Author: delcohoops

Blaize Eldridge was in spectacular form Thursday night to help Sun Valley complete an amazing comeback in a Ches-Mont League tournament game.

Eldridge scored 33 points, pushing the Vanguards back from what was an early 20-point deficit, en route to a 62-58 win over Downingtown West.

Noah Griffin scored 13 points for the Vanguards, and Kaiden Robinson added 12. Sun Valley trailed, 24-4, early.  With the victory, the Vanguards (15-8) move to the Ches-Mont semis, where they’ll take on Coatesville at West Chester University Saturday at 5 p.m. It’s the third straight 15-win season for Sun Valley.

In the Bicentennial League:

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By Matt Smith

Not often over the years has it been said that Chester High is the home of two championship varsity basketball teams.

That is changing.

Head coach Marvin Dukes and his staff have presided over a successful girls team built around its youthful core.

Sophomore guard Imani Dorsey averages a team-leading 15.5 points per game and is closing fast on 1,000 for her career. She is a gifted three-level scorer with untapped potential.

“I just want to do what I can,” Dorsey said following the Clippers’ best win of the season, a 49-43 decision last Friday over Penncrest (14-8), which is a contender for the Central League title.

“And I want to win.”

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By Andrew Robinson

In nearly 20 years of coaching, Francis Bowe has never had a team quite like this one.

His Archbishop Carroll team is not short on talent, the Patriots laden with some of the area’s top underclassmen. However, the Patriots are short on experience, Carroll laden only with some of the area’s top underclassmen on a roster made entirely of freshmen and sophomores.

That experience might be catching up, Carroll downing West Catholic 57-45 on Wednesday for its fourth win in the last five games.

“They really are playing for each other, and they’re still learning,” Bowe said. “The one thing we had to say early in the year was ‘play for each other, have each other’s backs,’ and that takes time, especially with youth.

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By Josh Verlin

There’s no favorite in the Central League. There’s three of them.

Haverford, Conestoga and Garnet Valley were the three to watch coming into the year, and though a few others have surprised — looking at you, Radnor — eyes are still on the Fords, Pioneers and Jaguars to make the most noise not just in the league but districts and states as well.

Here’s a look at the Central League playoffs, which begin Thursday night on home courts:

1) Haverford High (19-3, 14-2)
Saturday, 7 PM vs. TBD
Technically league co-champs, Haverford gets the top seed thanks to tiebreakers; thanks to splitting its two games with Conestoga, it’s the two wins Haverford scored over Garnet Valley that earned it the top overall seed. The Fords feature senior Aniya Eberhart (Millersville), an athletic 5-9 scoring guard, and 6-1 junior wing Rian Dotsey, who’s stepped into the do-everything role her sister Caroline inhabited the last few seasons. 

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By Josh Verlin

It’s been an interesting year in the Central League, to say the least.

We came in expecting a year of parity — and while there was certainly plenty of that in the middle of the pack, one familiar face rose above the rest to have a dominant season, while several others enjoyed strong years as well.

Here’s a look at the Central League playoff field, with first-round games taking place Thursday night and semifinals on Saturday:

1) Lower Merion (21-1, 16-0)
Yeah, yeah, the Aces are on top of the Central League once again, what’s new? Except this wasn’t expected to be one of Gregg Downer’s strongest squads, a group of largely-unproven former role players who were without program stalwarts in 2023 grads Sam Wright and Sam Brown, among others.

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Academy Park and Chester each claimed a share of the Del Val League girls basketball championship Tuesday.

Alyasia Kinlaw scored 27 points to lead AP (8-14, 7-1) over Penn Wood, 53-48. Kinlaw added eight rebounds, two assists, two steals and one blocked shot.

Emani Banks posted a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Knights. Kiala Bright totaled eight points, 10 boards, three steals, two assists and a block.

Imani Dorsey’s 15-point effort aided Chester (14-8, 7-1) in a 66-22 rout of Chichester. Jordan Dennis chipped in 13 points.

Garnet Valley 43, Conestoga 42 >> The Jaguars (19-3, 13-3) handed the first-place Pioneers their second loss of the season. GV clinched the No. 3 seed and in the league tournament.

Emily Olsen tallied nine of her 12 points in the fourth quarter and added seven rebounds, two steals and two blocks. Haylie Adamski led all players with 18 points.

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By Matthew DeGeorge

Amaury Womack and his Penn Wood teammates knew the deal this week.

They knew that the three Del Val League games crowded into the final week of the regular season would determine whether or not the Patriots are a playoff team in 2024. They knew just as certainly that leading by six points Tuesday at halftime at Academy Park, after the Knights outscored them in the second quarter, wasn’t good enough.

So with Womack lending calm and confidence with the ball in his hands, things changed quickly.

The junior guard scored a game-high 17 points and more importantly orchestrated an offense that stagnated early with five assists as the Patriots passed the second of their three-prong test with a 70-49 victory.

“We’re focused on getting to the playoffs,” Womack said. “Playing hard every game, and we have to win every game.”

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Andew Graney scored a hat trick and added two assists as Cardinal O’Hara scored four times in the second period for a 7-1 win over Methacton/Conwell-Egan Monday.

Patrick Roney potted a pair of goals to go with an assist. Rocco Dimario dished two assists. Johnny Gillin made 19 saves.

Boys Basketball

Khamai Orange erupted for 26 points as Delco Christian ran past Jenkintown, 78-61, in the Bicentennial League Monday night.

Josiah Gaines scored 14 points. Caleb Jameson chipped in 11 for the Knights (14-6, 11-1 BAL).

West Chester East 65, Chester Charter Scholars Academy 51 >> Ja’Bryl Bennett scored 16 points, and Brean Rudd-Cook tallied 14, but the Sabers fell short away from home. E’Mohj Barrett added nine points.

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Chester girls basketball coach Marvin Dukes called Friday’s 49-43 victory over Penncrest the biggest of the season.

On pace to qualify for the District 1 Class 5A tournament, the Clippers considered the visiting Lions a litmus test. The Lions entered with a 14-6 record, 16th in the Class 6A district rankings.

The Clippers (13-8) are bound for the district playoffs for the first time since 2013. Defeating a quality program like Penncrest was what they needed as the regular season winds down.

“We knew what we needed to do tonight,” junior forward Ja’Mya Muhammad said. “This was … a pre-playoff game, so we had to play our best.”

Penncrest led 19-11 midway through the second quarter. Sensing the game was getting out of reach, Dukes called a timeout. The Clippers responded with a 8-2 run to end the half.

Shyne Hall drilled three 3-point shots in the third period. The senior guard’s final triple beat the buzzer to put Chester in front, 39-36.

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By Jerome Taylor

Composure and maturity made all the difference for Roman Catholic.

With under a minute to go in the fourth quarter and down by four, Archbishop Carroll implemented a press to get a turnover and hopefully extend the game. 

It almost worked. 

Roman struggled to break the press and was forced to make a cross-court outlet pass to Travis Reed. The senior not only secured the contested catch and got fouled but helped secure the victory as well. 

“We really challenged him, and he responded to be our tough warrior guy,” Roman head coach Chris McNesby said. “Even the simple play of getting that 50-50 ball just brought that toughness for us.” 

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