By Jack McCaffery
The season flipping to a serious point, Sun Valley basketball coach Steve Maloney had an idea of what to expect from West Chester Rustin Tuesday night.
He also had a solution: Wait it out.
What the Vanguards braced for, and what they would see, was the latest in a recent series of gimmick defenses against Chris Kwaidah, the smooth-shooting junior guard. So it would be, a box-and-one, played well enough to keep the Golden Knights competitive in a critical Ches-Mont American game.
Sun Valley’s Todd Harper being interviewed after the game.
What Sun Valley eventually enjoyed as a reward for its patience was two second-half three-pointers and a 6-for-6, never-hit-the-rim fourth-quarter foul-line display from Kwaidah to seal a 66-57 victory likely to have an impact on the District 1 Class 5A power ratings.
“He’s a game-changer,” Maloney said. “This is two games in a row that teams went to a box on us. We were able to push the basketball and get him a look. It was a momentum swing when he hit a three from the corner, and his three out of an inbounds play, and his free throws.
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Listen to Todd Harper’s interview on the archive below. It starts at the 1:30:36 mark.
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