Category: Latest News

Penncrest upsets Conestoga to alter Central playoff race

by  • 

Tyler Norwood (above) and Penncrest helped out LM and Strath Haven by beating Conestoga on Wednesday night. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

City of Basektball logo

By Josh Verlin

Penncrest pulled off a Central League upset over Conestoga on Wednesday night, one that could help shape the conference’s playoff picture.

The Lions, who’ve had had a fourth quarter lead in all 19 of the games they’ve played this season, were able to finish off a big one, holding on for a 57-53 win.

Penncrest, which was led by sophomore Tyler Norwood’s 19 points and got 12 more from junior guard Justin Ross, improved to 7-6 in the league, while Conestoga dropped to 9-4. While the win certainly might have an impact on the Central League playoffs next weekend, it definitely helps the Lions’ push towards a spot in the District 1 AAAA playoffs.

(click on this link for the full article)

 

Episcopal finds redemption with win over Penn Charter

by  • 

Connor Delaney (above) helped seal Episcopal’s 47-39 win with six foul shots in the final two minutes. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

City of Basektball logo

By Jon Bodack) & Josh Verlin

Earlier this month when Episcopal Academy and William Penn Charter faced off in an Inter-Ac battle to open the conference slate, it was a slow-paced, grind-it-out game. Which worked in the Quakers’ favor, as they pulled off a big upset over an EA squad with eyes on a league title.

With so few games played in the Inter-Ac and no postseason tournament to decide who wins the league, this early league loss provided for an immediate sense of urgency for the Churchmen.

“I think we were all shocked after the first game, but we all knew that we still controlled our destiny,” junior guard Connor Delaney said. “If we won nine games, we won the league.”

Four down, five to go.

Episcopal got their revenge on Wednesday afternoon, beating Penn Charter 47-39 to keep pace with Malvern Prep and Germantown Academy in a three-way tie for first midway through the six-team league’s round-robin season.

Although “revenge” is not how head coach Craig Conlin put it.

(click on this link for the full article)

Strath Haven suffers setback to LM during resurgent season

by  • 

Alex Ischiropoulos (above) and Strath Haven are in the midst of a program-revitalizing season. (Photo: Abigail Hoffer/CoBL)

City of Basektball logo GOW basketball

By Josh Verlin

Strath Haven junior Jahmeir Springfield has one word to sum up the Panthers’ basketball prognosis last season.

Bleak.

That’s how it felt being part of a team that went 4-19 overall, including a 2-14 record in Central League play. Over a two-year span, a once-proud program won a total of six games.

Then head coach Dave McFadden was hired in the offseason to replace Tom Dougherty, and over the last few months that outlook has changed tremendously. A strong offseason in events like the Haverford Shootout got the Panthers thinking that maybe they were in for a decent year.

When the season began, something strange happened. They started winning.

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)

Covert goes on roll, Academy Park gets past Chichester

by  • 
Academy Park's Devounghnte Brown, left, attempts to block a shot by Chichester's Derrick Welles Tuesday. Welles scored a game-high 26 points, but Academy Park claimed an 88-79 win. (Digital First Media/Robert J. Gurecki)

Academy Park’s Devounghnte Brown, left, attempts to block a shot by Chichester’s Derrick Welles Tuesday. Welles scored a game-high 26 points, but Academy Park claimed an 88-79 win. (Digital First Media/Robert J. Gurecki)

Delcotimes logo 2

By Matthew De George

As the tally of disqualifications at the end of the Academy Park bench grew and the Chichester deficit dwindled, DeAndray Covert knew what had to happen.

The blizzard of fouls, personal and technical, that eroded AP’s already sparse lineup left the senior guard as the closest remaining approximation to a primary ball-handler. In a frenetic Del Val affair, there was no panic, just the realization that it was Covert’s time to shine.

Covert scored 11 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter, weathering a feverish Chichester comeback in a wild 88-79 win that was heated and contentious, before and after the whistles.

“I know that I have to play a bigger role,” Covert said. “I wasn’t nervous or anything. I knew we could come up with the win. I just had to take a bigger role.”

(click on this link for the full article and more game scores and updates)

Sharkey’s 28 points lead Carroll back to the PCL win column

by  • 

City of Basektball logo

By Stephen Pianovich

Archbishop Carroll got to practice on Sunday and Monday despite the weekend’s enormous winter storm. So the team could not use rust as a reason for its slow start.

Luckily for the Patriots, they had one player who was anxious to get back on the court after Friday night’s loss to Neumann-Goretti, and he played like it from the opening tip.

Senior point guard Josh Sharkey scored 28 points – including all seven of Carroll’s in the first quarter – as his team shook off a bad start to pull away from La Salle for a 66-52 win in Catholic League play. The win kept the Patriots in sole possession of second place in the league at 8-1, while the Explorers fell to 6-3.

On their home court, the Patriots could not buy a bucket early. They made just one of their first 12 shots (a Sharkey 3-pointer), and found themselves trailing, 10-3, five minutes into the game. Out of a timeout, Sharkey came up with a few steals toward the end of the quarter and four more points to cut the deficit to 12-7. In the second quarter he and Carroll started running more, got better looks and had the halftime lead.

(click on this link for the full article)

Penn Live’s Top Basketball Team Ratings

by  • 

logo_pennlive

By John Tuscano

Pittsburgh City’s Allderdice keeps rolling along and remains No. 1 in this week’s PennLive Class 4A state basketball rankings after a lopsided win over Obama Academy and Saturday’s 69-52 win over St. Pius X (Ga.).

Coatesville picked up a pair of wins and moved up to No. 3 and replaces Plymouth-Whitemarsh, which suffered its first loss last Tuesday against Upper Merion. In addition, once-beaten Abington Heights out of District 2 enters the top 10, while Archbishop Wood drops out.

CLASS 4A

1. Allderdice (8) 14-1 Prev: 1

2. Roman Catholic (12) 13-4 Prev: 2

3. Coatesville (1) 15-1 Prev: 4

4. Plymouth-Whitemarsh (1) 16-1 Prev: 3

5. Parkland (11) 14-3 Prev: 5

6. Downingtown West (1) 17-1 Prev: 6

7. Reading (3) 14-3 Prev: 7

8. La Salle College (12) 14-3 Prev: 8

9. Ridley (1) 15-1 Preve: 10

10. Abington Heights (2) 15-1 Prev: HM

Honorable Mention

Latrobe (7) 16-0, Central York (3) 15-1, Strath Haven (1) 13-1, Spring Grove (3) 14-2, Harrisburg (3) 12-2, Central Bucks West (1) 15-3, Abington (1) 14-3, Cheltenham (1) 14-3, Pennridge (1) 14-3, Chartiers Valley (7) 12-3, Conestoga (1) 12-3, Hazleton (2) 12-3, Cedar Crest (3) 14-4, Penn Hills (7) 14-4, Emmaus (11) 13-4, McCaskey (3) 13-4,  Carlisle (3) 12-4, William Allen (11) 12-4, Penn-Trafford (7) 12-4 Pittsburgh Central Catholic (7), Lebanon (3) 13-5, Lower Merion (1) 13-5, 11-4, Pine-Richland (7) 11-4, Bethel Park (7) 12-5, Baldwin (7) 12-5, Hempfield (3) 12-6, Chester (1) 11-6, Gateway (7) 10-6, Peters Twp. (7) 10-6, York (3) 11-7, North Allegheny (7) 9-6, Pennsbury (7) 9-6, Arcbishop Wood (12) 9-6, CD East (3) 10-7, Nazareth (11) 10-7, Martin Luther King (12) 11-8.

(click on this link for rankings for all four PIAA classifications)

 

City of Basketball Love Playoff Watch

by  • 

Julian Wing (above) and RIdley are undefeated in their quest to repeat as Central champs. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

City of Basektball logo

By CoBL Staff

Can’t believe we are saying this, but the 2015-16 Pennsylvania high school basketball season is nearing the end of its regular season, with the beginning of district playoffs less than three weeks away.

This means the conference and league races around the area are heating up, as the contenders have separated themselves from the pack in the public and private school conferences.

Here’s Part 1 of a look around several of the area’s high school leagues with only a few games remaining on the schedule, beginning with the Catholic League, Central League and Ches-Mont League; Part 2, focused on the Inter-Ac, PAC-10 and Suburban One League, can be found here:

Central League
 After narrowly escaping an upset bid from Haverford High (3-8), Ridley remains untouched at 12-0 in Central League play. The Raiders have put themselves in prime position to repeat as league champions if they can stay on this roll for a few more weeks. They have four more Central League games left for the season. Not too far behind them are Strath Haven (11-2), followed by Conestoga (9-3) and Lower Merion (9-3) who’s the fourth seed after losing to the Pioneers on Friday.

(click on this link for the full article)

Browne, Neumann-Goretti leave Carroll in dust

by  • 
Archbishop Carroll's Ryan Daly, right, tries to drive to the basket past Neumann-Goretti's Rasheed Browne Friday in the Saints' 98-75 Catholic League win. (Times Staff/Robert J. Gurecki)

Archbishop Carroll’s Ryan Daly, right, tries to drive to the basket past Neumann-Goretti’s Rasheed Browne Friday in the Saints’ 98-75 Catholic League win. (Times Staff/Robert J. Gurecki)

Delcotimes logo 2

By Matthew De George

In the swirl of recruit-rating stars and blue-chippers that has defined Neumann-Goretti’s storied program for the last decade-plus, it’s easy for a senior guard with just two Division I offers to fly under the radar.

Friday afternoon, though, there was no underestimating Rasheed Browne.

Browne scored 20 points, including three second-half 3-pointers, to distance Neumann-Goretti from Archbishop Carroll in a 98-75 win.

On a Saints team with well-known weapons like Zane Martin, Quade Green and Vaughn Covington, opponents may overlook the shooting threat posed by Browne, more known for his defensive tenacity.

But on an afternoon where defense more or less went out the window and Browne was saddled with early foul trouble, he had to find other ways to contribute.

(click on this link for the full article)

Neumann-Goretti, Carroll in a 1-2 showdown

by  • 

Quade Green will lead Neumann-Goretti in the rematch of last year’s Class AAA state final. CHARLES FOX / Staff Photographer

Philly com logo

By Rick O’Brien

A No. 1 vs. No. 2 boys’ basketball matchup is on tap in South Philly for the second time in less than three weeks. Weather permitting, that is.

In a Catholic League showdown that was moved up two hours because of the projected snowstorm, Archbishop Carroll, ranked No. 2 in Southeastern Pennsylvania by The Inquirer, and No. 1 Neumann-Goretti are set to meet at 5 p.m. Friday at 11th and Moore Streets.

On Jan. 6, Neumann-Goretti, then ranked No. 2, easily turned back then- No. 1 Roman Catholic, 85-68, before a standing-room-only home crowd in a gym that holds about 650 spectators.

As was the case when the Saints played Roman, no tickets will be sold at the door for a rematch of last year’s PIAA Class AAA state final, won by the Saints, 69-67, in Hershey.

Carroll is 15-1 overall and 7-0 in Catholic League action. The only blemish on the Patriots’ record is a 50-49 loss to St. Benedict’s (N.J.) in the Pete and Jameer Nelson Holiday Classic on Dec. 30 at Widener.

(click on this link for the full article)