Author: delcohoops

By Matt Smith
Shyne Hall heard the calls from her Chester coaches all night.

“I didn’t know what was going on with her for a minute,” coach Marvin Dukes said. “I just said to her, ‘Keep shooting, keep playing.”’

If the Clippers wanted to leave Interboro with a victory Tuesday evening, they needed their junior shooting guard to do what she does best. Dukes’ positive reinforcement only underscored what Hall already knew.
It was her time … to Shyne.

“In the locker room at halftime, I said that in this half I’m going to go off,” Hall said. “I knew I had to make my shots and I knew we had to play better.”

Hall hit three 3-pointers in the third quarter to spark a big second-half run by the Clippers. Hall led all players with 20 points as Chester won its first Del Val League game of the season, 53-40 over Interboro.

Hall scored 13 points after halftime and junior forward Ja’Mya Muhammad tallied 11 of her 16 points during that span. Meanwhile, Chester’s defense pressed the Bucs the majority of the half, causing 14 turnovers in the final 16 minutes of regulation. Chester outscored Interboro after halftime, 33-17.

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

By Matthew DeGeorge

In his time at Strath Haven, Jack Edwards has gotten used to feeling out the space that Jaden Jauregui creates around him.

When Jauregui gets going like he did in the fourth quarter Tuesday night against Chester Charter Scholars Academy, defenders naturally gravitate toward the Strath Haven guard. But when they overcompensate or get too preoccupied, Edwards and his teammates are ready to step up.

Jauregui scored 10 of his game-high 24 points in the fourth quarter. But two plays that didn’t directly involve him – a 3-pointer by Chase Nangle and a baseline blow-by from Edwards – ultimately sealed a quality, 61-58, nonleague win for the Panthers.

“Jaden obviously is great off the ball, on the ball, hitting shots,” Edwards said. “So when he drives to the hole and hits a jump stop, obviously other guys on the team can shoot. We did that perfectly tonight: Chase Nangle had some 3s, and Chase hit me for some 3s.”

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

By Matthew DeGeorge

Of the many roles that Eyan Thomas fills on the Chichester basketball team, the one he found himself occupying in the third quarter Monday afternoon is among his favorites.

Operating out of the high post, through which a surprising amount of the Eagles’ offense flows, the forward often has to merely prowl high-traffic areas, spy the guy guarding point guard Maz Sayed, set his screen and let Sayed go to work.

“It’s very easy (for me),” Thomas said. “All I’ve got to do is set the screen, he does what he has to do. If he misses it, I get the rebound, or he kicks it to our other teammates and they get it done.”

Sayed got it done Monday with nine points in the third quarter, a crucial individual effort to tip the Eagles toward a 53-46 nonleague win over Springfield.

(click on this link for the full story)

By Owen McCue

While Archbishop Ryan junior big man Thomas Sorber put together a highlight-reel worthy 29-point, 17-rebound effort Monday at Cardinal O’Hara, one of his much smaller teammates put on a performance that as uniquely entertaining.

As Sorber tossed down dunk after dunk and hauled in rebound after rebound, the Raiders’ senior point guard Michael ‘Zaire’ Paris darted toward the hoop and dished out dimes for a 14-point, 10-assist performance to complement Sorber and junior guard Darren Williams (15 points), in a 71-54 win over the Lions.

They are the kind of outings the 5-foot-11 guard has waited patiently for in his Ryan career. And they’re starting to pile up during his senior campaign.

“It was tough because I think I should have played (more earlier in my career) but Coach Joe (Zeglinski) believed in me no matter what,” said Paris, who goes by his middle name Zaire. “My dad always told me, ‘Be patient,’ and this is the time. I’m just following my dad. He told me to be patient and good things happen. Now, that’s what’s going on. Good things are happening.”

(click on this link for the full story)

By Matt Smith

On Dec. 17, 2021, Lexi Aaron scored a game-high 16 points to lead Springfield to a 42-36 win over Marple Newtown.

She was one of three returning starters from a great team that went undefeated until the semifinal round of the PIAA Cass 5A tournament during the pandemic-shortened 2021 season. Last winter, Aaron was a junior poised to have a breakout season as a top scorer for the Cougars. The team was bound for success with juniors Aaron, Mia Valerio and Anabel Kreydt showing the way.

In an instant, everything was taken away from Aaron. Days after her solid performance against Marple, Aaron suffered a season-ending injury that would not require surgery. Bound for Towson to play lacrosse, the three-sport athlete was forced to sit on the sidelines and rehab her knee for the remainder of the school year.

(click on this link for the full story)

Several of the area’s top girls and boys basketball teams traveled to Ursinus on Sunday for the 16th annual ‘Hoops for Hope’ classic. Here’s a roundup of the action from all five games:

Game 2: Haverford 54, Notre Dame 42

The second quarter and third quarter ended with the same basic outcome, but it was how the Fords got there that differed quite a bit.

After falling behind by six points at the end of the first quarter against the Academy of Notre Dame, Haverford leaned on senior Caroline Dotsey in the second to make sure it didn’t get any further behind. By the time the senior forward finally scored after halftime, she was the fifth Ford to find the basket in the third quarter and Haverford had seized the lead.

Dotsey’s 24-point effort paced the Fords against an Irish team that hung around but couldn’t make enough shots to ultimately keep up.

(click on this link for the full story of the Girl’s Hoops for Hope games)

Sun Valley’s boys basketball crew cruised to a 25-5 fourth-quarter run Friday night in running away from Academy Park, 69-48, in what once was a close nonleague game. Chris Kwadiah had seven 3-pointers along the way to 29 points and Noah Griffin went 8-for-12 from the line while scoring 18 points to lead the Vanguards. Justin Hickman scored nine points and Kaiden Robinson eight for Sun Valley. For Academy Park, Kyle Jones led the way with 16 points.

Marple Newtown 72, Collegium Charter 50 » Matt Gardler hit six times from beyond the arc en route to a 31-point performance, adding four rebounds and four assists as the Tigers improved to 7-6 overall Saturday.
Ryan Keating had 15 points and five rebounds for the Tigers, and Steve Tansey had six points and seven steals.

Delco Christian 72, Valley Forge Military 45 » The Knights were led by Caleb Jameson, who scored 19 points and pulled down five boards. Khamai Orange and Beau Lyren had 18 points apiece. Steve Hill had 38 of VFMA’s 45 points.

Boyertown 35, Penncrest 29 » Michael Mita scored eight points and registered 10 rebounds but the Lions fell to B-Town. Brendan Hemphill added nine points for Penncrest.

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

Yassir Joyner and Miymire Brown scored 19 points apiece Thursday night as Upper Darby led from start to finish in a 74-61 boys basketball triumph over Marple Newtown.

Nadir Myers (14 points) and Khysir Slaughert (13) also reached double figures for the Royals (10-3 overall, 6-3 Central League), who led 18-12 after the first quarter and 33-26 at halftime.

Matt Gardler led three Tigers in double figures with 16 points. Corrado Fischetti pitched in with 12 points and Ryan Keating 11.

In nonleague action:

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

By Konner Metz

One month in, Radnor is already living up to its high expectations. So far, 12 teams have tested the Raptors, and all 12 have left with one more mark in the loss column.

With an offense predicated on constant ball movement and kickouts, and a defense that has no trouble staying disciplined during extended, drawn out possessions, Radnor presents as a squad that seems equipped to compete with any opponent. No doubt about it, at least in senior Jackson Hicke’s mind.

“I really think we can beat anybody, anywhere, anytime,” Hicke said. “I think we’re a really good team.”

That rang true when the Raptors were leaving Haverford High School Friday night with a convincing 58-37 victory over the Fords. Hicke was the star of the night, pouring in 23 points, 18 of those during the second half.

(click on this link for the full story)