Boys: Justin DiBona helps Marple Newtown snap slide

Justin DiBona, right, in action against Garnet Valley last season, scored 17 points to lift Marple Newtown to a 62-52 victory over Upper Darby. (Pete Bannan/MediaNews Group)

Justin DiBona, right, in action against Garnet Valley last season, scored 17 points to lift Marple Newtown to a 62-52 victory over Upper Darby. (Pete Bannan/MediaNews Group)

By Matthew DeGeorge

In so many words, Justin DiBona and his Marple Newtown teammates understood the trends at play Thursday night.

The Tigers had won six of eight to start the season, then lost three straight, all with the 5A school tangling with the Central League’s 6A powers. To start the second half of a 22-game season the same way as the first, DiBona knew the Tigers would need to buck the losing trend against Upper Darby.

With DiBona leading the way, they were ready.

The senior guard supplied 11 of his 17 points in the first half, staking the Tigers to an early lead on the way to a 62-52 win.

For Marple (7-5, 4-4 Central), the win ends a three-game skid. For Upper Darby (3-7, 3-5) a three-game winning streak halts. Such is the Central League crossover conundrum.

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