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By Matt Smith

From the opening tip at Hollinger Fieldhouse Tuesday night, Radnor played with a poise and intensity that made one thing clear: This team wouldn’t be happy leaving without a championship.

Riding the same confidence that has characterized their postseason run, the No. 2 Raptors took control early against top-seeded Gwynedd Mercy, buoyed by a suffocating defensive performance. At one point in the first half, the Monarchs went nearly five minutes without even attempting a shot.

Radnor’s relentless pressure held Gwynedd Mercy to just eight first-half points, and despite a brief surge in the third quarter, the Raptors never wavered. By the final buzzer, Radnor had earned a commanding 48-33 victory, claiming the program’s second District 1 title and first since 2014.

A defining trait of Radnor’s championship run has been its balanced attack. No single player has carried the scoring load, and Tuesday was no different. Sophomore Caroline Quinn stepped up with a major impact off the bench, following in the footsteps of fellow sophomore Bree Simpson, who starred in the Raptors’ semifinal win over Villa Maria.

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By Josh Verlin

We’re on to the District 1 6A girls semifinals. All four of the top seeds have made it through — Perkiomen Valley, Garnet Valley, Upper Dublin and Central Bucks East — to set up a great pair of games featuring a ton of local talent.

There are actually six 6A games on Wednesday night. Two of them are semifinals; two of them are PIAA qualifying games, Council Rock South/Spring-Ford and Downingtown West/Abington t all facing off for the final two spots out of District 1, with the winners of those games both safely in. And then there are two seeding games between four teams who have already locked in state berths but who are just playing for their spots on the bracket.

Here’s a look at all of those games:

2) Garnet Valley vs. 3) Upper Dublin (7:00 PM)

Both of these teams have basically had dream seasons thus far, and this could be one of the best games of the season. The Central League champions, Garnet Valley (25-1) hasn’t lost since Dec. 17, but it’s already gotten Haverford High back for that one on two separate occasions, including 54-44 in Saturday’s quarterfinal round. Upper Dublin (23-4), the Suburban One League champions, took overtime to beat Cheltenham in the district quarterfinals, the Cardinals’ seventh-straight win overall. 

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By Owen McCue 

After a season spent on the freshman basketball team, Plymouth Whitemarsh forward Michael Pereira was the “hypest kid in the stands” when the Colonials went to the District 1 title game during his first year on campus.

Pereira sprouted into a prospect and player for PW in the two years since, helping guide the Colonials back to the area’s top stage.

The 6-foot-9 forward had his third straight 20-point outing in Tuesday night District 1 6A semifinal, putting up 28 points and 10 rebounds to power No. 5 Plymouth Whitemarsh past top-seed Lower Merion, 58-50, and into Friday’s title game against Conestoga at St. Joe’s Hagan Arena.

“I’ve made leaps and bounds this season,” Peirera said. “I’ve leared to play a lot more physical than I was before. I feel like the team’s relying on me in a way that I didn’t see them relying on me earlier in the season. Twenty-eight in the district semis, it’s a great feeling. If I hit a couple more foul shots it’s 30.”

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By Josh Verlin

We’re on to the District 1 6A boys semifinals. All four teams left — Lower Merion, Coatesville, Conestoga and Plymouth Whitemarsh — are amongst the district’s top five seeds, all with about equal chances to be playing for a district title on Friday night at Saint Joseph’s Hagan Arena (8:00 PM).

There are six 6A games on Tuesday night. Two of them are semifinals; two of them are PIAA qualifying games, Phoenixville/Bensalem and Methacton/Downingtown West all facing off for the final two spots out of District 1, with the winners of those games both safely in. And then there are two seeding games between four teams who have already locked in state berths but who are just playing for their spots on the bracket.

Here’s a look at all of those games:

Boys: District 1 6A Semifinals
1) Lower Merion vs. 5) Plymouth Whitemarsh (7:00 PM)

What a surprise — Lower Merion and Plymouth Whitemarsh are deep in the District 1 tournament once again. Yes, we’ve certainly seen both Gregg Downer and Jim Donofrio do this time and time before, though they both took different paths to get here this season. Lower Merion won the district title last year, graduated most of its starting lineup — and finds itself two wins away from a repeat, Downer and his staff pulling off another terrific coaching job with an Aces group that’s on a roll. 

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By Matthew DeGeorge

There were no minced words when Archbishop Carroll coach Renie Shields called timeout two minutes into the third quarter of the Catholic League championship game Sunday afternoon.

Carroll trailed by 13 points, and two free throws from Neumann-Goretti’s Amaya Scott would soon stretch the spread 15. Carroll had endured a woeful shooting first half at the Palestra, and the game was quickly getting away from them.

“There was a lot of tension,” Carroll guard Alexis Eberz said. “We were down a lot, so we knew what we had to do to come back, but just taking it one possession at a time. I think that was a big thing.”

For the next 10 minutes, Carroll executed on offense to make a game of it. But a four-minute drought late in the fourth quarter and Neumann-Goretti’s unerring performance at the free-throw line meant it just fueled more finals heartbreak, the Saints claiming a 50-43 victory.

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By Matt Smith

The ending was chaotic, and Delco Christian knew it never should have been that close.

After leading by as many as 20 points in the fourth quarter, the Knights watched their advantage evaporate against rival Dock Mennonite, the same team that edged them by two points in last year’s District 1 Class 2A final.

With that 2024 game on the line, then-junior guard Khamai Orange had a chance to win it but missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer. That loss sent Delco Christian into the PIAA tournament, where they were eliminated in the first round.

This time, the Knights were in total control for three quarters, looking every bit like the superior team. But Dock, the reigning back-to-back district champions, had an improbable comeback up its sleeve.

When Robbie Sukaly converted an and-1 to tie the game at 57, capping a furious run, Delco Christian needed a response. Dock’s full-court pressure had been a problem, but reserve guard Jake Matty broke free on the fast break and finished an uncontested layup to put the Knights back in front.

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