

“I think there was a lot of nerves last night,” Morris said. “We’ve been playing together for a while, but the first game of the year, it didn’t go the way we wanted. Today, we wanted to change our energy, and it was all about energy, attitude and limiting turnovers. Those were the three pillars of our success. So we just wanted to move on from last night, (have a) fresh start and get a W.”

(click on this link for more game stories and scores)

By Owen McCue

The fourth annual Fred Picket Classic took place at Chester High School on Saturday night. Grady (N.Y.) took down Simon Gratz in the first. Lower Merion took control out of the gate and held off a late Chester run to pick up a 57-52 victory in the second game.

Here are some storylines from the event: (click on this link for more game stories and scores)