Author: delcohoops

By Joseph Santoliquito

The doubts would creep in, because his base was off. What seems natural comes in time, Springfield (Delco.) 6-foot-2 senior Mike O’Donnell realizes each sports year he makes the transition from football to basketball.

So, as the Cougars struggled to a bitter 0-3 start, O’Donnell struggled along with them, looking to find his hoop legs and his shot once more.

Maybe a portent that his search is over came on Tuesday night, when he led visiting Springfield with a season-high 18 points in the Cougars’ 52-42 victory over Strath Haven in a Central League game.

The Cougars have now won three of their last four, improving to 3-4 overall and 2-2 in the Central League, while Strath Haven, led by sophomore Jahi Curtis’ 18 off the bench, fell to 5-2 and 2-2 in the league.

(click on this link for the full story)

By Matthew DeGeorge

Any given night, as a young Garnet Valley core has coalesced, any of four or five players could be the one to shoulder the offensive load.

Tuesday afternoon, two key members of that group hadn’t made a basket by halftime. Yet the Jaguars still entered the break with a lead over Upper Darby.

“It can be anyone’s night at any time,” sophomore Jake Sniras said. “We just like to support each other.”

Tuesday was Sniras’ night, the sophomore scoring 26 points on 11-for-16 shooting in outlasting the Royals, 71-68, in an engaging Central League affair.

Sniras scored 15 points in the first half to keep the Jaguars (5-1, 3-1 Central) afloat, though they didn’t get a made basket from Logan McKee or Max Koehler in the opening 16 minutes. Sniras hit five straight baskets in the second period, then connected on his last five looks from the field, including nine vital points in the fourth to hold off the Royals’ late charge. He drained a triple with less than 10 seconds left in the first quarter, then hit a floater at the horn in the third quarter to make it 46-40 after three.

(click on this link for the full story and more game scores)

By Josh Verlin

Several events run by Scholastic Play-By-Play Classics will take place in the Philadelphia area in the run-up to New Years’ Eve, beginning with the Wilmington PBP Classic, this Wednesday at the Chase Fieldhouse. 

Five teams from the Philadelphia area will meet four Delaware squads and one from Maryland for some interstate hoops, with games starting at 1 PM and running through the evening. Here’s a look at the quintet:

Archbishop Carroll vs. Conrad (Del.) (1:00 PM)
The day begins with the Patriots meeting the Red Wolves, who are off to a 4-0 start, though they haven’t played anybody with the talent level of a Philadelphia Catholic League squad.

(click on this link for the full preview as well as other games in this tournament)

Boys –

Terrence Cobb put his name in the Chester High record books Monday.
The senior guard scored a career-high 31 points and tied the single-game school record with seven 3-point field goals to lead the Clippers to an 85-32 shellacking of Thomas McKean (Del.).
Kyree Womack netted 16 points and Jaseir Thompson added 11 points in his season debut for Chester.
Monday’s victory was the third in a row for the Clippers, who began the season with two straight defeats.

Girls –

Sacred Heart Academy was off and running Monday afternoon. The Lions scored all 22 points in the first quarter on the way to a 55-17 nonleague win over Dock Mennonite.
SHA hit 11 shots from 3-point distance, including three by Grace Brown (nine points). Kearn McCafferey led a balanced offense with 10 points. Linh Taitt and Megan Donahue each chipped in with eight points.

Immaculate Heart Academy hit two of its six 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to pull out a 49-44 victory over Archbishop Carroll in the She Got Game Classic in New Jersey.
The Blue Eagles outscored the Patriots, 21-16, in the fourth quarter to break a 28-28 deadlock. Immaculate Heart also shot 6-for-6 from the free throw line in the final period. Isabella Ascensio led the winners with 17 points.
Alexis Egan topped Carroll (1-5) with 17 points. Brooke Wilson posted a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Taylor Wilson pitched in with seven points and five boards for the Patriots.

In action Friday:

Notre Dame 40, Episcopal Academy 24 » The Irish rode a strong start to a victory over the Churchwomen.
Notre Dame led 7-2 after one quarter and took an 18-7 lead into the locker room at halftime. Chloe Knox paced Notre Dame with 12 points. Annie Greek pitched in with 10.
Bella Notaro topped EA with 10 points.

Eighth-grader Silas Graham showed Sunday that he belongs on the varsity level.
Graham poured in 30 points as Haverford School rallied for a 65-62 victory over Cristo Rey in the Post and Pivot Reindeer Games.
Graham was named game MVP. The Fords (5-4) trailed by as many as 13 points in the second quarter and were in a 48-42 hole entering the fourth quarter but outscored the Blue Pride, 23-14 to take the victory. Luke Rasmussen chipped in with 10 points to help the Fords to their second straight win.

In action Saturday:

Mount Calvary Christian 50, Delco Christian 45 » The Chargers outscored the Knights, 21-9, in the fourth quarter to rally from a 36-29 deficit.
Caleb Jameson posted a double-double for DC with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Beau Lyren led the Knights with 15 points.

By Joseph Santoliquito

Jackson Hicke isn’t the first-guy-off-the-bus type. You know the kind. The imposing figure. The intimidator. Eagles’ mammoth defensive tackle Jordan Davis sets a vivid picture.

Opposing teams see that and they tend to quake.

They don’t when they see Radnor get off the bus. If Saturday night in the Fifth Annual Diane Mosco Invitational Shootout is any indication, the Central League and any team in the PIAA District 1 Class 5A better start.

Hicke personifies Radnor.

If you didn’t know him, and area basketball folks are still finding out, you would assume Hicke, Radnor’s Princeton-bound 6-foot-5 senior, is more the Tom Holland-type with a basketball, sans the Spider-Man suit. Take a closer look and the contrary surfaces in scraped elbows and knees, and a purplish bruise under his right eye or they miss the time Hicke hit two free throws with blood pouring out of his nose.

(click on this link for the full story)

Penn Wood’s Nasir Washington scored 25 points Saturday in leading the Patriots to an 85-56 win over Bartram. That came a day after he poured in 37 points to help the Patriots top Paul Robeson, 90-64.
Mekhi Shillingford added 18 points against Bartram. Sadiq Fountain chipped in 16 points. Anthony Murray and Kivale Clarke tallied nine each for Penn Wood. Fountain added 17 points in the win over Robeson Friday, and Murray supplied 13.

Radnor 57, Archbishop Ryan 42 » Charlie Thornton scored eight of his 13 points in the third quarter, as the Raptors outscored Ryan. Jackson Hicke led all scorers with 24 points, including nine in the fourth quarter.

Chester 57, Delcastle Tech 47 » Kyree Womack scored 20 points as Keith Taylor picked up his 100th career victory with the Clippers, the seventh Chester coach to hit that milestone. Terrence Cobb added 18 points, Dominic Toy chipped in seven points for Chester (2-2).

Chester Charter Scholars Academy 66, Lincoln Leadership Academy 55 » Kevin Miller scored 21 points and Jabryl Bennet added 12 as the Sabers improved to 5-0. Jayden Williams paired seven points with seven assists, 10 rebounds and five steals.

West Nottingham Academy 85, Episcopal 66 » Kevin McCarthy scored 24 points with five 3-pointers, but the Churchmen couldn’t keep pace with the team from Maryland.
TJ Lamb supplied 16 points, Murilo Pereira adding nine.

Brooke Wilson and Taylor Wilson combined for 27 points, including 15 of the 17 points scored by Archbishop Carroll in the fourth quarter as they outlasted Abington, 48-44, at the She Got Game Classic.
Brooke Wilson led the Patriots (1-4) with 14 points, Taylor Wilson added 13.

A night earlier, at the same tournament, Carroll was outscored 22-4 in the final eight minutes to drop a 55-45 loss to Manasquan. That was despite Taylor Wilson scoring 21 points.

Coatesville 63, Academy Park 26 » Alaysia Kinlaw scored eight points, and Semaji Young and Emani Banks added six points apiece for the Knights.

By Rich Flanagan

It was a sight that had not been in Upper Darby’s purview for more than a decade.

Nadir Myers stepped to the line and calmly sank two free throws to give Upper Darby a seven-point lead with 35.4 seconds remaining. It wasn’t just the crashing claps of his hands, but the Royals bench erupted with excitement after each make signaling a victory was at-hand and, even more so, that something special may be brewing for a program that hasn’t captured a Central League title since 2011.

For Myers, the exalted feeling of icing the game at the line after an incredible second half that saw him make one play after the next, including two personal stops at the defensive end.

“I’m a leader on the floor and working on talking more,” Myers said. “It’s all about reading what the defense is giving me.”

(click on this link for the full story)