Month: February 2017

By Anthony Dabbundo

It seemed as though Germantown Academy’s run of four straight Inter-Ac titles was coming to an end when the Patriots were trailing by 19 midway through the second quarter against Malvern Prep back on January 20.

After winning the league title each of their first three seasons at GA, that’s not how this group of seniors — led by Kyle McCloskey and Evan-Eric Longino — wanted to go out.

The Patriots battled back to win that game and the next four — none more important than Friday night, when they overcame an early first-quarter deficit to defeat Episcopal Academy 54-50.

“We just wanted to come out and give ourselves a shot to stay in this race,” Patriots’ head coach Jim Fenerty said.

Germantown Academy (18-6, 7-2) now finds itself sitting tied with Episcopal (14-10, 7-2) at the top of the Inter-Ac standings. With the two teams having split their two regular season meetings, they will share the league title if both teams win Tuesday night in the league finale.

Just a few short weeks ago, it seemed as though the Patriots were out of it.

“We were staring down the barrel at our hopes to win the Inter-Ac,” McCloskey said. “We knew every single game after that was a must-win if we wanted to win the Inter-Ac.”

(click on this link for the full article)

 

By Michael Bullock

Here’s installment No. 8 of City of Basketball Love’s state rankings, a package that will appear on Mondays throughout the remainder of the regular season.

We did showcase a set of preseason rankings leading up to the opening weekend (Dec. 9-10) and those groupings served as a starting point — since we’re going to continue to shuffle things around after each weekly cycle.

Appearing below are all six of our top 10s, with PIAA district and this season’s record displayed in parentheses. Only those schools competing for PIAA state championships are eligible for ranking purposes.

(click on this link for the full list of power rankings)

 

By Matthew De George

At first blush, the starting five Tony Bacon assembled for Glen Mills’ senior day seemed little more than ceremonial.

Conveniently, Bacon had five seniors to honor Saturday. Less convenient was that four are forwards, and the quintet excluded both of Glen Mills’ tempo-controlling guards against a backcourt-heavy Upper Darby squad.

So how long was the first shift’s leash in a game of vital importance for the Battling Bulls’ playoff aspirations? Try the whole first quarter, a blitzkrieg that ensured Glen Mills never trailed in a 52-41 nonleague victory.

When a platoon of reserves entered to start the second, the Bulls held a 15-6 advantage. And the tone set early would resonate throughout the game.

“It was fun,” senior forward Myron Sanders said. “We just had fun. We played up and down the court, we outhustled, we all worked hard and we did it.”

Sanders’ early intensity stretched the full four quarters. He led all scorers with a season-high 23 points and grabbed six rebounds. Most importantly, though, the low-post grit that Bacon deployed from the opening tip set the stage for a 50-21 domination on the boards that helped Glen Mills (11-8) weather a sub-par shooting day.

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

By Matthew De George

Lower Merion’s kill-the-clock strategy was going swimmingly, right up until the moment that Steve Payne released his free throw on the front end of a one-and-one.

Up six points on Ridley with 3:04 to play Friday, the Aces had ground down a minute of clock and earned a trip to the line for their point guard to extend the cushion to eight. But Payne’s shot clanged off the left side of the iron and fell toward the floor, presumably for Ridley to jet up the floor for a chance to cut the deficit to one possession.

Instead, Terrell Jones swooped in, grabbed the rebound and turned the tide of momentum irretrievably back to the Aces.

Jones’ putback keyed an 11-2 run in the fourth quarter to help Lower Merion survive with a 63-62 margin over Ridley.

“That’s a really big momentum play,” Payne said. “That’s crazy. That was the game-changer, honestly.”

The back-breaking lay-in was compounded by a Noah Fennell steal on the next possession and a behind-the-back bounce pass to Payne for a layup in transition that put the Aces up double-digits at 54-44.

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

By Josh Verlin

Several weeks back, Father Judge coach Sean Tait brought a few certain players into his office at the school, where he also teaches social studies.

Not included were his seniors and leading scorers Marc Rodriguez, Mike Power and Matt O’Conner. Instead, Tait wanted to talk to his role players: starters junior Drew Riley and sophomore Shane Dooley, as well as a few underclassman reserves.

After Judge had begun Catholic League play with eye-opening wins over Archbishop Wood and St. Joseph’s Prep, the Crusaders hadn’t looked quite as steady in their next few games, and Tait knew his stars needed some support.

“I said ‘look guys, in those wins against (Wood and Prep), you did something special, you made a 3, stepped up, got a rebound,’” Tait said. “‘These last few games you’ve just stood around and watched Marc, Matt and Mike, and we need you to do a little extra.’”

(click on this link for the full article)

 

By Aaron Carter

No athlete wants to lead the team that allows a dynasty to crumble.

And make no mistake about it, Germantown Academy’s basketball program has reigned supreme in the Inter-Ac long enough to be considered dynastic.

Friday night’s 54-50 triumph at Episcopal Academy might have ensured the four-time defending champions a rare championship coup.

“One of the things we said to them before the game was, ‘We’ve been in this spot before,’ ” said Patriots coach Jim Fenerty.

Well, seniors Evan-Eric Longino and Kyle McCloskey had been.

Both had started games as freshmen, and both were desperate not to break GA’s string of championships.

“This is huge,” said McCloskey, who led all scorers with 22 points. “We’ve played in these games for four years now with crowds coming at you and saying stuff about you, and you learn how to zone it out.”

(click on this link for the full article)

 

Freshman Jackson Piotrowski is quickly making a name for himself.

Piotrowski scored a career-high 19 points as Delco Christian topped Morrisville, 39-22, in a Bicentennial League game Friday night.

Piotrowski helped DC pull away after a halftime break that they entered trailing 11-10 after a plodding first 16 minutes of basketball. The Knights went 19-for-26 from the line to seal the victory.

Jordan Parks added nine points, and Tyler Penley was 7-for-7 at the charity stripe for DC (12-8, 10-6).

Also in the Bicentennial League:

Faith Christian 78, Christian Academy 46 >> Sam Geathers scored 14 points and Tehron Phillips added 13, but TCA had no answer for 6-foot-8 Zeke Snowden, who accounted for 30 points.

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

By CoBL Staff

The penultimate Friday of the high school hoops regular season is upon us.

Here are some noteworthy games in the area this evening, both for league races and district playoff seeding (home team listed first):

Ridley vs. Lower Merion (7:00 PM)
As of the latest District 1 playoff rankings released Monday, Ridley (10-9, 7-6 Central League) was No. 23 out of 24 teams that will qualify for the 6A tournament, but that was before the Raiders lost to Strath Haven on Tuesday. They’ll likely need to take two of three against Lower Merion (12-7, 10-3), Garnet Valley and Upper Darby to close out the year, and then wait anxiously for the official rankings to be released. The Aces, meanwhile, are secure in a spot in the Central League playoffs, sitting one game behind league leader Conestoga with three games to play. Lower Merion also could use a boost in the district rankings, sitting No. 10 in the latest update; that’s enough for a home game in the first round of the bracket but a top-eight seed earns them a first-round bye and the ability to host a second-round game.

(click on this link for the other six big games tonight)

 

By Matthew De George

Marple Newtown’s tear keeps gaining momentum, and Mark Dever is the prime reason.

Dever scored 27 points Thursday as Marple Newtown tipped Strath Haven, 63-55, for a third straight win.

Dever also corralled six rebounds and buried six 3-pointers. Mike May posted a double-double with 14 rebounds and 10 assists for Marple (8-11, 5-9 Central League).

John Harrar led Strath Haven with 18 points, while Cooper Driscoll netted 10.

In the Del Val League:

Penn Wood 65, Glen Mills 51 >> Vincent Smalls and Sharif Goff scored 15 points apiece, and Kairi Jones added a dozen points for the Patriots (13-6, 7-1).

Kenyon Cooper led Glen Mills (10-9, 5-4) with 16 points.

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

By Delcohoops.com Staff

We’re getting very close to PIAA District One playoff time!  Want to know where your favorite team(s) rank in the current ratings?  Simply click on the link below and it will take you to the latest rankings on the PIAA District One web site!

(click on this link for PIAA District One power rankings)