Author: delcohoops

By Matthew DeGeorge

 With the Archbishop Carroll crowd into the game and Neumann-Goretti trailing by one point entering the fourth quarter Monday night, the Saints knew something needed to change.

They had weathered a Carroll charge in the third quarter, trailing by as many as four. But the game was being played at the controlled pace that favored the hosts, and the reliance on half-court offense was throwing off the Saints’ balance between aggression off the bounce and settling for jump shots.

In the final frame, though, the Saints did what they just seem to do every time their backs are against the wall: They adjusted, then they prevailed.

A pair of 3-pointers by Cameron Young put the Saints up for good, and the daring drives of Hysier Miller helped seal a 65-62 Catholic League decision over Carroll.

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

By Phil Anastasia

By Matt Smith

Jack D’Entremont was shut out for three quarters Saturday. But when he turned on the offense, it made all the difference for the Raiders.

D’Entremont scored all eight of his points in the fourth quarter as Radnor halted a four-game slide with a 38-34 win over Haverford.

Lew Robinson led Radnor with 11 points. Jahmir Dixon chipped in six for the Raiders (9-4, 5-3).

John Seidman led all scorers with 17 points, and Allen Cieslak connected on three 3-pointers for nine points. But the Fords (6-7, 2-6) had only four players score and were just 3-for-9 from the free throw line in dropping their fifth straight. Those setbacks are by a combined 13 points, including losses in three overtimes and two overtimes this week.

Elsewhere in the Central League:

Garnet Valley 61, Harriton 48 >> The visiting Jaguars jumped out to a 17-point lead at halftime and weren’t seriously challenged in their eighth straight win.

Carl Schaller led all scorers with 24 points. Valantis Apostolopoulos added 14 points, and Gannon McKee chipped in 10 for GV (11-1, 7-1).

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

By Ray Dunne

This time three years ago, West Chester East was amidst a three-win season and hadn’t been to the PIAA state playoffs since 2002. 

The program had a hardly 6-foot-tall guard named Andrew Carr, struggling through pain as he fought to finish his freshman year.

Tom Durant had been out of local high school basketball coaching since 2003.

Now, the script has been flipped, thanks in no small part to the emergence of Carr as a top talent in Durant’s redone West Chester East program. That’s why Thursday night’s festivities looked more like a team’s celebration than an individual’s, in spite of Carr being the storyline after scoring his 1000th point in his high school career.

“It’s this program. It’s not just Andrew. He helps the program. He’s making young kids want to be him,” Durant said of his star, beaming about how one player may inspire a generation of success at West Chester East.

(click on this link for the full story)

Webmaster’s note: W.C. East and Andrew Carr will playing Chester Scholars Academy in Chester this Monday night which will be audio broadcast right here on Delcohoops.com as our Game-of-the-Week.  Broadcast begins at 6:45.

Joshua Parks scored 16 points and Obinna Nwobodo registered 14 points and 13 rebounds to help Delaware County Christian School to a 54-44 Bicentennial League victory over Phil-Mont Christian.

Jackson Piotrowski collected 10 points, two steals and one blocked shot for the Knights (7-3, 4-1), who shot 16 of 26 from the foul line.

Jordan Mitchell paired five points with eight boards and Lincoln Palmer added six points.

CHRISTIAN ACADEMY 78, VALLEY FORGE MILITARY ACADEMY 64 >>Jackson Greene had 22 points and seven rebounds to power the Crusaders. Grant Sareyka tallied 17 points, five rebounds and five assists.

In the Inter-Ac League

HAVERFORD SCHOOL 43, PENN CHARTER 40>> Christian Clover tallied nine of his game-high 20 points in the first quarter and nailed four 3-point field goals to carry the Fords past the Quakers.

Raijon Dispensa had three triples for nine points.

EPISCOPAL ACADEMY 65, SCHA 63 >>The host Churchmen nipped the Blue Devils as Alex Capitano led three players in double figures with 21 points.

Andrew Alikakos contributed 16 points and Colin Chambers, who made three treys, tossed in 11.

In the Catholic League:

ARCHBISHOP CARROLL 51, FATHER JUDGE 39 >> Anquan Hill made nine field goals, including five 3s, for a game-high 24 points for the Patriots. Hill hit three of his long-distance baskets in the opening quarter.

Tairi Kettner added nine points and Amiri Stewart had seven.

By Mike Mayer, Delcohoops.com

In a classic “old school” style of basketball the Penncrest Lions and Haverford Fords fought a close battle with no team leading by more than 5 points the entire night through four quarters and two overtimes. Penncrest finally came out on top 51-49.

Neither team had great success shooting the ball all night.  Haverford shot only 39% from the field while Penncrest had an even harder time completing only 29% of their shots.

Defense was tenacious for both teams preventing easy lay-ups and fade shots. Neither team found a game rhythm all night long and it showed in unbalanced shooting attempts from all over the court.  

However, it was from the line on free throws that the Fords struggled and gave the Lions the win.  Haverford made only 8 free throws out of 20 attempts while Penncrest managed to make 24 out of 34. All 9 Penncrest points in the final O.T. were free throws.

Hunter Kraiza led the Fords with 13 points followed by John Seidman with 9 points. Sean Reynolds led with 8 rebounds.

The Lion’s point leader was Marquis Tomlin with 15 followed by Ben Stanton with 12.  Denzel Boyer led on defense with 8 rebounds.

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Once Akeem Taylor got hot there was no stopping Chester Thursday night.

Taylor scored seven of his 15 points in the second quarter to lead the Clippers to a 77-55 victory over Academy Park in Del Val League boys basketball action.

Taylor’s outburst helped Chester (8-2, 2-0) take a 13-point lead into the locker room at halftime. Karell Watkins led the attack with 18 points, 14 rebounds and two steals. Faheem Berry had 12 points and Zahmir Carroll added 11 points for Chester.

Tahriq Marrero hit three 3-pointers on his way to a game-high 27 points and Ki Henson had nine for the Knights. Marrero hit a triple at the buzzer for Academy Park’s only points in that quarter.

Penn Wood 72, Interboro 25 >> Desman Johnson Jr. was one of three players in double figures for the Patriots (5-3) with 13 points. Shamir Baunes had 11 points and Naim Powell had six of his 10 points in the first quarter as Penn Wood poured in 23 and never looked back.

Jason McWilliams led the Bucs with 10 points in the loss.

In the Central League:

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

By Mitchell Gladstone

It’s been three weeks since Garnet Valley’s lone loss this season.

And while the Jaguars have been plenty successful in the meantime — ripping off six straight victories by an average margin of more than 20 points —  that 69-56 loss at Lower Merion still eats at them.

“We didn’t have a good night,” Garnet Valley coach Mike Brown said of that Dec. 17 matchup. “To be honest, we haven’t talked about it much. … In this league, you play a game every two days.”

For all the progress the Jaguars have made, going from 8-14 five years ago to double-digit victories each of the past four seasons, Garnet Valley is still looking to get over that Central League hump and win a title for the first time since joining the league in 2008.

To do that, it almost certainly means getting past the Aces, who have captured five of the past seven Central League crowns and beaten the Jags in the six games since guard Carl Schaller arrived at Garnet Valley.

(click on this link for the full story)

By Carter Fillman 

Archbishop Wood isn’t a stranger to close games.

Early in the season, it was a hard-fought PCL opener against Bishop McDevitt and coming away with a three-point win at home. It was just a short three weeks ago when they took national power Paul VI into a seven overtime thriller, but fell short in a game where both teams soared into triple digits. Just last week, they took New Jersey power Wildwood Catholic down to the wire and came away with a two-point win in enemy territory.

And their most recent game against upstart and undefeated Cardinal O’Hara? Well, the Vikings can just add it to their rolodex of nail biters after pulling out a 67-63 win in Delaware County on Wednesday night.

“We play a tough schedule,” said Wood coach John Mosco, specifically referencing the Paul VI game. “We also have practiced situations everyday and we try to have them prepared for [anything].”

(click on this link for the full story)

By Matt DeGeorge

Grant Sareyka hit 1,000 career points Wednesday, but Chester Charter Scholars Academy spoiled the party.

Breon Showell scored a career-high 17 points, and Tyler Howard dominated in the paint as the Sabers pulled out a 62-56 road win.

Howard scored 14 points to go with 17 rebounds, eight blocks and three steals. Showell added four steals and five assists for CCSA (8-2), which has won five straight.

Sareyka led the Crusaders with 18 points. He’s the 13th player in school history to hit the milestone, a group that includes his uncle, Kevin Sareyka.

Isaiah Mitchell added 13 points, and Jordan Greene had 10 for TCA (9-3).

Webmaster’s note: Our Game-of-the-Week next week, January 13th, features W.C. East vs Chester Charter Scholars Academy.