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By Rich Flanagan

Bonner-Prendergast head coach Jack Concannon and Roman Catholic headman Matt Griffin have a plethora of memories of the Palestra dating back to their respective childhoods. For each of them, it started with Big 5 basketball games.

Concannon recalls the “Saturday night [Big 5] doubleheaders. I remember our CYO teams playing before the doubleheaders at different times then afterward we would be the ball boys for the doubleheader when I was in fifth and sixth grade.”

For Griffin, he remembers consistently being in the Cathedral of College Basketball during his father’s tenure as St. Joseph’s University head basketball coach from 1990-95. He states, “Up until his last year, I was the ball boy and those games were just the greatest basketball atmosphere to be a part of. The Palestra has always been a special place to me because I grew up watching games there.”

The Big 5 brought about the inception of each head coach’s appreciation and allure for the majestic arena but the Philadelphia Catholic League was where they displayed their playing abilities on its hardwood floors. Concannon scored 21 points and grabbed 15 rebounds in leading the Friars to the 1983 PCL title, its first since 1960. That began a string of three league crowns in the 1980s for Bonner-Prendergast, the last of which occurred in 1988 behind a PCL title-game record 30 points from Brian Daly. That was the last time Bonner-Prendergast reached the title game.

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By Rick O’Brien

Roman Catholic has captured 30 Catholic League basketball championships, including two of the last three. Bonner-Prendergast, meanwhile, last claimed the first-place hardware 30 years ago.

The Cahillites look to add to their already crammed trophy case at Broad and Vine Streets, and the Friars seek to end a lengthy drought when the teams square off for the crown at 8:30 p.m. Monday at the Palestra.
On the girls’ side, defending champion Cardinal O’Hara takes on Neumann-Goretti for top honors at the hallowed arena at 6:30 p.m.

After an eight-year dry spell, Roman won back-to-back titles in 2015 and 2016. It is making its seventh appearance in the final in the last 13 years.
In the teams’ regular-season meeting six weeks ago, the visiting Friars nipped the Cahillites, 68-66, in overtime.
Matt Griffin’s squad is paced by 6-foot-6 junior wing Seth Lundy, sophomore point guard Lynn Greer, 6-3 senior guard Allen Betrand, and 6-5 junior forward Hakim Hart.

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By Matthew DeGeorge

In many ways, the skinny one-point edge that Chester carried into halftime over Sun Valley Saturday night was the least of the ways in which the Clippers’ execution deviated from the game plan.The Clippers’ defense wasn’t as suffocating as usual. The jump shots the Clippers settled for were too frequent and too wayward. And 90 percent of Chester’s points came from three players, an uncharacteristic lack of balance for a program that prides itself on sharing the wealth.

So knowing that something had to change after the break, senior forward Timothy Johnston figured, why not be the source of that improvement?

Johnston scored 11 points in the third quarter and 13 in the second half as No. 3 Chester pulled away from sixth-seeded Sun Valley, 69-56, in the District 1 Class 5A quarterfinals.

The win books Chester (18-6) a spot in the District 1 semifinals Wednesday at Temple against No. 2 Bishop Shanahan and a berth in the PIAA tournament. Sun Valley (17-7) drops into playbacks, where it will grab one of the seven states spots on offer with a win in either of its next two games, starting with Ches-Mont rival and seventh-seeded Rustin in Aston Wednesday.

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Webmaster’s note: The Chester vs. Sun Valley game was our Game-of-the-Week and can be heard on our Archives link by clicking on the player below

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By Steve Sherman

From the beginning of the season, Wissahickon set its sights on making its way to Temple University, the site of the District 1 Class 5A semifinals and final.

Make that mission accomplished, as the fourth-seeded Trojans have won their first two playoffs to earn a berth in the D1 semifinal set for 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 28 at the Liacouras Center vs. top-seeded Penncrest. No. 2 Bishop Shanahan will take on No. 3 Chester in the other semifinal set for 6 p.m.

Unlike Wednesday’s D-1 5A opener when Wissahickon starters Zach Reiner, Eddie Fortescue and Anthony Lawrence all reached double digits in a lopsided win over 13th-seeded Strath Haven, the Trojans had an off night shooting and had to rely on a pair of reserves in order to get past fifth-seeded Great Valley whose best player Liam Ward exploded for 27 points including 13 in the second quarter to send the visiting Patriots into the locker room with a 2-point lead.

The Trojans received 21 points off the bench from senior Donovan Oliphant (8 points, 5 rebounds) and 6-4 sophomore Carmen Ostroski (13 points, 3 rebounds) and won 55-48 Saturday night on their home court.

(click on this link for the full story)

Webmaster’s note: The Penncrest vs Wissahickon game is our Game-of-the-Week and can be heard LIVE this Wednesday on Delcohoops.com!

By Neil Geoghegan

 It was undoubtedly a whirlwind, with two huge victories in a frenzied 24-hour span. And even though there were times when members of the Hill School boys basketball team openly wondered whether it was all just a dream, things started sinking in when the medals were doled out.“It honestly feels a little surreal,” acknowledged forward Nick Alikakos.

With Alikakos leading the way, the Blues pulled away in the second half to top Haverford School, 68-50, and capture the program’s second Pennsylvania Independent Schools Athletic Association (PAISAA) State Championship in five years.

“We wanted it more,” Alikakos said. “We’ve worked so hard for this and this was the day that we were waiting for.”

A day earlier, the Hill School shocked the two-time defending state champs from Westtown, 51-47, in the semifinal round. And on Saturday at Neumann University’s Mirenda Center, the fourth-seeded Blues finished strong against the No. 3 Fords, who went unbeaten in Inter-Ac play and won the league title for the first time since 1999.

(click on this link for the full story)

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By Owen McCue

Every morning on his way to his first period class, Joe O’Malley passes a picture on the wall at Bishop Shanahan High School.

The photo is of the Eagles’ 1984-85 boys basketball team, which won the Class AA state title. Pictured with the 11 of other members of that year’s squad is O’Malley’s father, Michael O’Malley, who makes sure his son doesn’t walk by without taking a look.

“He tells me to look at it every morning just to rub it in,” O’Malley said. “Sometimes I glance at it and hope we can do that with this team.”

The legacy of O’Malley’s father is visible in the gym at Bishop Shanahan High School as well. His name is printed on the school’s banner recognizing its 1,000-point scorers. He totaled 1,082 points during his career. Right next to it, his name appears on the banner commemorating that 1984-85 championship squad.

(click on this link for the full story)

Webmaster’s note: The Chester vs Bishop Shanahan game is our Game-of-the-Week and can be heard LIVE this Wednesday on Delcohoops.com!

By Bruce Adams

With six seniors on their roster – three who have played varsity basketball since their freshman year – Bishop Shanahan is looking to make this PIAA post-season a truly memorable one.
So, minutes after the Ches-Mont tournament champs defeated seventh seed West Chester Rustin, 63-50, in the PIAA 5A District 1 boys’ basketball quarterfinals Saturday afternoon, wrapping up a state tourney berth, the No. 2 seed Eagles (22-4) were focused on unfinished business.
“Today’s win feels pretty good, but it’s just a first step for what we want to accomplish,” said Shanahan’s big man, 6-foot-7 senior Kevin Dodds, whose powerful scoring (18 points), rebounding and passing underneath was key to the Eagles’ victory Saturday. “We lost in the district semifinals last year, and we want to do better than that this time.”
Wednesday in the District 1 5A semifinals, Shanahan will play the winner of Saturday’s evening’s quarterfinal between No. 3 seed Chester and sixth-seeded Sun Valley. Wednesday’s contest, to be held at Temple University, will be Shanahan’s fifth district semifinal since 2011. The Eagles have lost in the District 1 semifinal the past two years.
On Saturday, host Shanahan grabbed the lead for good late in the first period and kept building on it, relying on some crisp passing, with the 6-foot-7 Dodds as the hub of the Eagles’ attack.

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By Mike Cabrey

On a night when shots just were not falling for Pennridge, Tyrese Lewis could only feel that maybe a higher basketball power was at play.“We just shot it and it really felt like the rim was not on our side. I guess Kobe (Bryant’s) energy was in here or something,” the senior said. “I don’t know, they just wasn’t feeling us.”

In the gym barring the hoops legend’s name, the Rams’ offense struggled to get anything going throughout Friday’s District 1-6A boys quarterfinal. Host Lower Merion, meanwhile had no such problem. The third-seeded Aces hit it early and often from long range, connecting on 10 3-pointers to roll past the No. 6 Rams 63-39 and reach the district semifinals for the second time in three seasons.

“I felt like it was just clicking,” Lower Merion junior Steve Payne said. “Yesterday we got a lot of extra shots in the gym. I feel like that gained our confidence. That really helped us out. So we just came into this game with a lot of confidence. We shot the 3-ball really well, helped us win.”

(click on this link for the full story)

By Josh Verlin & Tyler Sandora

The District 1 class 5A field is down to eight teams, all of whom have at least three games left on their schedules — and all but one of which will play in the PIAA 5A tournament two weeks from now.

With seven bids coming out of the district, that means the four winners of Saturday’s games not only will be playing in the semifinals at Temple University’s Liacouras Center next Wednesday, but will guarantee themselves a spot in the state bracket. The other four teams will be alive in the play-back bracket, where the only team that won’t make states is the one that loses its final three games.

Here’s a look at each of the four quarterfinals (which all tip at 7 PM, aside from the Shanahan/Rustin game at 1 PM):

3) Chester vs. 6) Sun Valley

Even though they are only 3.7 miles away from each other in Delaware County, Chester and Sun Valley are not in the same conference. About a decade ago, Sun Valley left the Del-Val for the Ches-Mont. Sun Valley is hoping to make it to the state tournament for the first time since 1995 with a win, while Chester has won nine state championships in school history. Sun Valley is led by a junior-heavy lineup, featuring Vinny D’Angelo, a 6-2 sharpshooter, and Marvin Freeman, an athletic 6-4 wing. Expect Lance Stone and Isaac Keenan, also juniors, to chip in and contribute for the Vanguards.

Winning a game in the Clip Joint, arguably the toughest venue to play at in District One, is a very difficult thing to do. Besides the chaotic crowd, the Clippers boast one of the most athletic teams in the area. Senior Brian Randolph III is one of the tallest players on the roster at 6-4, but the lack of height is made up for by quick guard play. Junior Michael Smith, a true point guard with a tight handle, and classmate Rahmaad DeJarnette both scored 12 points in a first round win over Academy Park.

(click on this link for all the game previews)

Webmaster’s note: The Sun Valley vs Chester game is our Game-of-the-Week and can be heard LIVE tonight on Delcohoops.com!