Mani Sajid (above) and Plymouth Whitemarsh are at Lower Merion. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)
By Josh Verlin
We’re on to the District 1 6A boys semifinals. All four teams left — Lower Merion, Coatesville, Conestoga and Plymouth Whitemarsh — are amongst the district’s top five seeds, all with about equal chances to be playing for a district title on Friday night at Saint Joseph’s Hagan Arena (8:00 PM).
There are six 6A games on Tuesday night. Two of them are semifinals; two of them are PIAA qualifying games, Phoenixville/Bensalem and Methacton/Downingtown West all facing off for the final two spots out of District 1, with the winners of those games both safely in. And then there are two seeding games between four teams who have already locked in state berths but who are just playing for their spots on the bracket.
Here’s a look at all of those games:
Boys: District 1 6A Semifinals
1) Lower Merion vs. 5) Plymouth Whitemarsh (7:00 PM)
What a surprise — Lower Merion and Plymouth Whitemarsh are deep in the District 1 tournament once again. Yes, we’ve certainly seen both Gregg Downer and Jim Donofrio do this time and time before, though they both took different paths to get here this season. Lower Merion won the district title last year, graduated most of its starting lineup — and finds itself two wins away from a repeat, Downer and his staff pulling off another terrific coaching job with an Aces group that’s on a roll.