Author: delcohoops

By Pete Digiovanni

The old adage is that defense wins championships. Well, no championship was won Friday night at Conestoga high School but the host Pioneers put on quite a defensive show as they harassed visiting Penncrest into a frigid two for 32 shooting night from the field and came away with a 39-21, Central League win on Senior Night at Conestoga.

Conestoga (5-7 Central, 10-5 overall) only shot 15 for 36 from the field themselves but the Pioneers, along with some brutal Penncrest (1-8, 3-10) shooting, held the Lions to just two made baskets for the entire game. Penncrest did go 15 of 19 from the free throw line to help accumulate their 21 points.

“Defense is a staple of our team this year,” Conestoga coach Sean Forcine said. “We work and work on it everyday in practice. And it is not just one man defense. We play five man defense and everybody helps on the defensive end. You have to play defense to play for me. And there are going to be nights when shots don’t go down but you can always be constant on defense. And I was proud of the way the kids bounced back from a bad loss to Radnor the other night.”

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Jackson Hicke got hot in the second half to pace Radnor to a 58-39 victory over Haverford in Central League boys basketball action.
Hicke scored 18 of his game-high 23 points in the second half to help the Raptors outscore the Fords, 28-17. Charlie Thornton backed Hicke with 14 points. It’s Radnor’s 13th straight victory to open the season.
Googie Seidman led the Fords with 11 points. Brian Weiner pitched in with 10.

Harriton 59, Garnet Valley 54 » Jake Sniras scored 12 of his game-high 30 points in the fourth quarter but it wasn’t enough to rally the Jaguars to victory. Logan McKee pitched in with 11 points for GV.
Marquis Kubish tallied 17 points for the Rams.

In the Inter-Ac League:

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By Matt Smith

Mary O’Brien knew before the start of the season that she had to become Marple Newtown’s best scoring option.

This is now she and fellow Brooke Impriano’s team. For the Tigers to have success, the two varsity veterans had to make up for the loss of last year’s leading scorers, Haley Levy and Nikki Mostardi, who led the Tigers to a 20-win campaign and a PIAA tournament win for the first time in team history.

“Losing our two main scorers from last year, we knew – me and Brooke knew that we had to shoot a little more and be a little more selfish than usual,” O’Brien said Thursday after leading the Tigers over Upper Darby, 43-25.

Because Impriano injured her ankle earlier this week and was unavailable for Thursday’s contest, O’Brien put the onus on herself. The four-year starter almost outscored Upper Darby by her lonesome. O’Brien shot 10 of 19 from the floor, including 4 of 12 from 3-point distance, and finished with a game-high 23 points.

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By Sean Barnard

It was as if the packed house was on top of the court at Penn Wood with every jeer, chirp, or chant being heard loud and clear. 

“This environment is special,” Chichester head coach Clyde Jones put it. “I think the gym helps you build character. It’s a major advantage learning to play in this environment. This is practice for anything later on in playoffs and districts and so forth.”

It was a playoff-like atmosphere in the Thursday night Delaware Valley Conference matchup which came down to the final minute. Chichester managed to secure the hard-fought 63-57 victory despite the late-game effort of Penn Wood. 

Chichester jumped out to a 16-12 lead after the first quarter before Penn Wood answered with a 10-0 run to kick off the start of the second quarter. 

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Laila Johnson had a monster game as Penn Wood jumped out to an early lead and rolled over Chichester in the Del Val League, 62-28.
The Patriots led 14-7 after one quarter and 33-15 at the half. Johnson paired 23 points with seven rebounds and six steals. Xeria Gillis posted a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Rayne Edwards scored 13 points and Alyssa Furlow scored 10 for the Eagles.

In another Del Val game:
Academy Park 44, Interboro 33 » Emani Banks put up 18 points, seven rebounds, four blocks and four steals for the Patriots. Alaysia Kinlaw pitched in with nine points, seven boards and three steals.
Alaina DeAngelo topped the Bucs with 13 points.

In the Catholic League:

Cardinal O’Hara 62, Little Flower 26 » Sophomore Molly Rullo tallied 18 points to pace the Lions to their eighth straight win. Junior Joanie Quinn chipped in with 11 points.
Archbishop Carroll 61, Conwell-Egan 43 » Freshman Alexis Eberz tallied a career-high 22 points and pulled down five rebounds to lead the Patriots to their third straight win. Brooke Wilson pitched in with 15 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists and sophomore Olivia Nardi added 12 points.

In the Ches-Mont League:
Unionville 48, Sun Valley 29 » Elbe Johnson paced the Longhorns with 11 points.
Jaina Preuhs had nine points and Rory Tiedeman six for the Vanguards.

 

By Neil Geoghegan

Chris Cowles was quick to acknowledge that his halftime adjustments and words of encouragement had absolutely nothing to do with the way the Unionville boys basketball squad rebounded from a poor first half, outscored visiting Sun Valley by 22 in the second half, and cruised to a 57-36 Ches-Mont American triumph.

“In the first half we were not doing our foundational stuff, and that’s why we struggled to score,” the Longhorns’ head coach explained. “In the second half, we did more of what we are supposed to do.”

It made for two diametrically opposing halves of basketball. In the opening 20 minutes, the Vanguards (2-3, 6-6 overall) forced 16 turnovers and led by a point at the half. But the rest of the way, Unionville (6-0, 12-1) surrendered a total of 13 points, which was Sun Valley’s total in the first quarter alone.

“We knew we would have to play well in (Unionville’s) gym – they are 12-1 for a reason,” said Vanguards’ head coach Steve Maloney. “They are an experienced group. We knew we had to apply as much pressure as we could, and we were on point in the first half. You don’t cause 16 turnovers and you’re not ready to play.

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By Matt Smith

Springfield had two things with which to concern itself going into Tuesday’s Central League battle against Garnet Valley.

First, the team was without senior forward Anabel Kreydt, one of the Cougars’ leaders and most well-rounded players. Kreydt was unable to play due to an eye infection, but she shouldn’t miss a lot of time.

The second major factor Springfield players had to think about was winning a big game on the road on coach Ky McNichol’s birthday.

The Cougars handled both scenarios in grinding out a 39-33 victory over the reigning Central League champions. Springfield (11-2) has won seven in a row.

After the game McNichol was forced to answer difficult questions, such as, did the kids do anything special for her birthday?

“They made homemade cupcakes, sang happy birthday in the locker room,” McNichol said. “These kids are the best. It was nice that we celebrated with a birthday win.”

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It took Haverford High eight minutes Tuesday to just about match their offense from the previous 24 minutes. And that was enough for the Fords.

Googie Seidman scored eight of his game-high 27 points in the fourth quarter as the Fords eked out a 49-45 win over Penncrest. The Fords outscored the Lions, 24-14, in the final frame.

Seidman hit two 3-pointers in the third quarter and was 10-for-12 from the line on the game. Brian Weiner scored all eight of his points in the final stanza, and Tommy Wright had five of his seven points in the fourth.

Mikey Mita led Penncrest with 23 points. Brendan Hemphill added eight points.

Also in the Central League:

Radnor 57, Conestoga 31 >> Make it 12 in a row to start the season for the Raptors, thanks to a balanced effort with nine points each from Charlie Thornton, Jackson Hicke and Cooper Mueller. Danny Rosenblum and Jackson Gaffney added eight each, and Henry Pierce had seven.

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By Matt Smith

It’s tradition for Archbishop Carroll and Cardinal O’Hara to play an extremely difficult nonleague schedule and this season isn’t any different.

The young Lions are off to a 7-2 start after losing two of their first three games. They have impressive wins over South Bronx Prep, Academy of Notre Dame and West Chester Rustin. O’Hara defeated George School (Newtown) at the Blue Star Invitational Sunday, 46-28, for its sixth consecutive victory.

“We still have a lot to do to get better, but we know everyone on the team has the same focus,” junior guard Joanie Quinn said after the Lions’ win over Notre Dame in December. “We have to bring energy into every game.”

With four new starters, the reigning two-time PIAA Class 5A champions have thus far kicked the “rebuilding” label. Now a Class 6A program, the Lions are every bit as dangerous, just with a fresh coat of paint. Sophomore Molly Rullo is the star, but Quinn and fellow juniors Greta Miller and Carly Coleman have provided plenty of support.

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By Zak Wolf

The game is slowing down for Archbishop Ryan junior Darren Williams. 

After being a defensive specialist during his freshman season, Williams turned into a second-team all-Catholic League player last year. The shooting guard averaged 12 points, 4 rebounds and two assists per game, helping Ryan make it to the Catholic League championship. Williams flashed his potential, scoring 20 points against Archbishop Wood in the quarterfinals.

After an improved sophomore campaign, Williams has taken another step this season. The junior’s all-around game has gotten better, sacrificing more and doing the little things to help his team win. WIlliams was everywhere in Ryan’s 62-44 victory over Archbishop Carroll on Tuesday, recording 19 points, eight rebounds, six assists and four steals. 

“It always happens in your second year, playing varsity level in the PCL,” Ryan head coach Joe Zeglinski said.

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