Author: delcohoops

By Bob Grotz

In a role reversal from their previous meeting. Springfield came out flat and trailed all Wednesday evening in a 37-22 loss to Upper Dublin in the PIAA District 1 Class 6A girls playback round.

When the teams met two weeks ago, the Cougars crushed the Cardinals. 27-9, right here on Leamy Avenue.

The difference this time was that Cougars point guard Mia Valerio was in a walking boot that could sideline her for the duration while the visiting Cardinals were riding the stark improvement of freshman point guard Megan Ngo, who hasn’t met a defender she wouldn’t try to post up in the low block.

The good news for the seventh-seeded Cougars (17-10), who play Souderton Saturday for seventh place is that they’ve clinched a berth in states.

(click on this link for the full story)

By Terry Toohey

Joanie Quinn and Molly Rullo were all Cardinal O’Hara needed to add to its impressive championship history.

Quinn and Rullo combined for 36 points as the Lions rolled over Central, 61-33, in the District 12 Class 6A championship game at La Salle High School.

It was O’Hara’s fourth big school title since the PIAA went to six classifications in 2017. The Lions also won the Class 5A district title in 2021 and are the two-time defending PIAA Class 5A champions.

Quinn led all scorers with 19 points. She also posted nine steals to highlight a strong defensive effort by O’Hara. Rullo added 17 points.  

O’Hara gets the No. 11 seed out of District 1 in the opening round of the PIAA Tournament on Friday, March 10. Meg Rullo hit four 3-pointers and finished with 12 points.

By Owen McCue

As Jaden Colzie stood in the student section at the Liacouras Center last March watching the Plymouth Whitemarsh girls capture a District 1-6A championship, he couldn’t help but picture himself out on the floor.

He and teammate Qudire Bennett hung around Temple’s arena for the District 1 boys title game right after and knew they had to find a way to get back there themselves in 2023 after watching Lower Merion knock off Norristown for its second straight title.

“I was standing right there in the student section, and I’m like, ‘This is going to be us next year. I need to get here.’ Hey, one year later and here we are,” Colzie said. “I was really jealous — Norristown, Lower Merion — I was like we can be here, and we’re here, so I’m happy for us.”

The two-time defending champion Aces stood in the Colonials’ way of a trek down to North Philadelphia as the two district powers met up on Tuesday night in a district semifinal. 

(click on this link for the full story)

By Kev Hunter

Niymire Brown’s towering presence grew more imposing as the game wore on, and his game-high 20 points led Upper Darby to a 71-68 victory over North Penn in a District 1 Class 6A playback game Tuesday night.

The win sends the 10th-seeded Royals to the fifth-place game, Friday night at No. 4 Central Bucks East. No. 6 North Penn hosts No. 8 Garnet Valley Friday night in the seventh-place game.

“He’s a tough matchup for anybody because he can score down low,” Upper Darby coach Bob Miller said of Brown, who poured in 15 second-half points. “It’s not just his 6-foot-4 frame. He’s built like a man. You get him the ball down there and most teams are going to have trouble.”

Upper Darby’s inside play sent the Royals into the lead for good in the third quarter. Drives by Yassir Joyner (16 points) and Nadir Myers (18 points) made it 47-43, and the visitors would lead 50-45 after three. Three buckets underneath by Brown helped pace the Royals.

(click on this link for more game stories)

By Matthew DeGeorge

There wasn’t anything fancy about it. No schemes, no pressing, no tunneling the ball to find weaknesses.
What Chester Charter Scholars Academy planned to do defensively in Saturday’s District 1 Class A final was simple as can be: When Phil-Mont Christian had the ball, make it so it wouldn’t anymore.

“It’s just hard work and being there for each other,” senior guard Jayden Williams said. “Help the helper. We work hard, and we want to get steals.

“With Williams leading the way, Chester Charter forced 19 turnovers, wreaking enough havoc early to withstand the Falcons’ fourth-quarter charge and emerge with a 70-64 win at Harriton High School.

From start to finish, the Sabers (19-5) made life miserable for any Falcon holding a basketball. They forced 11 turnovers in the first half, 15 in the first three quarters. Before things went pear-shaped, the Sabers led by as many as 21. denying Phil-Mont’s primary facilitator Jack Svvider.

(click on this link for the full story)

By Matt Smith

Garnet Valley star Haylie Adamski has long ago accepted the fact that every team is focused on stopping her on the basketball court. The sophomore sensation has faced double-and triple-team coverage all season.

Adamski missed four of her first five shots in a District 1 Class 6A playback Saturday afternoon. She was unsettled as the Jags fell behind by double digits.

Moreover, Adamski recorded her third foul 51 seconds into the second period. If the 20th-seeded Jaguars wanted to overcome No. 21 North Penn and punch their ticket to the PIAA tournament, Adamski had to be on the floor and not sitting the bench with foul trouble.

“I just have to stay composed,” Adamski said. “Once I got my third foul pretty quickly in the second quarter. I had to back up on defense a little bit. But also my teammates stepped up and that is what got us going on our end. The face guarding from the other team, I am used to that. It’s been that way the whole season.”

(click on this link for the full story)

By Bob Grotz

When the buzzer sounded Saturday afternoon, the crowd spilled onto the floor to celebrate a new chapter in Radnor basketball history.

The Raptors won their 26th straight game, breaking the school mark of 25-0 set in 1961. The 66-52 District 1 Class 5A semifinal win over Rustin vaults the Raptors into the district final next Saturday against Unionville at Temple University’s Liacouras Center.

The last time Radnor started this well, it won a district title with a coach who wound up having the arena named after him. Then again, the late Ellis Dwyer not only captured the District 1 Class A title in 1961, but over a 30-year span, he registered seven district pennants among 524 victories … when he wasn’t teaching mathematics.

It’s safe to say Dwyer, who hailed from Twin Oaks and played at Chester High, would have been proud of current coach Jamie Chadwin, much like the Raptors are for giving them meaning.

(click on this link for the full story)

By Owen McCue

In fourth grade, Nathan Lapp walked into a tryout for the Deep Run travel team and spotted a tall kid with curly blonde hair he didn’t recognize.

The kid was Hoyt Bultje, who just moved into the area from Wisconsin and is now captaining the boys basketball team at Dock with Lapp after eight years of playing hoops together. The longtime friends hope they have a few more games left together.

The Pioneers and their senior captains kept their seasons and careers alive Saturday at Harriton with a 65-55 victory over Delco Christian in the District 1-2A championship — the Pioneers’ first district title since 2020.

“Me and Nate have played together since fourth grade,” Bultje said. “We’ve had a basketball relationship for a while, which has been good. We always just seem to click well. When we came to high school, it was great to be on a team with him. I knew a couple of the other guys growing up, played in rec leagues and stuff like that. It’s great to be here right now senior year, last shot, to be with them.”

(click on this link for the full story)

By Rob Parent

Akhir Keys took an in-bounds pass with his team down three points, his packed home gym’s game clock showing 10 seconds, his mind telling him one thing — go get a tie.

Chichester’s long road to a second-half comeback against Unionville looked scripted at that point, and as Keys drove left down the sideline to avoid flailing defenders, all looked right when he pulled up for a good look, attempting another late escape act the senior guard had pulled several times already this season.

Yet Chi’s district title hopes would cruelly go in, then out with the ball.

“If I made that shot,” Keys said, “we probably would have won.”

It was the last best chance for the Eagles, who afterward would get a last-prayer launch from way out, well off the mark at the buzzer, enabling the Longhorns to hold on to a 75-72 victory Saturday in a District 1 Class 5A semifinal thriller.

(click on this link for the full story)