Author: delcohoops

By Matt Smith

Anna Reger had one job: stay locked in on Strath Haven’s Maddie Fanning from start to finish.

In Wednesday’s District 1 Class 5A quarterfinal showdown between the Central League rivals, the matchup between Radnor’s Reger and the Panthers’ Fanning was one to watch. Both are quick, undersized guards who can take over a game with their speed and defensive intensity.

Reger, a three-year starter, got the best of the exciting rookie. Her relentless on-ball defense on the Panthers’ standout freshman helped propel No. 2 Radnor to a 50-32 victory over seventh-seeded Strath Haven.

With the win, the Raptors advance to Friday night’s semifinal round and punched their ticket to the PIAA tournament next month. Radnor will host sixth-seeded Villa Maria, which claimed a 51-31 decision over No. 3 Lower Moreland Tuesday.

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By Joseph Santoliquito

If she needs to rebound one night, that’s okay with Charlotte Aldridge. If the 6-foot junior swing has to defend the opposition’s best offensive player the next game, she’s okay with that, too. If Downingtown East needs her to stretch a defense with her outside shooting, that’s also okay with her.

Wherever she is needed, Aldridge is more than willing to fulfill that role.

On Wednesday, it happened to be a little of all the above, scoring 17 points and being an interior defensive presence against smaller Chester in Downingtown East’s 57-44 second-round District 1 Class 6A victory at East.

The No. 5-seeded Cougars (22-3) will now advance to the district quarterfinal round at No. 4 Central Bucks East on Saturday at 1 p.m., while No. 12 Chester (19-5) will try to qualify for states in the playback round hosting No. 14 Spring-Ford on Saturday at 2 p.m.

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By Owen McCue 

Before Colson Campbell arrived at Upper Moreland High School, the Golden Bears boys basketball program had only been to the state playoffs three times.

Campbell was part of a team in 2022 that broke a nine-year state playoff drought. On Wednesday night, he and his senior teammates became the only group to be a part of two state playoff teams. 

Senior Jadon Cybok caught fire and Campbell celebrated a milestone night as No. 4 Upper Moreland pulled away from No. 5 Marple Newtown for a 67-49 District 1 5A quarterfinal win.

The victory secures the fifth state playoff berth in program history for the Golden Bears (1983, 2006, 2013, 2022, 2025) and advances them to Saturday’s district semifinal against top seed Upper Dublin. The Tigers will host No. 9 Chichester in a state playback game.

“They showed me freshman year, I saw from those seniors how to lead the team,” Campbell said. “Upper Moreland doesn’t really go to states that often, so I knew it was special. And sophomore, junior year it was harder to get there, but this year it feels like it came all the way back around and all the hard work I put in finally paid off. For this team to make it to states is just incredible.”

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By Matthew DeGeorge

Part of the job for Grayson Golek, moving off the ball in Garnet Valley’s offense, is to have his head constantly up and ready to receive passes.

When the ball is in teammate Jake Sniras’ hands and the connection between two of the program’s special players is humming the way only some players are capable of linking up, it’s even more pronounced.

Golek poured in 30 points amid a career night, leading the fourth-seeded Jaguars to a 72-54 win over No. 13 Bensalem that deposits the Jaguars into the PIAA tournament for the four straight year and fifth in the last six. The Jaguars also move on to face fifth-seeded Plymouth Whitemarsh in the District 1 Class 6A tournament Friday.

Golek shot 13-for-19 from the field, to go with 10 rebounds. Sniras, despite struggling to a 3-for-14 shooting night, was otherwise outstanding, with seven rebounds, eight assists, four steals and three blocks to go with his six points.

Most of the dimes found their way into the hands of Golek.

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By Joseph Santoliquito 

Kylie Mulholland was getting a little afraid. Days were passing on the 5-foot-3 Garnet Valley senior guard. She really had no idea what she was going to do a month ago. It was getting deeper into February and she had no college destination.

On Sunday, that changed, when she committed to Division II Jefferson University coach Tom Shirley over the phone.  

Mulholland celebrated that on Tuesday night playing a complete game, scoring 13 points in aiding No. 2 seed Garnet Valley to a 54-38 second-round PIAA District 1 Class 6A playoff victory over visiting No. 15 seed North Penn.

The Jaguars (24-1) will now advance to the district quarterfinal round against the winner of Wednesday’s Downingtown West-Haverford High matchup. North Penn, which won its opening round game, still has a chance to make the state playoffs through the playback round.

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By Joseph Santoliquito

Grayson Golek was mugged by teammates and friends as he walked off the court Tuesday night. More than a few told the sweaty 6-foot-5 Garnet Valley sophomore directly, “You can do this.”

Maybe next time, Golek will listen.

The first thing he admits is that he sometimes gets in his own way. He knows what he is capable of doing on a basketball court, and at times he’s shown it.

Like Tuesday night, when he dropped a career-high 30 points on Bensalem in Garnet Valley’s 72-54 second-round PIAA District 1 Class 6A playoff game.

The No. 4-seeded Jaguars (18-6) will advance to quarterfinal round to play No. 5 seed Plymouth-Whitemarsh on Friday at 7 p.m., while Bensalem (15-10) will take on Neshaminy in the playback round.

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Khamai Orange and Bradford Berwick scored 14 points each Tuesday night and Delco Christian rolled over Calvary Christian, 67-30, in a District 1 Class 2A boys basketball playoff.

Delco Christian will meet Christopher Dock, a 54-34 winner over Church Farm School, in the district championship game Saturday. Both DCCS and Dock have clinched spots in the PIAA Class 2A state tourney.

Beau Lyren added 11 points for the Knights (24-2 overall), who had a 37-15 halftime lead over CC.

Girls Basketball

Ninth-seeded Marple Newtown battled but came up short against top-seeded Gwynedd Mercy, falling 44-37 in the District 1 Class 5A quarterfinals.

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The Lower Merion High School boys’ basketball team began defense of its PIAA District 1 Class 6A title in convincing fashion Tuesday, posting a 70-30 win over visiting Pennsbury in front of a capacity crowd at Bryant Gymnasium.

The win clinched Lower Merion’s 15th consecutive PIAA state tournament berth and 19 in the last 21 years.

After opening the game with a 21-8 lead after one quarter, the Aces wasted no time tightening the defense, holding the visiting Falcons to just five points in the second quarter. The Lower Merion offense did the rest behind the combination of Gus Wright and Carson Kasmer, allowing LM to push the lead to 40-13 at halftime.

The Aces closed the door in the second half coming out of the locker room and playing stingy defense on their way to the victory.

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By CoBL Staff

The PIAA state playoffs are in sight.

The second round of the District 1 6A tournament is also the first way teams can extend their seasons well into March, a win on Tuesday guaranteeing at least four more games remain. The eight losers go into the playback round, where they’re all two wins away from earning one of the last couple bids into the PIAA bracket. 

Here’s a look at all eight of Tuesday’s games, which all tip off at 7:00 PM:

1) Lower Merion vs. 17) Pennsbury (7:00 PM)

The defending District 1 6A champs, Lower Merion (20-4) is starting its quest for its fourth championship in five years, one of the more impressive stretches of Gregg Downer’s legendary career. What makes it particularly notable is that each of the last two years, the Aces have replaced almost the entirety of their rotation and kept it rolling. This year, senior guard Carson Kasmer has taken his turn as Lower Merion’s star, the Gettysburg-bound left-hander leading a group that also features seniors Gus Wright, Rashyne Patterson, Lamont Grier and Sam’i Singletary in the starting lineup. There isn’t a ton of size, but Downer goes five-out and makes you guard them all.

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By CoBL Staff 

The District 1 5A girls’ bracket continues Tuesday night with the quarterfinals, four games that also serve as PIAA state qualifiers. Seven of the eight remaining teams will end up in the PIAA tournament: the four who win tomorrow night and three of the four who end up in the playback brackets, so everybody left in the field has at least three games remaining in the season.

With last year’s winner, Bishop Shanahan, out of the picture, there’s going to be a new champion this year, and it’s a field that seems wide-open going into the quarterfinals — at least, after one squad whose regular season went quite a bit better than anybody else’s.

Here’s a look at all four games:

1) Gwynedd Mercy vs. 9) Marple Newtown (6:00 PM)

The Monarchs finished the season 19-2, far and away the top team in the District 1 5A formula rankings, first-year head coach Taylor Sweeney’s group sweeping the AACA regular season. A loss to Villa Maria in the AACA championship game showed that GMA (20-3) is beatable, but aside from three games against Villa Maria, they don’t have any other regular-season games against 5A opponents.

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