Girls & Boys: Ennis helps Upper Darby end with a win

The Upper Darby girls basketball team went out in winning style Tuesday.

Senior guard Aubrey Ennis produced 20 points, six assists, five steals and five rebounds as the Royals ended its season with a 52-10 victory Interboro.

Kareemah McCafferty supplied 14 points, four steals and three assists for Upper Darby (4-17). Alliyiah Jean-Baptiste contributed 12 points, 11 rebounds, two steals and two blocked shots.

In the Inter-Ac League:

PENN CHARTER 63, EPISCOPAL ACADEMY 32 » The Quakers wrapped up the league title behind Aleah Snead’s 21-point performance.

Amanda Purcell led the Churchwomen with 10 points. Riley Cassidy

added nine.

Boys Basketball

Josh Parks got to his 1,000th career point in style Monday night. The Delco Christian senior guard scored 27 points to lead Delco Christian to a 50-35 win over Calvary Christian in the first round of the Bicentennial Athletic League playoffs.

Parks hit three 3-pointers and got past the mark in the third quarter.

Jace Kees and Caleb Jameson hit three 3-pointers each for nine points for the Knights (11-12).

Also in the BAL tournament:

COLLEGIUM CHARTER 86, DELCO CHRISTIAN 31 » A 24-5 disadvantage in the second quarter ended the Knights’ run in the tournament in Tuesday’s second round. They allowed Collegium to hit 14 3-pointers.

Jameson led the way with 10 points. Parks scored eight for the Knights (11-13).

Girls: Garnet Valley’s Haylie Adamski finds bright lights to her liking

Garnet Valley's Haylie Adamski, center, hits a jumper in the Jaguars' 39-29 victory over Marple Newtown in the Central League championship game Monday night at Ridley High School. (Pete Pannan/MediaNews Group).

Garnet Valley’s Haylie Adamski, center, hits a jumper in the Jaguars’ 39-29 victory over Marple Newtown in the Central League championship game Monday night at Ridley High School. (Pete Pannan/MediaNews Group).

By Matt Smith

The big game atmosphere didn’t faze Haylie Adamski. Not in the least.

Garnet Valley’s freshman sensation came ready to dominate in the Central League final Monday.

The 5-11 Adamski was simply unstoppable Monday night before a packed crowd at Ridley High.

Adamski went off for a game-high 22 points as the Jaguars routed Marple Newtown, 39-27. It’s the program’s sixth Central League title in eight years.

After two up-and-down seasons, the Jags have won 14 of their last 17 games after a 4-4 start. Who knows where they would be without their budding star, Adamski, who shot 5-for-8 from beyond the arc and had 11 points after the first quarter.

“I had to stay composed because I knew that the other team’s crowd (student section) was going insane and they were really loud,” Adamski said. “Our crowd helped us and our bench has been the best that it’s ever been. My teammates really helped me throughout the game.”

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Adamski leads Garnet Valley girls to Central League title

The Garnet Valley girls basketball team stands in a gym

The 2022 Central League Girl’s Basketball Champions – The Garnet Valley Jaguars.  (Photo: Joseph Santoliquito/CoBL)

By Joseph Santoliquito

The chants from the behind the Garnet Valley bench grew louder and louder, “She’s a freshman,” reminding the rest of the Ridley gym that what they were seeing was going to be happening for a few years more.

A few months ago, Haylie Adamski was not as assured where her shot was going each time the ball left her fingertips. On Monday night, the 5-foot-11 Garnet Valley freshman knew where it would go—translating into a game-high 21 points in leading the Jaguars to their sixth Central League girls’ basketball title in the last eight years with a dominant 39-27 victory over Marple Newtown.

The Jaguars (18-7) have now won Central League titles in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019—when they won the District 1 Class 6A championship and finished as state runner-up—and now 2021.

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Boys: Radnor puts up fight but can’t pull off upset

Radnor's Pierce Justice puts up a shot in the first half against Lower Merion in the Central League final Monday. The Aces went on to a 59-49 victory. (Pete Bannan/MediaNews Group)

Radnor’s Pierce Justice puts up a shot in the first half against Lower Merion in the Central League final Monday. The Aces went on to a 59-49 victory. (Pete Bannan/MediaNews Group)

By Matthew DeGeorge

It’s been awhile since Radnor defeated Lower Merion in basketball.

The best guess right now according to modern historians is roughly 1984. That’s at least a lifetime and change ago for the current Raptor players, although the way they battled Monday, that’s certainly subject to change.

Two minutes into the third quarter of the Central League championship game between the teams at Ridley High, right around the time the concession stand was low on hot dogs, pizza and the latest rage, walking tacos, the Raptors scored eight straight points to erase what had been a 12-point deficit late in the first half.

Though it was still a one-point game early in the final frame, the Raptors couldn’t keep up, the Aces working hard for a 59-49 victory and yet another Central League title thanks largely to 6-10 senior Demetrius Lilley, who scored 10 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter, including thundering back-to-back dunks.

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Boys: By any number, Demetrius Lilley stars in emotional Lower Merion title run

Lower Merion's Demetrius Lilley goes in for a slam in the fourth quarter of the Central League final Radnor Monday night. Lilley scored 20 points and grabbed 17 rebounds in a 58-49 Lower Merion win. (Pete Bannan/MediaNews Group)

Lower Merion’s Demetrius Lilley goes in for a slam in the fourth quarter of the Central League final Radnor Monday night. Lilley scored 20 points and grabbed 17 rebounds in a 58-49 Lower Merion win. (Pete Bannan/MediaNews Group)

By Matthew DeGeorge

The change in numbers felt right for Demetrius Lilley. He had come to love No. 35, chosen in part because it was one of the few in the Lower Merion storage closet that would fit his 6-10 frame. But when principal Sean Hughes died in a car accident in November, and a grieving Lower Merion community sought ways to memorialize their beloved principal, Lilley knew how he wanted to do that.

Instead of 35, the Penn State commit would don No. 14, for the 14 years that Hughes spent as principal, an on-court counterpoint to the “Hughes 14” warmups shirts and the shirseys coaches would sport on the sidelines.

Another change in number beckoned for Lilley Monday night, for a much less profound reason. But the sense of purpose behind his performance remained unflinching.

Wearing No. 25, the Aces blood jersey after a first-half cut on his wrist, Lilley scored 20 points and 17 rebounds, hauling top-seeded Lower Merion to a 59-49 win over a game Radnor in the Central League final at Ridley High School.

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Webmaster’s note: Listen to our interview with Lilley at the end of Lower Merion’s victory. Listen on our archive below at the 1:31:10 mark.

Boys: With Lilley at full strength, Lower Merion boys win Central League championship

The Lower Merion boys basketball team stands in a gym

The 2022 Central League Boy’s Basketball Champions – The Lower Merion Aces. (Photo: Ty Daubert/CoBL)

By Ty Daubert

Lower Merion’s Demetrius Lilley is back at full strength.

Hampered by back issues that cost him the first four games of the season, the 6-foot-9 center feels like he’s at his best once again when it matters most for the Aces. Vying for the Central League title on Monday night, Lilley appeared just fine physically as he slammed home back-to-back dunks to help Lower Merion pull away late in the game.

“My back feels amazing right now,” Lilley said. “That’s why I can get back to my teammates and help them win.”

Lilley’s pair of emphatic dunks capped a 10-point fourth quarter for the senior as he led the Aces to a 59-49 victory over Radnor in the league championship game at Ridley High School.

“It feels amazing,” Lilley said. “Any way I can help my team win, I can bring to the table. I guess those two dunks were the spark to the fourth quarter.”

(click on this link for the full story)

Webmaster’s Note: Listen to our interview with Lilley at the 1:31:10 mark on the archive below.