Category: Latest News

By Matthew De George

Separated by about as far geographically as you can be in District One, devotees of Chester basketball are no stranger to Council Rock North.

The last time they met in the playoffs was 2011, in a district final won by the Clippers. That was a rematch of the 2003 final claimed the Chester, and the squads also met in the second round of 2010.

The stakes will be a little different Friday night, when No. 9 seed Chester (16-6) hosts the No. 24 Indians.

Don’t let the seed fool you: Chester is one of the hottest teams in the field, having won 13 of 14. It hardly resembles the squad that stumbled through December at 2-5.

Lately, that’s included weathering the loss of Marquis Collins with a shoulder injury and Jordan Camper with a hand issue. The absence of those two starters has elicited the best from the supporting cast.

That begins with Khaleeq Campbell, who has assumed a larger scoring role with the former leading scorer Collins out. For the season, the pass-first point guard is averaging 10.9 points per game, but he’s upped that to 19.8 in the four contests Collins has missed.

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By Matthew De George

Garnet Valley’s Carl Tienabeso, left, will have a big defensive test in districts against Downingtown West Friday. (Times File)

By way of praise, Mike Brown is quick to admit his team’s, um, shortcomings.

It’s an obvious point of pride for Brown that his Garnet Valley team compiled a 14-8 record and qualified for the District One Class AAAA Tournament for the first time in the school’s Central League epoch, snapping an eight year drought.

But even more gratifying is how the Jaguars earned Friday’s trip to No. 3 seed Downingtown West (21-3), against some tall odds.

“You’d be hard-pressed to find a smaller team physically in the area,” Brown said Sunday. “But we’re a very tough team. Looks can be deceiving.”

That toughness will be required in spades Friday.

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By Matthew De George

Two years ago, as Central League and Del Val champs, respectively, Lower Merion and Penn Wood were fated to the lousy draw of a second-round tilt. Lower Merion, as the eight seed, won that one, 58-43, and went to states. No. 9 Penn Wood bowed out in playbacks.

In the present, with neither side having the kind of season it’s become accustomed to, a rematch in the first round of the Class AAAA tournament Friday night seems fitting for two of the titans of District One.

No. 22 Penn Wood (12-10) takes the trip to Lower Merion, a daunting ambience even if the team that calls it home hasn’t been as consistent a force as in recent years.

Lower Merion’s 15-7 record is impressive. Their nonleague track record, whipping York and JP McCaskey, fosters hope in the even they get to states. But they limp into the postseason, losers of four of seven. That late free-fall, which included a 54-44 setback to Haverford Jan. 30, excluded them from the Central League tournament, consigning them to fourth.

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By Matthew De George

Whatever verdict the seeding formula spit out last Sunday, it was going to be hard-pressed to intimidate Penncrest.

After all, the Lions last season took the No. 28 seed in the District One Class AAAA Tournament, snaked through two overtime games, daunting road environs like Penn Wood and Lower Merion, and made their way to states.

So drawing the No. 21 seed and a date with No. 12 Spring-Ford this season may not seem too daunting. Few pieces from this year’s team experienced that run first-hand – Tyler Norwood scored seven points in the first-round win over Penn Wood, 56-53, in OT, but that was the most significant contribution.

That adversity sits at the heart of the postseason phase of the Lions’ season is perhaps no surprise. The last month has been an adjustment since losing leading scorer AJ Taylor to a finger injury Jan. 16 vs. Ridley (a game where the Green Raiders’ needed a last-second 3-pointer to eke out a 30-27 win).

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By Matthew De George

On paper, the math seems simple.

Ridley has won 11 games in a row on the way to the Central League regular-season and tournament championships. North Penn has won 11 games all season and narrowly snuck into the playoffs.

So when the No. 4 and No. 29 seeds collide Friday night in the first round of the District One Class AAAA Tournament, the script seems clear-cut. But the added wrinkle comes with Knights’ hot form.

North Penn has won five of seven, resuscitating a season that stood at six wins as Ridley was climbing into the teens. It took a victory over Hatboro-Horsham last time out, powered by 10 3-pointers, to get the Knights sufficient bonus points to make the field. Somehow – and the logic escapes me – North Penn finished sixth in an eight-team Suburban One Continental (that’s a division, not a conference), yet still made the playoffs.

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By Terry Toohey

Having to play a game following only one day of preparation can be difficult for any team. Having to play a game against the same team with only one day of preparation can be even more difficult.
For the Bonner & Prendergast Friars, they played West Catholic for the second time in a three-day span. By defeating the Burrs on Sunday in their regular-season finale, the Friars forced a tie with West in the final Philadelphia Catholic League standings. Bonner had three players score in double figures and finished off a strong fourth quarter en route to a 54-49 win to claim the 10th seed in the PCL playoffs.
West Catholic (4-17) trailed by one at halftime before going on a 13-2 run to claim a six-point lead heading into the final quarter. Led by senior John Herndon, who scored 14 points in the second half, the Burrs looked to pull away but the Friars (12-11) stuck to their game plan.
Having changed to a fullcourt press to begin the second half, Bonner’s pressure began to wear down West Catholic. Senior Keith Washington accounted for 10 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals while fellow senior Christian Lane scored a team-high 15 points to go along with two steals. The Friars held the Burrs scoreless for the first two minutes and put up 24 points in that final quarter.
Washington said the pressure he and his teammates applied seemed to rattle Herndon, who finished with a game-high 19 points.

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Delco Christian did not have much time to rest following its two-game stint in the SuperFan Shootout in Quincy, Ill., over the weekend.

The Knights came home Sunday and were right back at it Monday night against Bristol in the opening round of the Bicentennial League playoffs.

The Warriors, mostly in the form of Deonte Harris, proved to be too much for the Knights as Bristol held on for a 66-64 victory to advance to the quarterfinals against the winner of the game between Church Farm and Valley Forge Military Academy

Harris poured in 33 points to keep the Warriors alive in the tournament. Delco Christian (12-11) cut a 33-26 halftime deficit to 59-58 in the fourth quarter, but it was as close as the Knights would get. Bristol converted a steal into a layup to kill any hopes of a comeback by the Knights.

Devon Hill and Wyatt Harkins led Delco Christian with 17 points apiece. Jordan Parks added 14 points and Brandt Fisher 10.

By Matthew De George

Most times, practice makes perfect on the basketball court for Brett Foster.

But on the instance that the Ridley guard got closest to the rim Monday night at Marple Newtown, he was uncharacteristically off-balance.

“I was too close under the net, so I was kind of falling back,” Foster said, the product of his trip up the ladder neatly snipped and strung around his neck. “So I had to grab the rim to and lean back to cut it.”

Just about every other voyage to the hoop that Foster endeavored in Ridley’s 62-38 demolition of Conestoga in the Central League Championship Game went more smoothly in a tour de force showing to cap a perfect regular season in the league with a second straight championship.

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By Eugene Rapay

For the second straight year, Ridley and Conestoga met for the Central League title game.

And for the second straight time, Ridley took home the trophy.

The Raiders were dominant from start to finish en route to a 62-38 win over the Pioneers.

“It’s not easy to win a league title,” Ridley head coach Mike Snyder said. “We’ve got 12 teams in our league that are very good teams, so anytime we can get an opportunity to win a league title it’s special. It’s not easy to win one. To get two in a row is a testament to the players we’ve had.”

Not only does the win mark the Green Raiders’ successful defense of their championship, but also the finishing touches on their perfect campaign in league play. It was hard enough to come back and win again, let alone do it undefeated.

Thanks to finishing the regular-season undefeated, Ridley was granted a bye into the league’s final while Conestoga had to get past Strath Haven on Saturday for the right to the rematch. The rest made Snyder uneasy going into Monday night.

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By Harry Chaykun

If you had told Garnet Valley girls basketball coach Joe Woods that his senior floor leader, Maddie Ireland, would not get a field goal in the Central League championship game at Marple Newtown High Monday night, he might have expressed more than a little concern.

Ireland finished with seven points, all from the foul line, including six in the fourth period. What made a big difference for the Jaguars in their 53-36 victory over Springfield was the play of sophomore Nicole Barnes, freshmen Brianne Borcky and Emily McAteer, and junior reserve Sydney Fail.

With the win, Garnet Valley (21-3) earned its third consecutive Central League title and will enter the district playoffs as the No. 3 seed. Springfield (18-5), which handed the Jags their lone league loss, is seeded ninth in the Class AAAA district tournament.

Webmaster’s note:  You can listen to this entire game by going to our Game Archives.  Just click on the logo on the left side of this page and listen to the entire game anytime you want.  Our sponsors (listed on the right side of this page) pay for all broadcasting and archive costs!

(click on this link for the full article)