Delcohoops.com

By Joseph Santoliquito 

Kylie Mulholland was getting a little afraid. Days were passing on the 5-foot-3 Garnet Valley senior guard. She really had no idea what she was going to do a month ago. It was getting deeper into February and she had no college destination.

On Sunday, that changed, when she committed to Division II Jefferson University coach Tom Shirley over the phone.  

Mulholland celebrated that on Tuesday night playing a complete game, scoring 13 points in aiding No. 2 seed Garnet Valley to a 54-38 second-round PIAA District 1 Class 6A playoff victory over visiting No. 15 seed North Penn.

The Jaguars (24-1) will now advance to the district quarterfinal round against the winner of Wednesday’s Downingtown West-Haverford High matchup. North Penn, which won its opening round game, still has a chance to make the state playoffs through the playback round.

(click on this link for the full article)

 

By Joseph Santoliquito

Grayson Golek was mugged by teammates and friends as he walked off the court Tuesday night. More than a few told the sweaty 6-foot-5 Garnet Valley sophomore directly, “You can do this.”

Maybe next time, Golek will listen.

The first thing he admits is that he sometimes gets in his own way. He knows what he is capable of doing on a basketball court, and at times he’s shown it.

Like Tuesday night, when he dropped a career-high 30 points on Bensalem in Garnet Valley’s 72-54 second-round PIAA District 1 Class 6A playoff game.

The No. 4-seeded Jaguars (18-6) will advance to quarterfinal round to play No. 5 seed Plymouth-Whitemarsh on Friday at 7 p.m., while Bensalem (15-10) will take on Neshaminy in the playback round.

(click on this link for the full article)

Khamai Orange and Bradford Berwick scored 14 points each Tuesday night and Delco Christian rolled over Calvary Christian, 67-30, in a District 1 Class 2A boys basketball playoff.

Delco Christian will meet Christopher Dock, a 54-34 winner over Church Farm School, in the district championship game Saturday. Both DCCS and Dock have clinched spots in the PIAA Class 2A state tourney.

Beau Lyren added 11 points for the Knights (24-2 overall), who had a 37-15 halftime lead over CC.

Girls Basketball

Ninth-seeded Marple Newtown battled but came up short against top-seeded Gwynedd Mercy, falling 44-37 in the District 1 Class 5A quarterfinals.

(click on this link for more game stories and scores subscription may be required)

The Lower Merion High School boys’ basketball team began defense of its PIAA District 1 Class 6A title in convincing fashion Tuesday, posting a 70-30 win over visiting Pennsbury in front of a capacity crowd at Bryant Gymnasium.

The win clinched Lower Merion’s 15th consecutive PIAA state tournament berth and 19 in the last 21 years.

After opening the game with a 21-8 lead after one quarter, the Aces wasted no time tightening the defense, holding the visiting Falcons to just five points in the second quarter. The Lower Merion offense did the rest behind the combination of Gus Wright and Carson Kasmer, allowing LM to push the lead to 40-13 at halftime.

The Aces closed the door in the second half coming out of the locker room and playing stingy defense on their way to the victory.

(click on this link for the full article, subscription may be required)

By CoBL Staff

The PIAA state playoffs are in sight.

The second round of the District 1 6A tournament is also the first way teams can extend their seasons well into March, a win on Tuesday guaranteeing at least four more games remain. The eight losers go into the playback round, where they’re all two wins away from earning one of the last couple bids into the PIAA bracket. 

Here’s a look at all eight of Tuesday’s games, which all tip off at 7:00 PM:

1) Lower Merion vs. 17) Pennsbury (7:00 PM)

The defending District 1 6A champs, Lower Merion (20-4) is starting its quest for its fourth championship in five years, one of the more impressive stretches of Gregg Downer’s legendary career. What makes it particularly notable is that each of the last two years, the Aces have replaced almost the entirety of their rotation and kept it rolling. This year, senior guard Carson Kasmer has taken his turn as Lower Merion’s star, the Gettysburg-bound left-hander leading a group that also features seniors Gus Wright, Rashyne Patterson, Lamont Grier and Sam’i Singletary in the starting lineup. There isn’t a ton of size, but Downer goes five-out and makes you guard them all.

(click on this link for the full article)

 

By CoBL Staff 

The District 1 5A girls’ bracket continues Tuesday night with the quarterfinals, four games that also serve as PIAA state qualifiers. Seven of the eight remaining teams will end up in the PIAA tournament: the four who win tomorrow night and three of the four who end up in the playback brackets, so everybody left in the field has at least three games remaining in the season.

With last year’s winner, Bishop Shanahan, out of the picture, there’s going to be a new champion this year, and it’s a field that seems wide-open going into the quarterfinals — at least, after one squad whose regular season went quite a bit better than anybody else’s.

Here’s a look at all four games:

1) Gwynedd Mercy vs. 9) Marple Newtown (6:00 PM)

The Monarchs finished the season 19-2, far and away the top team in the District 1 5A formula rankings, first-year head coach Taylor Sweeney’s group sweeping the AACA regular season. A loss to Villa Maria in the AACA championship game showed that GMA (20-3) is beatable, but aside from three games against Villa Maria, they don’t have any other regular-season games against 5A opponents.

(click on this link for the full article)