Month: February 2017

Valley Forge Military Academy put 100 points on Calvary Christian in the first round of the BAL playoffs.

That did not bode well for Delco Christian, which had to face the top-seeded Trojans in Tuesday’s quarterfinal round.

Well, the Knights managed to hang in with the Trojans for three of the four quarters. It was the second quarter that proved costly in a 67-50 loss to VFMA.

The Trojans outscored the Knights, 22-7, in the second quarter to take a 37-20 lead into the locker room at halftime. That was enough to send Valley Forge into Thursday’s semifinals against fourth-seeded Holy Ghost Prep, a 52-35 winner over MaST Charter.

Myles Bunyon led VFMA with a game-high 26 points. T.J. Tann returned to the lineup after missing several games with a knee injury and paced DC with 19 points.

By Matthew De George

For four years, John Harrar said Sunday, he’s been waiting for an opportunity like what was before him and his Strath Haven teammates: A Central League title shot, with the bonus of a little retribution against the Conestoga albatross that has plagued the last two resurgent years.

Harrar channeled every ounce of anticipation into a magisterial performance that left the Pioneers floored.

Harrar scored 25 points to go with 17 rebounds, two assists and two blocks as the Panthers controlled Conestoga, 62-54, in the Central League semis at Harriton High School Sunday.

The win moves fourth-seeded Haven (14-9) into Tuesday’s final against Lower Merion, which topped Penncrest, 53-51, in the nightcap. Tipoff at Marple Newtown is 8 p.m.

If Harrar played like a man possessed, then it was history monopolizing his attention. The Panthers lost in overtime to Conestoga this season and by one point in their regular-season meeting last year. At this stage of the Central League playoffs a season ago, the Pioneers clipped a 19-3 Panthers team, 42-40.

Six days later, Haven’s season abruptly ended in the first round of the District 1 tournament.

(click on this link for the full article)

(Webmaster’s note: The Strath Haven vs Lower Merion Central League Championship game is our Game-of-the-Week and can be heard LIVE Tuesday night. Click on our link on the left side of this page.)

By Zach Drapkin

With 8.4 seconds to go in a tie game, Lower Merion head coach Gregg Downer knew exactly whose number he was going to call.

Having held for the final shot, the Aces put the ball in the hands of senior wing Terrell Jones to break the deadlock with Penncrest and send them to the Central League championship game.

“You try to get your best player the ball in that situation,” Downer said. “He’s our best player and you try to give him the opportunity to make a play.”

After inbounding the ball to point guard Steve Payne, Jones dashed to the left wing, circled back behind Payne to take the dribble-handoff, and darted towards the lane.

He was supposed to take it to the rim, but with a Penncrest defender draped all over him, Jones decided to pull up and, falling backward, let one fly.

“It’s not my first time being around last-second shots, so I felt confident,” Jones said. “Whenever I got an open look, I was going to shoot it.”

The shot flew through the net just as the clock hit zero.

(click on this link for the full article)

(Webmaster’s note: The Lower Merion vs Strath Haven Central League Championship game is our Game-of-the-Week and can be heard LIVE Tuesday night. Click on our link on the left side of this page.)

 

By Matt Smith

Katie Mayock was not on the Conestoga team that lost to Springfield in last season’s Central League semifinal.

“There was a huge amount of revenge,” said Mayock, who transferred from Academy of Notre Dame.

Mayock did her part to ensure the Pioneers would not experience a bout of déjà vu Sunday afternoon at Harriton. The 6-4 junior center scored 14 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, dished two assists, had two blocks and made two steals in the Pioneers’ 34-25 victory.

Conestoga (20-3) will play Garnet Valley (20-2), which finished the regular season unbeaten in the Central League, for the championship Tuesday at Marple Newtown. Springfield (19-4) will have to wait more than a week to play its next game in the opening round of the District 1 Class 5A tournament. The Cougars earned the No. 1 seed.

Mayock asserted herself after halftime following a relatively quiet first half. She scored nine points and hauled in seven rebounds in the second half, when the Pioneers outscored the Cougars, 21-11.

(click on this link for the full article)

(Webmaster’s note: The Conestoga vs Garnet Valley Central League Championship game is our Game-of-the-Week and can be heard LIVE Tuesday night. Click on our link on the left side of this page.)

By Matthew De George

AJ Hoggard led a balanced attack with 14 points and dealt three assists as Archbishop Carroll closed out the Catholic League boys basketball regular season in dominant fashion Sunday afternoon, rolling to a 68-45 victory at Conwell-Egan.

Colin Daly added a dozen points, Khari Williams contributed 10 points and five rebounds, Justin Anderson checked in with eight points and five boards, and Jesse McPherson was a force in the paint — grabbing seven rebounds and blocking six shots to go along with his six points.

The Patriots (15-7 overall, 7-6 league) will open the PCL playoffs as the No. 7 seed Wednesday when they host No. 10 seed La Salle.

Bonner & Prendergast 74, Cardinal O’Hara 47 >> Justin Gans scored 16, Tymir Cooper netted 13 and Dylan Higgins and Ajiri Johnson added 10 points apiece as the Friars prepped for postseason play with an impressive performance.

Jaye’lyn Peebles led all scorers with 17 points for O’Hara, but it’s Bonner — as the No 8 seed — that will host Wednesday night’s Catholic League opening-round clash with No. 9 seed Conwell-Egan.

By Matthew De George

The District 1 Class 5A boys basketball tournament will feature six Delaware County schools. Somehow, the round of 16 games to be played Wednesday, Feb. 22 won’t include any of those teams encountering each other.

Via the final district power rankings released Sunday, Delco’s representation in 5A is perfectly staggered for teams to avoid each other, while Friday’s opening round of the 6A bracket includes both Delco qualifiers earning home games.
Chester (17-5) is the top seed in 5A and will host Upper Moreland in the first round on Feb. 22. Penncrest (16-6) is third, setting up an all-Central League affair with No. 14 Harriton.

The other four teams hit the road. Ninth-seeded Strath Haven (13-9) visits No. 8 Upper Merion. No. 10 Springfield (13-9) gets No. 7 Holy Ghost Prep. Glen Mills (12-10) ventures to West Chester Rustin as the 12 seed, while No. 13 Academy Park (12-10) meets Bishop Shanahan.

Game times will be made official when the brackets are Monday.

Marple Newtown (10-12) finished 17th, just outside the 16-team field.

(click on this link for the full article)

 

   

By Delcohoops.com Staff

 

Tuesday, February 14th – Marple Newtown High School – Admission $5.00 

Both championship games will be broadcast LIVE on Delcohoops.com!

6:00  Girl’s  Championship

Conestoga vs Garnet Valley

8:00  Boy’s Championship

Lower Merion vs Strath Haven

If you can’t make the game you can listen to it LIVE right here on Delcohoops.com.  The Girl’s game broadcast will start at 5:45 and the Boy’s game broadcast should start at 7:45.  We will produce them as two different broadcasts. 

 

 

By Matthew De George

Way back in November, when Wayne Jones inquired about his son trying out for the freshman boys basketball team at Interboro, varsity coach Billy Rowe had other ideas.

With a staff grounded in special education, Rowe took one look at Colin — who has Down syndrome and a steadfast passion for hoops — and offered Wayne a different path. He’ll be with us on varsity, Rowe said, on the practice court every day and on the bench as a manager. As for playing time, Rowe assured Wayne they’d figure out something down the road.

That path reached a touching milestone Saturday when Jones, a freshman guard, scored not one but two baskets, starting and ending a nonleague game with Sun Valley, in what went down as a 66-56 Bucs loss.

That fact occupied secondary importance to the throng of family and friends — about 70 in total, enough to sell out the Sun Valley concessions stands early — that packed the stands for a matinee between two sub-.500 teams playing out the string. Wielding signs and oversized pictures of Colin’s face, the fan section roared at every basket Jones made in pregame layup lanes (at a pretty healthy percentage). The spectators erupted when he hit his in-game field goals, Jones returning to the bench to a pack of high fives and hugs.

“It felt awesome,” Colin said. “I had fun. It was like Steph Curry,” his favorite player.

(click on this link for the full article)

 

By Josh Verlin  & Anthony Dabbundo

The margin for error in the Central League playoffs is razor-thin.

Take a look at Lower Merion, which enters Sunday’s semifinal against Penncrest (4:00 PM, Harriton HS) on a five-game winning streak. The Aces, which earned the No. 2 seed in the Central with a 13-3 record (15-7 overall), beat regular-season champ Conestoga and the No. 3 seed Penncrest to begin that run, though each was about as close as it gets — Lower Merion won both games by identical 58-56 scores.

So despite holding wins over the other three playoff teams, the Aces know they don’t hold any more of an edge than any of their opponents.

“The four teams that go to the league semis, they all have a chance and our hope is to somehow survive and get to the championship,” Lower Merion coach Gregg Downer said. “And of course if you’re in the championship, anything can happen.”

One of the league’s traditional powerhouses, Lower Merion hasn’t won the Central League in three years, as Ridley has taken each of the last two titles.

If the Aces hope to get past the Lions and into Tuesday’s championship, they’ll have to limit the effectiveness of Penncrest junior Tyler Norwood. The do-everything 5-foot-10 guard is one of the favorites for the league’s MVP award; he scored 22 on Lower Merion the first time around.

(click on this link for the full article)

 

By Matthew De George

Four possessions into the second quarter Saturday, Sun Valley head coach Steve Maloney called a timeout to reprimand his players’ hasty play.

The Vanguards were controlling the early stages of what would become a 66-56 nonleague win over Interboro, but the key to that control would be dictating a more measured pace. The response from his charges was a run of 15 points in the last six minutes of the half, followed by 23 points in the third quarter.

The pivot illustrates the two sides of the Vanguards as they wrap up a 6-16 season: The talent they possess, albeit with a youthful edge.

Sun Valley finishes with two wins in its last five games, but the other three losses were by seven points or fewer. That’s reason for short-term frustration and long-term hope.

“I think a big thing we really need to work on is finishing games,” sophomore captain Vinny DeAngelo said. “We were in a lot of games and it got to the third or fourth quarter, and we let it get away. As a young team, I think we can really build on winning a lot of games by finishing.”

(click on this link for the full article)