Author: delcohoops

By Matthew DeGeorge

The attention of Haverford’s defense Thursday night, Ryan Keating knew, was always going to be tuned primarily to the threat of Matt Gardler.

While Gardler is uniquely capable of persevering with multiple hands in his face, the challenge on the night and on the season for his Marple Newtown teammates has been to punish opponents that fixate on Gardler.

Keating stepped to the fore in the second half of a tight affair Thursday, saving 15 of his game-high 22 points for the second half as Marple Newtown pulled away from Haverford, 55-38.

“Matt’s a great player and obviously he’s been doing great this season,” Keating said. “At halftime, they were playing Matt really well, and coach (Sean) Spratt told us, someone else has to step up. I think as a team, we did a really good job of that.”

Haverford did an outstanding job on Gardler. The high-powered guard scored 12 points in the first half. But the Fords (2-9, 0-6 Central) still led 28-26 at the break. With Keith Heinerichs as the primary defender shadowing Gardler from just about the instant the layup lines concluded, Gardler didn’t have a basket in the second half. He only attempted two shots, both forced 3-pointers, and none in the first seven minutes of the third, with the game up for grabs.

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By Andrew Robinson

With the first month of the high school season wrapped, and some teams already close to having played half their allotted regular season contests, it was a good time to scan records and power rankings.

Certainly, a lot of teams that were expected to be strong have demonstrated it thus far. On the other hand, there are quite a few surprises across the board with some teams expected to rebuild instead finding themselves among the early top teams in the standings.

Conference play has started for some leagues while others are about to get into the thick of it starting this week. There are still a handful of marque showcases on tap for the girls’ side this month with prime matchups yet to be played as well.

Here’s a quick look at a handful of teams that could qualify as surprises after a month of games:

(click on this link for the teams)

Megan Donahoe and the Sacred Heart Academy basketball team leaned on a balanced offensive attack in Wednesday’s 42-33 win over visiting Academy Park.

Donahoe scored a game-high 12 points, but she had plenty of help from her teammates.

Keara McCaffrey, who grabbed 10 rebounds, and Grace Brown, who made two 3-point goals, netted eight points apiece for the Lions, who held AP to 19 total points over the final three quarters.

Maya Walker contributed seven points and 10 rebounds, and Dani Jeffries notched seven points and five assists for SHA (5-4)

Emani Banks tallied a team-high 11 points for the Knights (0-8).

In other nonleague action:

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Kevin Rucker Jr. was unstoppable during Bonner & Prendergast’s 78-48 boys basketball victory over La Salle Tuesday night.

Rucker, a sharp-shooting senior guard, drained six 3-point field goals on the way to a game-high 34 points. Reggie Seldenn also banked six treys for 18 points, while Deuce Ketner (14) also reached doubles figures in scoring for the Friars.

In other Catholic League action:

Neumann-Goretti 84, Archbishop Carroll 57 >> The Patriots had no answer for Torrey Brooks, who hit seven 3-point baskets en route to a game-high 23 points for the undefeated Saints (8-0). Larenzo Jerkins, a Chester High transfer, added 14 points and 20 rebounds in the winning effort.

Following a 7-0 start, the Patriots are now mired in a three-game losing streak.

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By Joseph Santoliquito

Saaid Lee is looking for a little stability at West Catholic.

This is the explosive 6-foot-1 junior point guard’s third school in three years, starting at Bonner-Prendie his freshman year, then MCS last season, and now with the defending PIAA Class 3A state champion Burrs.

It’s been a bit of a culture adjustment for Lee. A new school, new faces to get used to and a new role as someone on the quiet side expected to be a vocal leader on a team that is still searching for an identity.

Tuesday night in West Catholic’s bandbox, Fenway Park of a high school basketball gym, Lee and his teammates took a nice first step together, opening the Philadelphia Catholic League season with a 66-55 victory over Cardinal O’Hara (5-5, 0-1).

Lee dropped in a career-best 17 points, six coming in the fourth quarter when the game was yet to be determined. The Burrs (3-6, 1-0) got a balanced attack, getting 10 points each from Jaasin Sabb and Micah Waters and nine from athletic sophomore Kingston Wheatley.

(click on this link for the full article)

By Owen McCue

Last season, Jalen Harper likely wouldn’t have been in the position. 

A rebound in the air and the Catholic League’s best big man trying to grab an offensive board for the other team in a one-possession game… the 6-foot-8 Tristen Guillouette would have been there to clean it up for St. Joe’s Prep instead.

There’s no Guillouette this season for the Hawks, leaving the 6-foot-3 Harper to fend off the Philadelphia Catholic League’s giants by himself. Late in Tuesday night’s PCL opener against Archbishop Ryan, Harper boxed out Georgetown-bound big man Thomas Sorber and skied for the ball. One possession later he was in defense on the game sealing steal before knocking down the put-away free throws in a 57-52 win.

He finished with 10 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter of the victory, coming up “big” on both sides of the floor for an undersized Hawks group.

(click on this link for the full article)

KJ Carson scored 18 points and Jacob Becker added 17 as The Haverford School eked out a 53-52 victory over Marple Newtown in a nonleague game.

Marple’s Matt Gardler led all scorers with 24 points, ably assisted by P.J. Esposito with 12 points.

Bishop Shanahan 41, Springfield 34 >> D. Keenan led the way for the Eagles with 14 points.

For the Cougars, Jake Adams, Pat Flaherty and Colin Treuce all scored nine points.

By Matthew DeGeorge

Chester’s boys basketball team doesn’t need a reminder of what transpired last year. If only because the Clippers are constantly reminding themselves.

A 12-10 season that left the Clippers unthinkably outside the field of not just states but the District 1 Class 6A tournament did not meet the standards of a perennial, write-it-in-ink states qualifiers.

So this year’s mission is simple.

“Get back time,” guard Dante Atkinson explained Friday. “It’s time to get back.”

That effort will venture into 2024 with a 6-1 record as its platform to launch, after Friday’s 67-51 nonleague win over Abington.

It was not always pretty. It was at clutch moments gritty. But while Chester didn’t always sustain much offensive flow, the game ended with them threatening 70 points and keeping a quality Ghosts side to nine in the fourth quarter.

In much the same way, Keith Taylor’s team has completed the first chunk of its schedule with room to grow, yet already at half of its 2022-23 win total.

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Brielle Wright scored 17 of her 19 points in the second half as Sun Valley won the third-place game of the Upper Merion Holiday Tournament, 40-27, over Daniel Boone on Friday.

Wright hit three 3-pointers. Luci D’Amico was 7-for-10 at the line to finish with 11 points for the Vanguards (3-5).

Cardinal O’Hara 42, Germantown Academy 37 >> BrigidAnne Donohue saved 10 of her 13 points for the fourth quarter as O’Hara outlasted GA.

Molly Rullo also scored 13 points. Megan Rullo chipped in nine points, and Carly Coleman had seven.

West Chester East 61, Academy Park 36 >> Emani Banks and Jayla Davis scored 12 points apiece, but the Knights trailed by 15 points after eight minutes and never quite bounced back. Kiala Bright added eight points.

Radnor 45, Agnes Irwin 35 >> Anna Reger led the Raptors with 12 points, and tournament MVP Nyah Yao was one of three Radnor players with seven points each as the Raptors won their holiday tournament late Thursday night.

By GQLShare

In a game full of upperclassmen, naturally it was a freshman who stole the show.

Cardinal O’Hara’s Brigidanne Donohue, making just her second career start, hit the biggest shot of Friday’s game against Germantown Academy but only after hitting the game’s two other biggest shots on the previous two possessions. Donohue’s back-to-back-to-back threes were part of a 10-point fourth quarter by the freshman and tilted a close game between two quality teams.

The Lions ended their holiday tournament with a win, fending off GA 42-37 on Friday to remain unbeaten on the year.

“The refs were letting us play and that’s what it came down to,” O’Hara coach Chrissie Doogan said. “I told the girls you get into them a little bit and be a little more physical. It was a good game, they have a lot of seniors, we have a lot of seniors, so it was a good way to test the maturity of the team.”

Donahue and junior Molly Rullo tied for the Lions’ (9-0) lead with 13 points each. Sophomore Megan Rullo added nine points, four rebounds and six assists while senior Carly Coleman notched seven points for the Lions, who only got scoring from four players but contributions from all eight who saw minutes.

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