Category: Latest News

By Matthew De George

Gabe Alter calls them “scrappy points.”

The Germantown Academy forward isn’t the guy that the Patriots normally create offense for, he admits. But once a shot clangs off iron or Plan B evaporates in the face of the defense, Alter kicks into overdrive.
Friday night, all that scrapping resulted in an Inter-Ac championship.

Alter scored 14 points and added seven rebounds, many of them demoralizing putbacks on the offensive glass, to lead GA to a 64-51 win over Episcopal Academy.

The win clinches GA (20-5, 8-1) at least a share of its fourth straight Inter-Ac title. Episcopal (15-6, 6-2) can still claim a piece of the crown with two wins next week against bottom feeders Springside Chestnut Hill and a loss by GA at Malvern Prep.

Friday, EA’s direct route to the title was denied one rebound at a time by GA. The Patriots outrebounded EA, 31-20. Kyle McCloskey led the way with eight boards to go with three blocks in anchoring the post defense and reducing the need for perimeter help on Nick Alikakos, mitigating the threat of EA’s inside-out game.

Alikakos was customarily productive, scored a game-high 22 points and dishing out six assists. But GA’s approach wasn’t so much in shunting Alikakos’ productivity as in shutting off EA’s complementary scorers.

(click on this link for the full article and video)

By Terry Toohey

Ridley’s boys basketball team made history Thursday night, which is saying something considering the success the Green Raiders have had on the hardwood over the years.
Senior Sean Bingnear came through on Senior Night as the Green Raiders downed Garnet Valley, 59-49, to post the best regular-season record in program history.
The Green Raiders finished 21-1 overall and 16-0 in the league. They’ll play the winner of Saturday night’s game between Strath Haven and Conestoga Monday night for the Central League title.
Bingnear made three big 3-point field goals and finished with 11 points. He hit a trey to keep things close in the first quarter and drilled two more triples in the fourth quarter to put the game away. Fellow senior Julian Wing led Ridley with a season-high 29 points.
Andrew Louden paced Garnet Valley with 15 points. Austin Laughlin and Brandon Starr chipped in with 13 points each.

(click on this link for more Central League scores)

By Bruce Adams

Conestoga, the third seed in the upcoming Central League boys’ basketball playoffs, ground out a 50-45 victory Thursday against a veteran Haverford High School squad celebrating Senior Night.
The Fords clawed back from a 26-20 halftime deficit to tie the score at 35-35 at the end of the third quarter, but Conestoga took charge in the fourth period, scoring the first seven points and holding the lead the rest of the way.
Conestoga head coach Mike Troy saw this game as vital to the Pioneers’ post-season fortunes.
“We needed [to win tonight] to cement a district home playoff game, and this [contest] was a good test,” said Troy, whose Pioneers were ranked 13th in the latest PIAA Class AAAA District One power rankings. “Haverford’s a well-coached, well-disciplined team, particularly on their home court. We ground out a victory tonight – every time Haverford kept coming back, we had an answer for them.”
Senior MJ Lezanic led the way for the Pioneers with 16 points, and was potent from the free-throw line (7-for-9). Senior guard Darryl Caldwell, who earlier this season reached the 1,000 career point milestone for Conestoga, added 13 points and was 4-for-4 from the charity stripe.
Another key factor for the Pioneers Thursday night was junior Peyton Jones, who did not crack the scoring column.
“Peyton’s effort in the second half really keyed us up,” said Troy. “He’s stepped up all year, provided [on-the-court] energy coming off the bench, given us a defensive spark, and hit his shots.”
Heading into the Central League playoffs, Troy feels that the Pioneers’ best team attribute is their unselfish play.

(click on this link for the full article)

By Bruce Adams

Ridley jumped out to an early lead and led the rest of the way in a 53-47 win against Lower Merion Tuesday.

The victory kept Ridley’s Central League record unbeaten with one game left, against Garnet Valley Thursday. A win there earns Ridley a bye into the Central League final.

“Traditionally, we’ve not gotten off to quick starts in games this season,” Ridley head coach Mike Snyder said. “We’ve (sometimes) fallen behind early and had to catch up, so it was nice to get a early lead and keep it.”

The persistent Aces, who were celebrating Senior Night, kept coming after the first quarter, but the closest they got  was at the end of the third stanza, when they only trailed by four at 39-35.

At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Ridley went on an 8-0 run to take a 47-35 lead. Julian Wing hit a jumper, Ryan Bollinger nailed a three-pointer from the left corner, and Brett Foster hit a jumper to give the visitors some breathing room.

Foster, the Central League MVP last season, led all scorers with 16 points, while Wing and Bollinger chipped in with 12 points apiece.

“Ridley doesn’t beat themselves, and they play with good tempo,” Lower Merion head coach Gregg Downer said. “…. Foster is hard to deal with, and they’re a seasoned 20-1 ballclub. I think we shot too many quick threes tonight, but that’s because of Ridley’s defense.”

(click on this link for the full article)

By Matthew De George

Sun Valley 47, Great Valley 41>> Ryan Hall scored 16 points, and Kyle Ryan added 14, but it was the Sun Valley defense that stole the show Monday night in a 47-41 win over Great Valley in Ches-Mont League boys basketball. The Vanguards (8-12, 5-7) held the Patriots to just eight first-half points, then weathered a 21-8 disadvantage in the third quarter to rally for the win and keep their hopes of earning the final playoff berth in the District One Class AAA playoffs alive.

Strath Haven 45, Marple Newtown 42 >> John Harrar paired nine points with 10 rebounds, and Kyree Fuller added nine points, including two free throws that clinched the game with 30 seconds left for Haven (18-3, 12-3). Marcus Weathers scored 17 points, and Nick DiCamillo added 14 in a game effort by the Tigers.

Garnet Valley 58, Haverford 29 >> Andrew Louden scored 17 points, and Austin Laughlin added 14 points as the Jaguars (13-7, 8-7) eased to a big victory for their District One Class AAAA hopes. Connor Guilfoil led the Fords with six points.

(click on this link for more game info and scores)

 

By Matthew De George

Once your eyes pass the “soph” designation next to Tyler Norwood’s name on the Penncrest roster, it becomes difficult to recall that Norwood is in the midst of only his second year of varsity experience.

Certainly very little in his play Friday night betrayed the point guard’s youth.

Norwood was the only scorer to escape single-digits in Penncrest’s 59-34 handling of Marple Newtown, but his imprint on the game was reflected in much more than just his points tally.

Norwood’s 22 points were easily the high for either side on the night. (Through three quarters, his 17 had Marple’s 15 single-handedly beaten). But his ability to press the right buttons with the ball in his hands informed why Friday’s win was chalked up without much consternation.

(click on this link for the full article)

 

By Bruce Adams

The Strath Haven boys’ basketball team, which has lost only one game at home this season, relied on its defense to gut out a 44-42 nailbiter against visiting Harriton Friday evening.

“We gutted it out tonight,” said Strath Haven’s first-year head coach Dave McFadden. “We normally play man-to-man defense, but we recently had an injury and have played more zone [defense] the last few games. We forced Harriton into [taking some] quicker shots [tonight].”

In a defensive, seesaw struggle, Strath Haven (16-3, 12-3) held an 12-11 lead at the end of the first quarter, Harriton had a 25-23 advantage at halftime, then the hosts came back to take a 35-31 lead at the end of three quarters.
Strath Haven held a 41-37 lead with a little over two minutes left in the game, but Harriton had some kick left in them.

The Rams’ Will Esposto (who finished with a game-high 13 points, including three treys) hit a 3-pointer from the right corner to make it 41-40. Harriton went ahead, 42-41, with 1:02 left when a Strath Haven inbounds pass under the basket went awry, and the Rams’ Tyler Allen scooped up the loose ball at midcourt, and drove in for his only basket of the night.

With about 40 seconds left, Strath Haven’s Josh Singleton put the home team ahead 43-42 with an offensive rebound inside heavy traffic and a score underneath the basket.

(click on this link for the full article)

 

By Matthew De George

Episcopal Academy 41 –  Haverford School 34>>Matt Woods and Conner Delaney came up with big shots exactly when Episcopal Academy needed them. Woods scored 11 points and Delaney added eight, but they each hit vital 3-pointers in the fourth quarter as the Churchmen erased a deficit and topped Haverford School, 41-34, Friday. Nick Alikakos scored 16 points for EA (14-5, 5-1). Kharon Randolph led the Fords with 13 points.

Strath Haven 44, Harriton 42 >> Jahmeir Springfield scored 10 points, and Josh Singleton finished with seven, but his bucket in the last minute put the Panthers (16-3, 11-3) ahead for good.

Ridley 49, Upper Darby 40 >> Julian Wing scored 19 points, and Brett Foster added 12 as the Green Raiders (18-1, 14-0) pulled away in what had been a close game. Maurice Grier had 12 points, and Raquon West added 10 for Upper Darby (7-13, 5-10).

Conestoga 80, Garnet Valley 71 >> Andrew Louden scored 20 points and Connor O’Brien supplied 11 off the bench, but a 29-16 deficit in the first quarter stunned the Jaguars (11-7, 7-7).

(click this link for more game scores)

By Rich Flanagan

When Academy Park head coach Allen Brydges says his team likes to get “up and down” the floor and wants them to “score as quick as we can, then press,” he may be selling his team short.

Brydges’ Knights came into their Del-Val league contest against Penn Wood averaging 79.4 points per game, which has included two 90-point efforts and one 100-point outing. With a consistent combination of quick run-outs and forcing turnovers at half court, Academy Park cruised to an 80-69 victory over Penn Wood.

Brydges, whose team has scored 80 or more in four of the last five games, liked the complete game his team was able to muster.

“We didn’t actually have to press as much,” Brydges said. “We got them in the first half. We got a lead and then we kind of backed out a little bit. We still like to push the tempo with our defense and then just take good shots all night.”

The Knights had four players in score in double figures, lead by the dynamic backcourt of Nakim Stokes and Jawan Collins. Stokes posted a game-high 24 points to go along with two assists, four steals and a block while Collins scored 16, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out seven assists.

(click on this link for the full article)