Boys: Kwaidah, Sun Valley showing growth with win over Upper Merion

Sun Valley's Chris Kwaidah (30), in action last season, had 22 points to lead the Vanguards to a 66-59 nonleague victory over Upper Merion Saturday. (Pete Bannan/MediaNews Group).

Sun Valley’s Chris Kwaidah (30), in action last season, had 22 points to lead the Vanguards to a 66-59 nonleague victory over Upper Merion Saturday. (Pete Bannan/MediaNews Group).

By Matthew DeGeorge

A year ago, Chris Kwaidah was one of Delco’s most prolific 3-point shooters as a junior at Sun Valley.

A year older and stronger, Kwaidah’s shooting touch remains. But the skillet surrounding his long-range ability is so much more complete. So in games like Saturday’s 66-59 win over Upper Merion, you might have expected the back-to-back 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to stem the tide of a Vikings’ rally – one a catch-and-shoot on the wing; one an in-your-face transition triple.

But the other plays that made a difference, like Kwaidah swooping in for a put-back and-1 in a rampant first half for the Vanguards, are newer aspects to his game. With it comes hope that the Vanguards can reach a new level this postseason.

Kwaidah led all scorers with 22 points. Sixteen came in a first half when Sun Valley led by as many as 25 and built a 40-20 lead over the sleep-walking visiting Vikings, in a nonleague clash of teams sitting ninth and 12th in the District 1 Class 5A power rankings. He then added a pair of triples just when Upper Merion had charged back to within 55-52, putting the game away in the final three minutes.

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