Category: Latest News

By Mike Mayer, Web master

I don’t think there is any way I would have ever imagined back in 2013, when we decided to create and introduce Delcohoops.com, that we would be talking about 1,500,000 web page hits after only 7 seasons!  But that is exactly what has occurred as we come to the end of the 2019/20 high school basketball season. WOW!

As impressive are the numbers of games we have broadcast in the past 7 years (over 120).  We not only have a following in the Delaware County but in Pennsylvania as well.  Our broadcasts are also picked-up in 20 states and 10 foreign countries including France, Germany and Israel. That’s the beauty of the Internet.  If you’re connected you can get us anywhere in the world!

A special thank-you to our crew, Dave Burman, Pete Fulginiti and Andrew Kauffman who have made our Internet broadcasts a thing of beauty and excitement for the thousands that have listened live or on archive.  To Brian Carroll, our first play-by-play broadcaster, who was instrumental in getting our basketball broadcast started.  A special thank-you to Mark Jordan, Radnor’s girls basketball coach, who amid his own team’s run for district championships, has been a guest commentator during our playoff broadcast and has added so much information and insight for our listeners.

To all the Athletic Directors who, in spite of being responsible for dozens of teams and schedules, have always worked to make us comfortable and able to do our broadcasts in their facilities.

Last, but certainly not least, our sponsors who appear on the right of this page.  It costs over $3,000 a year to maintain these pages and broadcast capability.  Keystone Quality Transport stepped up in a big way this year to make sure we were able to broadcast every possible game during the regular season and hectic playoffs. The Delco Times whose articles fill these pages and who have also stepped up to promote our playoff broadcasts.  To all the other sponsors, their continued support, most of them since the inception, have made it possible to continue our efforts. Please patronize them whenever possible and tell them you appreciate their support of Delcohoops.com

We’re looking forward to hitting the 2 million mark!  

By Matthew DeGeorge

Since the calendar flipped to 2020, Chester has found itself on the wrong side of the ledger just one time. The Jan. 18 setback to Baltimore’s Polytechnic High School is the Clippers’ only loss in the last 18 outings.

And in last week’s win over Lower Merion, they got a boost with the return of Fareed Burton, who had missed the previous three games, including the first-round postseason win against Haverford. It’s a big boost to return a starting point guard for Tuesday’s date with top-seeded Methacton in the District 1 Class 6A semifinal game at Temple. Tipoff is at 7:30 p.m.

Burton was quiet against Lower Merion, going 0-for-5 from the field for just three points. But his energy on the defensive end helped repel the threat of Lower Merion’s Sam Brown. And for a team that only goes seven players deep when everyone’s healthy, every body off Keith Taylor’s bench counts.

“It’s a pleasure to have Fareed back,” junior forward Karell Watkins said after the game against the Aces. “We were missing him. We needed his energy. We needed his hustle. We just needed everything from him, and he gave it to us tonight.”

(click on this link for the full story)

Webmaster’s note: Both today’s D1 6A Chester vs Methacton and tomorrow’s D1 5A Penn Wood vs Penncrest semi-final playoff games will be broadcast LIVE  on our Game-of-the-Week broadcast. Today’s broadcast begins at 7:15 PM while tomorrow’s will begin at 5:45 PM.

By CoBL Staff

1) Methacton vs. 4) Chester (7:30 PM)
When it comes to district tournament experience, these two programs are just about polar opposites. For decades, Chester has been a regular presence this deep in districts, winning more than its fair share, even though the Clippers (21-3) haven’t done so since the 2014 AAAA district tournament, before the state went from four to six classifications. Methacton, meanwhile, has never been this deep in the district tournament, but that doesn’t mean this group of Warriors (24-2) are in over their heads. Just the opposite, in fact: after winning their third consecutive Pioneer Athletic Conference title, routinely beating their conference foes by 20-30 points or more, Methacton had no problems in its first two district games, beating No. 16 Council Rock South 66-41 and then No. 8 Pennridge 69-46. Chester didn’t have many problems in beating No. 13 Haverford 64-44 in its second-round game, but had to fight off No. 5 Lower Merion 54-46 in the quarterfinals.

(click on this link for the full preview)

Webmaster’s note: Both today’s D1 6A Chester vs Methacton and tomorrow’s D1 5A Penn Wood vs Penncrest semi-final playoff games will be broadcast LIVE  on our Game-of-the-Week broadcast. Today’s broadcast begins at 7:15 PM while tomorrow’s will begin at 5:45 PM.

By Matthew DeGeorge

On any given night, Marquis Tomlin can occupy any number of roles in the Penncrest backcourt. Some nights, it’s as the shutdown defender. Others, he’s directing the offense at the point. Sometimes, he’s playing off the ball, ready to knock down shots.

Saturday night, with point guard Saahir Lee out injured and Aidan Carroll sitting with early foul trouble, it wasn’t an either/or situation. Tomlin would have to do all three.

And did he ever.

Tomlin led all scorers with 16 points, but his lock-down defense on Strath Haven’s Luke Edwards made the difference in a 43-34 win for the third-seeded Lions in the District 1 Class 5A quarterfinals.

The victory sends Penncrest (21-6) to its fourth straight state tournament and fifth in six seasons. The Lions take on No. 10 Penn Wood, which upended No. 2 Holy Ghost Prep, 69-59, in Wednesday’s semifinal, at 6 p.m. at Norristown High School.

Sixth-seeded Strath Haven (16-9) will make states if it wins at Holy Ghost Wednesday in playbacks.

(click on this link for the full story)

Webmaster’s note: Missed the game? Listen to the entire game on our archive file listed below. Go to our Broadcast Archives page for all game archives.

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By Matt Chandik

 Marquis Tomlin was still breathing a little heavy some 20 minutes after his Penncrest team cemented a spot in the PIAA Class 5A state tournament with a 43-34 win over rival Strath Haven at Kaufman Gymnasium.

Because of Tomlin, though, the Lions were breathing a lot easier after having to fend off the Panthers for the third time in four meetings this year. With starting guard Saahir Lee out of the lineup due to an injury sustained against Lower Merion, coach Mike Doyle leaned heavily on Tomlin to do, well, just about everything.

The senior guard poured in 13 of his game-high 16 points in the second half and effectively shut off Strath Haven’s main source of offense by limiting Luke Edwards to one field goal and two attempts in the final three quarters. The points are always nice and they were needed Saturday night, but Tomlin has always prided himself on his defensive work, and it was on full display.

(click on this link for the full story)

By Mitchell Gladstone

Three years ago, Chester Charter didn’t exist.

But when the school opened up just two miles down 9th Street from Chester High, there were going to be expectations. That’s just what happens when you play in a community that can lay claim to eight PIAA state championships and another 10 runner-up finishes.

The question was how the Sabers were going to live up to those expectations.

It started by building a program. Chester Charter played nine guys Saturday afternoon, all of whom were juniors or seniors.

Then came challenging themselves. The Sabers took on much bigger schools like Penncrest, West Chester East and Unionville, only to get blown out.

But it’s all lead to winning, and with its second victory of the season against The Christian Academy, Chester Charter secured its first District 1 Class 1A title in school history. After trailing by as many as 10 in the second quarter, the No. 2 seed Sabers surged with a 16-4 spurt out of the half and took down the top-seeded Crusaders 63-56 at Lower Merion.

“It means everything for our school,” coach Daniel Spangler said of winning the district crown. “If you know the city of Chester, they support us almost as much as they support Chester High. We’re still new on the scene, but we’re getting a lot of love from the city.”

(click on this link for the full story)

Webmaster’s note: Missed the game? Listen to the entire game on our archive file listed below. Go to our Broadcast Archives page for all game archives.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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By Bill Rudick

Top-seeded West Chester East jumped out to a big early lead against No. 8 Radnor, then cruised to a decisive 68-48 victory in front of a capacity home crowd Saturday in the quarterfinals of the District 1 Class 5A championships.

With the win, the Vikings (22-2) move on to the semifinals against Rustin, a 62-51 winner over No. 4 Unionville, and guarantee themselves a return trip to the state tournament.

“I’m a senior, so for my last season, I really wanted to get another chance to play in states, so to know we’re going feels great,” said the Vikings’ Tym Richardson. “We also still have a shot at a district title, and after losing in the finals last year, it shows the kind of work we put in (during) the offseason to be in a position to get back to the finals. Winning one this year as a senior would be a great way to go out.”

Richardson had a great night, matching his jersey number with 21 points, 18 from the field and a perfect 3 for 3 from the line. But for Richardson, it was the job he and his teammates did on the other end that spelled the difference.

“We work hard on defense,” Richardson said. “We believe that defense turns our offense. We knew we had a size advantage, and we took advantage of it.”

Behind that defense, the Vikings opened the game on a 17-2 run, and led 19-7 at the break. They never looked back.

(click on this link for the full story)

By Matthew DeGeorge

If you were measuring just the battle of the bigs in the first half Friday night, you might’ve thought the scoreboard at the Fred Pickett Memorial Gymnasium was a little off.

On one side, Lower Merion’s sensational 6-9 sophomore Demetrius Lilley was dominant, accounting for 13 points. On the other, Chester’s 6-7 Karell Watkins was just OK, by his lofty standards – four points, four boards, as many baskets made as he’d had attempts swatted away by Lilley (two).

But Watkins had the last laugh, with Lilley rooted to the bench, in a battle of underclassmen who seem destined to stamp their names in the history book of District 1’s most exalted rivalry.

Watkins was unstoppable in the fourth quarter, scoring 13 of his game-high 23 points in the frame as Chester withstood a run by Lower Merion to pull out a 54-46 win in the District 1 Class 6A quarterfinals.

(click on this link for the full story)

Webmaster’s note: Missed the game? Listen to the entire game on our archive file listed below. Go to our Broadcast Archives page for all game archives.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

By Matt Smith

Jack Cavanaugh received high praise from coach Bob Miller after Upper Darby’s 73-68 victory over Plymouth Whitemarsh in a District 1 Class 6A playback game Friday night.

“That was the best game he’s had all season,” Miller said.

And in the biggest game of the 19th-seeded Royals’ season, where a win kept them alive for a berth in next month’s PIAA tournament and a loss would send them home for good, Cavanaugh delivered in the clutch.

Cavanugh, a sharpshooting senior guard, buried the go-ahead 3-pointer late in the fourth quarter after Plymouth Whitemarsh went ahead on a trey by exciting freshman guard Qudire Bennett.

“If you watched him all offseason and every day in practice, he’s a kid who makes shot after shot. He just hasn’t had a night like this,” Miller said. “I told my assistant coaches that when we lost (junior guard) Shareef Jones (to a season-ending injury) for playoffs, that we really need Jack to step up and make some shots.”

(click on this link for the full story)

By Josh Verlin

3) Penncrest vs. 6) Strath Haven
The other league matchup in the 5A quarterfinals is this battle of Central League foes, who met twice during the regular season and again during the playoffs. Penncrest (20-6) won two of the three meetings, as Mike Doyle’s Lions captured a 57-52 win at Haven on Dec. 17 and a 48-44 decision at home in the first round of the Central League playoffs, though the Panthers (16-8) beat Penncrest on their home court 50-47 on Jan. 30. So no matter what, expect this one to be close, as Penncrest goes for its fourth straight 5A state appearance (the Lions won the district in ‘17 and ‘18), while Haven just won a district 5A game for the first time in three tries since the state changed classification systems four years ago.

(click on this link for all the 5A game previews)

Webmaster’s note: The Strath Haven vs Penncrest 5A Quarter-final will be audio broadcast LIVE right here on Delcohoops.com tonight at 6:45!