Category: Latest News

by Neil Geoghegan

The West Chester East boys took another step forward in the effort to fill in the circles from some postseason disappointments a year ago.

Last week, the Vikings captured the program’s first Ches-Mont league basketball crown. And on Tuesday East opened the District 1 Class 5A Tournament by pulling away late for a 42-29 triumph over Sun Valley, avenging a bitter setback to the Vanguards in the 2019 District Final.

“We obviously remember what happened last year, but we tried to approach this like we would any other game,” said Vikings’ star Andrew Carr.

“After you win something like we just did, and you have a week to prepare, you’re thinking about a lot of things,” added East head coach Tom Durant. “The most important thing is that we’ve made it over this hurdle.”

Now 22-2 overall, the top-seeded Vikings will play the (8) Radnor-(9) Upper Moreland winner on Saturday in the quarterfinals. Sun Valley’s season ends with a 9-14 record.

(click on this link for the full story)

By Andrew Robinson

Cheltenham coach Patrick Fleury knew the exact point where his team took off Tuesday night.

A 3-pointer by sophomore Saleem Payne lit a fire in the No. 3 seed Panthers and their home crowd, a central play in a 9-0 run to end the first quarter. They would not slow down from there, and the pressure came nonstop as Upper Darby’s turnovers began to mount in a one-sided second quarter.

Cheltenham’s ferocious defense overcame the No. 19 Royals 83-57 in the second round of the District 1-6A boys basketball tournament, securing a state playoff bid for Cheltenham.

“Last year we fell a win short so to get that done for our group is amazing and the next goal is Temple,” Fleury said. “We came out pretty good in the first quarter which set the tone for us and we were able to ride that momentum.”

Whether it was a week off thanks to their first round bye or Upper Darby’s zone defense early, the Panthers weren’t getting points on the board at first. They led just 6-4 with 1:30 left in the opening quarter before senior Jaelen McGlone’s and-one kicked off a 9-0 run to end the quarter with Payne’s trey putting the hosts up 11-4.

(click on this link for the full story)

By Matt Smith

It would be easy to attribute Ridley’s success this season to the addition of senior guard Dakota McCaughan or to first-year head coach Roe Falcone.

Sure, McCaughan has made the Green Raiders a better team after transferring from Bonner-Prendergast, where she was a three-year starter and an All-Catholic League player. McCaughan was instrumental in leading the Green Raiders to a 19-3 regular season record and her 24-point output last week guided the Raiders to the Central League championship.

Meanwhile, Falcone has been the perfect fit for this team. The Ridley grad, All-Delco and Delco Athletes Hall of Fame inductee has certainly made a connection with her players.

“I love them all,” Falcone said.

Notwithstanding the star player and rookie head coach, the Green Raiders have received positive contributions, up and down the bench, all season. 

The sixth-seeded Green Raiders begin their journey for a District 1 Class 6A championship Wednesday night when they host No. 11 Central Bucks East.

(click on this link for more playoff game stories and upcoming playoff games)

By Delcohoops.com Staff

As much as we love to see our broadcast listeners during our live broadcasts we think many of you are missing an opportunity to go out and see some great high school basketball at very reasonable prices.

This coming week there are no less than 8 boy’s playoff games taking place in Delaware County……and that’s just through Wednesday.  We don’t know what teams will advance to the next rounds for games on Friday and Saturday!  Maybe one of the great girl’s playoff games is closer.  You can check their playoff schedule at Girl’s Playoffs. 

Tickets are $5 and parking is FREE.  The venues are your local area high schools. You take your seat by walking onto the court and there is no “nose-bleed” section.  Many schools have a student section which brings lots of noise and drama to the game and, of course, the cheerleaders.  You can hear the coaches barking out instructions and no matter where you sit, it will be closer than anything you would probably get at a college or pro game.

Food and drink (non alcoholic…this is high school after-all) is available and very reasonably priced.  

A 7:00 PM game will be over by 8:45 and driving home will probably take less than 10 minutes!  

Go to our Schedule page and take a look at what’s playing in your neighborhood! Take in a high school basketball game this week.  We think you’ll be delighted at the caliber of play, the enthusiasm and the pure fun of witnessing a LIVE sporting event at your local high school.

Germantown Academy 61, Episcopal Academy 42 >> Senior guard Jaye Haynes led a balanced scoring attack for the Patriots with a game-high 20 points and junior center Becca Booth added 10.

Episcopal trailed 16-11 after the first quarter, but the Inter-Ac League champion Patriots seized control with a 23-8 run in the second period.

In the season-ending loss, Riley Cassidy paced EA with 12 points. Gaeli Keffer-Scharpf and Bella Pisella contributed nine points apiece.

The non-PIAA, private schools-only tournament will resume Friday evening at Friends’ Central School. Top-seeded GA will meet No. 5 Abington Friends at 6 p.m., followed by No. 3 Penn Charter against second-seeded Notre Dame.

The championship contest is hosted by Montgomery County Community College Saturday at 5 p.m.

Holy Ghost Prep 54, The Christian Academy 45>> A sluggish third quarter proved costly for The Christian Academy in its bid to capture the Bicentennial League championship.

The Crusaders allowed an eight-point lead at halftime fall by the wayside as Holy Ghost Prep rallied for a 54-45 victory.

Holy Ghost began the third quarter on an 11-0 run and outscored TCA, 36-19, in the final 16 minutes of regulation. Tyler Mish poured in a game-high 21 points for Ghost.

Grant Sareyka scored 16 points and Sam Geathers chipped in with 10 for the Crusaders.

By Matt Smith

John Seidman sported a nice shiner under Friday night.

Haverford’s playmaking junior was the recipient of an errant poke to the eye in the Fords’ District 1 Class 6A tournament opener with Ridley.

Seidman had to sit out for a minute, but he was no worse for wear. He hurried back to the floor to guide the 13th-seeded Fords to a 34-28 victory over the 20th-seeded Green Raiders. The Fords travel to fourth-seeded Chester in the second round Tuesday.

Take a finger to the eye, John?

“Yeah.”

Wanted to get right back out there, John?

“Yeah.”

Seidman lets his game do most of the talking. He was outstanding, especially in the second half when his defense lifted the Fords out of an early rut. He amassed seven points and a pair of steals during the Fords’ 17-4, second-quarter run.

“Everyone played great,” he said. “We responded really well and we were playing well together and everyone had a big part in the way we played.”

(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

The Fords defeated the Indians for the second time this month. Haverford used an 11-1, fourth-quarter run to beat the Indians on Feb. 1. On Friday night, they ended the Indians’ season thanks to an 18-5 surge in the final eight minutes.

“We really wanted it tonight,” Carpenter said. “In the beginning of the year, it was almost like we were looked down on by a lot of other teams because nobody really expected us to be good or expected us to be here (in the district playoffs). Coming in tonight, we just knew we had to really step up and come out and play together.”

After graduating five seniors from last year’s crew, they have started three juniors, one senior and freshman. The lone fourth-year member on the team, Katie Redding played outstanding at point guard and hauled in a handful of tough rebounds.

The Fords’ best scoring threat is junior Chiara MacGillivray, who battled through some shooting struggles Friday to lead the team with 12 points. She began the game at the free-throw line due to a technical foul (scorebook violation) that was called on the Unionville bench.

(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 Chandik

Normally, the play probably would have been drawn up for the senior who’s been in so many big moments before. 

Plans change pretty quick when that option isn’t available. When Roman Catholic had the ball with 9.9 seconds to play in Friday night’s Catholic League quarterfinal against Bonner, Cahillites coach Matt Griffin had to figure out an alternative to giving the ball to Lynn Greer III, the Division I prospect who’d fouled out a few minutes earlier. 

Of course, Roman’s second and third options aren’t exactly scrubs. Rather, they’re two of the top sophomores in the entire country, a pair of class of 2022 five-star recruits. One of them, Justice Williams, had tied the game up on Roman’s previous possession, and when the Cahillites got the ball back, they knew to go to him again. 

Williams got the ball, dashed to the left, spun back to the right while being defended by the Friars’ Connor Eagan and hoisted up a shot that found… Roman teammate Jalen Duren.

(click on this link for the full story)

By Josh Verlin

Bob Miller’s plans changed drastically in October. That’s when Onyekachi Nzeh walked into the Upper Darby coach’s office and told him he was interested in joining the basketball team.

“I wanted to try out basketball this year, see how far I could go with it,” Nzeh said. “My mom, she’s really big on the NBA, so she wanted me to be an NBA player.”

That sounds like an ambitious plan for a sophomore who didn’t play organized basketball as a freshman. But Nzeh is not your average sophomore. 

First of all, as a freshman on Upper Darby’s track team, Nzeh ––who goes by Kachi –– started to attract Division I interest for his abilities as a 400 meter sprinter, winning some major races as a 14- and 15-year-old. On top of that, Nzeh had enjoyed a growth spurt since his freshman year, rising from 6-foot-5 to somewhere around 6-7, and wasn’t done adding height to his frame. 

So with some prodding from his mother, Uloma Nzeh, Kachi decided to give basketball another shot.

(click on this link for the full story)

By Ari Glazier

You can dissect a game as much as you want, but more often than not the difference between a resounding win or a deflating loss comes down to making shots. Last Friday, Neumann Goretti went 1-for-23 from deep against Cardinal O’Hara at home, resulting in a seven-point loss in which the Saints trailed by 16 at halftime, costing N-G a regular season Philadelphia Catholic League championship. 

One week later, N-G stormed out of the gate with an even more commanding opening half than O’Hara enjoyed last week: they went into the third quarter up 22 points, and finished with a 71-46 win.

Unlike the previous meeting, where the trailing team was able to make things interesting down the stretch, Neumann didn’t let up. 

“We were open,” Saints coach Carl Arrigale said. “We were open in our home gym and missed shots like that because we weren’t ready to play. We just didn’t shoot them with any conviction. We didn’t play with any kind of force. Tonight we saw a different group.”

(click on this link for the full story)