Lilley (14) faced double and triple-teams from Cheltenham all night, but that’s nothing new for the Penn State commit. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)
By Josh Verlin
Every game this season, Gregg Downer has written the same hyphenated phrase on the whiteboard. Inside-out.
When you have Demetrius Lilley inside, there’s no other option.
“Every game, I put on the board, ‘inside-out, inside-out, inside-out,’” Downer said, “and I tell the kids, I’m going to write that until (Lilley) graduates.”
The Aces’ difference-maker is indeed their 6-foot-9, 230-pound, Penn State-bound forward, an imposing two-way force whose abilities and production in the post are unrivaled in the district. And when you have such a presence inside, and you’ve been around as long as Downer has, you’re going to take advantage of it as often as you can, for as long as you can.
Lower Merion went to Lilley early, late, and everywhere in between in a District 1 6A semifinal against Cheltenham on Tuesday night. The LM senior put up a monster double-double with 20 points and a season-high 24 rebounds as the Aces downed the Panthers, 61-54, to advance to Saturday’s championship game at Temple University’s Liacouras Center.