By Matthew De George
Damir Fleming scored 12 of his game-high 20 points in the first quarter as Ridley capped its season with a 61-51 win over Upper Darby.
Fleming’s early offense helped the Green Raiders (11-11 overall, 8-8 Central League) run out to a 17-5 lead that they wouldn’t relinquish.
Liam Thompson scored 12 points, and Jimmy Bramwell added 10 for Ridley.
Noah Walker led Upper Darby (6-15, 5-11) with 15 points. Magd Adelwehab added 13, and Bayir Hodges tallied 10.
In nonleague action:
By Josh Verlin
All season long, Penncrest has relied on Tyler Norwood to carry the load offensively. And it was a job the junior guard filled well, leading his team to a berth in the Central League playoffs as well as a top-5 seed in the District 1 5A playoffs.
Justin Ross (above) and Penncrest overcame a tough night from the floor to beat Marple Newtown. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)
But Lions head coach Mike Doyle was still waiting to see how his team would respond when his star guard finally had an off night from the floor. And on the final game of the regular season, he got the answer he wanted.
With the whole Penncrest squad struggling to hit shots, the Lions buckled down on the defensive end against a desperate Marple Newtown squad en route to a 43-28 road win.
“It’s a huge win for us,” Doyle said. “Marple had just won four in a row, they’d just beat some high-level teams.
(click on this link for the full article)
By Matthew De George
Colin Daly didn’t give a second thought to his routine after missing the first of what he thought to be two free throws early in the fourth quarter Friday night.
Nonchalantly, with Daly assuming a second attempt was coming after he was hacked under the rim, the Archbishop Carroll senior guard calmly took two steps into the lane, grabbed the carom off back iron, unhindered by the players in the blocks. Instead of returning the ball to the ref, Daly casually flicked his wrists, sending the ball into the hoop.
Archbishop Carroll’s Jesse McPherson dunks for two points over Bonner & Prendergast defenders, from left, Steven Perretta, Dylan Higgins and Tymir Cooper, as Carroll clammed Bonner, 73-50, Friday. (Digital First Media/Pete Bannan)
About the time the shot swished home, everyone else on the court realized that Daly’s post-shot drill was with a live ball, and that he had cashed in a free offensive board and second-chance bucket offered by a Bonner & Prendergast team caught unaware.
“I think the announcer said two shots or I don’t know why I thought it was two shots,” Daly said. “So I was just doing a practice shot to make the second one, but it was one-and-one so it counted. No one boxed me out.”
(click on this link for the full article)
By Matthew De George
It took until overtime for Springfield’s offense to really get humming Friday.
Kyle Sullivan hit a pair of 3-pointers in the extra session as the Cougars erupted for 22 points in overtime of a 71-60 win over Radnor in Central League boys basketball.
Sullivan also tied the game with two free throws with 35 seconds left in regulation. Sullivan and Great Orjih registered 17 points apiece for Springfield (13-9, 9-7). Kyle Long added nine points, five rebounds and three assists. Springfield was 20-for-24 from the line, including 10-for-12 in overtime.
Vernon Harper led Radnor (8-14, 4-12) with 17 points. Mason Ressler chipped in 15.
By Matthew De George
Academy Park nearly completed the second installment of a league-upending double Friday night. But Jay Fitzgerald and Penn Wood had other ideas.
Fitzgerald scored 11 points, including a 3-pointer to put Penn Wood up for good in overtime as it eked out a 60-55 win to clinch the Del Val title.
Vincent Smalls led Penn Wood with 15 points, and Rashaad Anderson added 14. Pernell Ghee also checked in with 11 points for the Patriots (15-6 overall, 9-1 league).
But Academy Park didn’t go quietly. After hitting a 3-pointer at the buzzer Tuesday (via Marq Greenwood) to tip Chester and hand Penn Wood the inside line to an outright title, Nasiem Harley did the honors Friday with a buzzer-beating triple that sent the game to overtime knotted at 51. Harley again led AP with 19 points.
Nick Simmons and Dwayne Leslie added 10 points apiece for Academy Park (12-10, 6-4).
By Delcohoops.com Staff
Here are the Delco teams that appear to have made the playoffs based on current power rankings:
Class 5A (Top 16 make playoffs)
1. Chester (16-5, 11.116)
3. Penncrest (15-6, 9.608)
7. Strath Haven (13-8, 9.045)
10. Springfield-Delco (12-9, 8.395)
12. Academy Park (12-9, 7.925)
13. Glen Mills (12-9, 7.856)
Marple Newtown is #17 and Radnor is #18
Class 6A (Top 24 make playoffs)
9. Lower Merion (14-7, 10.357)
12. Penn Wood (14-6, 9.374)
16. Garnet Valley (14-7, 8.502)
Ridley is #26 and Upper Darby is #32
Radnor 62, Strath Haven 57
Mason Ressler’s 16 points gave the Raiders life in the playoff picture. Sami Ghazzi added 11 points, and Vernon Harper chipped in 10 for Radnor (8-13, 4-11).
John Harrar scored 21 of his game-high 23 points after halftime to go with 12 rebounds. Cooper Driscoll paired 15 points with 11 rebounds for Haven (13-8, 9-6).
(Webmaster’s note: The Radnor vs, Strath Haven game was our Game-of-the-Week and can be heard on our Archives link on the left hand side of the page.)
Marple Newtown 75, Harriton 68
Mark Dever scored 31 points to go with seven rebounds as the Tigers (10-11, 6-9) kept their playoff hopes alive.
Mike May added 18 points, and Luke Cantwell chipped in 14.
Conestoga 64, Haverford 50
Kevin DePrince (16 points) and Luke Verzella (14) contributed to a season-high for points, but it wasn’t enough for the Fords (1-20, 0-15).
Lower Merion 71, Upper Darby 41
Bayir Hodges scored 11 points, but 12 3-pointers (including four each from Steve Payne and Noah Fenell) doomed the Royals (6-14, 5-10).
By Matt Chandik
Cole Palis knew he that there was a chance that he’d be the guy to take the shot.
A tie game that’s in overtime isn’t the usual setting for sophomores to be stepping up, but Palis noticed that Ridley had been sending help defense to Garnet Valley sharpshooter Austin Laughlin all night. The Jaguars set up a pick and roll for Laughlin, and true to form, the Green Raiders sent an extra defender his way, which meant a wide-open Palis.
Cole Palis (above, vs. Lower Merion) hit the game-winning 3-pointer to lift Garnet Valley past Ridley. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)
No problem whatsoever.
He cooly drilled the 3-pointer with 39.4 seconds to go, Brandon Starr added a late free throw and Ridley settled for a 2-pointer instead of the long ball to cement Garnet Valley’s 61-60 overtime win.
If Ridley can’t bounce back on Thursday with a win over Upper Darby, that more than likely seals its fate on the outside of the District 1 6A tournament. They were in the final qualification spot (No. 24) in the latest update on Monday, but several teams below them still have opportunities to jump them with wins.
(click on this link for the full article)
By Matthew De George
Even without leading scorer Nick Simmons, Academy Park managed to impact the Del Val League title race Tuesday, thanks in large part to Marq Greenwood.
Greenwood hit the game-winning 3-pointer with three seconds left as Academy Park defeated Chester for a second time in three years, 69-66.
Greenwood scored 14 points, as did Shermik Lofton, who grabbed 10 rebounds. Nasiem Harley led the way with 19 points for Academy Park (12-9, 6-3 Del Val), which was playing without Simmons after two technical fouls in Saturday’s game.
Jamar Sudan scored 21 points for Chester, while Ahrod Carter added 20. The loss means Chester (16-5, 7-2) cedes control of its destiny in the league title picture. The Clippers now need a win Thursday against Glen Mills and a loss by Penn Wood, which clinched a share of the title Tuesday.
(click on this link for more game stories and scores)
By Matthew De George
With Archbishop Carroll desperate to halt a four-game skid, Mark Bradshaw picked an ideal time to have a career game Sunday.
Bradshaw scored a career-best 24 points, including a layup with 10 seconds left in regulation to push the game to overtime, as Carroll survived with a 68-65 victory over Lansdale Catholic in double OT.
Sunday was just Bradshaw’s second double-figures game of the season; he added 12 rebounds.
The Patriots (13-7, 5-6 Catholic League) squandered a six-point lead to start the fourth quarter of a back-and-forth affair, requiring Bradshaw’s heroics to push the game to the extra frame. Carroll led by three points late in the first overtime before Mike Ottomano hit one of his six 3-pointers to knot the score.
In the second OT, Justin Anderson canned a 3-pointer to put Carroll up five. But four missed free throws left the door open for the Crusaders, but they couldn’t capitalize.
Anderson scored 15 points to go with five assists and six rebounds. Colin Daly contributed 15 points and seven rebounds for Carroll.
Ottomano finished with 22 points for LC. Starkey Gabel added 18 points, and Jack Kusters provided 13.
