Delcohoops.com

By Matthew DeGeorge

The Central League’s unbalanced schedule has long been an impediment to crowning a true champion. It’s a delicate balance with 12 teams in the league. Playing each opponent twice in a true home-and-home is impossible under the PIAA’s 22-game limit. Playing each team once doesn’t solve the home-court imbalance, and leaving 11 nonleague games is too burdensome of a schedule.

So the Goldilocks solution being tried this year is an expanded league playoff system that admits six teams into a knockout tournament.

The Central League used to qualify only the top four teams in the regular-season standings, or the top three if one team finished unbeaten, which is fairly commonplace and could happen again this year with Springfield’s girls at 15-0 entering the last day of league play Thursday.

The new playoffs take place over three days at neutral sites. The third seed plays the sixth, and four will play five Saturday, with the re-seeded winners taking on the top two seeds Monday night. The winners advance to Tuesday’s final.

(click on this link for the full story)

By Ari Glazier

Coaches who utilize a fast-paced offense are faced with a tricky balancing act. When you take a big lead, at what point, if at all, do you move away from your initial tactics and slow the game down? 

That question was paramount in Cardinal O’Hara’s 61-54 upset road victory over Neumann-Goretti on Friday night.

After jumping out to an 16-point lead over NG in the first half, largely thanks to his team’s high-velocity offense, Lions coach Ryan Nemetz directed his team to start draining the clock. This led to neither team scoring a point from midway through the third quarter to the last seconds of the period.

Neumang guard Hysier Miller hit a floater to at the buzzer to end the scoring drought and cut O’Hara’s lead to 48-32. This seemed to kickstart Neumann-Goretti, who went on a 10-0 run to start the final quarter, dragging the crowd from being a nonfactor to uproariously willing their team to a comeback victory.

(click on this link for the full story)

By Josh Verlin

Conference tournament season is here! The Philadelphia Public League tournament is already underway, and the Pioneer Athletic Conference held its opening round on Wednesday night.

With a few other leagues having their semifinals this weekend and championships early next week (and a few hours off this afternoon), I figured this would be a good time for a quick preview of a few different tournaments. We’ll do a Catholic League preview on its own after that field is finalized on Sunday, as well as district tournament previews next week:

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Central League
1st Round –– Both Games Sat., Feb. 8 @ 3:30 PM
3) Penncrest vs. 6) Strath Haven (@ Lower Merion)
4) Haverford vs. 5) Radnor (@ Garnet Valley)

The boys’ first-round games in the first year of the Central League’s expanded six-team playoffs are both part of boy/girl doubleheaders, hence the somewhat-strange locations, as Haverford (13-9, 9-7) and Radnor (14-8, 9-7) both travel much further than they would have if they were playing at Lower Merion. Regardless, expect a couple of low-scoring, defensive battles, though it’s not as if there aren’t talented players on all four squads. Haverford/Radnor presents a battle of two of the best in the Central League in Fords’ do-it-all junior wing John Seidman and Radnor’s 6-6 forward Jack D’Entremont; though the two won’t likely be matched up much on one another, they have a similar ability to impact the game. 

(click on this link for more all of the article)

By Matthew DeGeorge

Based on games reported to the Daily Times through Wednesday, Feb. 5; games missing key at bottom.

Scoring Average
(Minimum half of team games played)

Grant Sareyka, Christian Academy 20.8
Karell Watkins, Chester 19.6
Carl Schaller, Garnet Valley 19.4
Tahriq Marrero, Academy Park 19.3
Alex Capitano, Episcopal Academy 18.5
Shamir Baynes, Penn Wood 18.2
Derrick Northern, Academy Park 17.8
Josh Hankins, Chichester 17.7
John Seidman, Haverford 17.6
Tyreese Watson, Bonner & Prendergast 17.5
Tre Dinkins, Cardinal O’Hara 17.4
Jack D’Entremont, Radnor 17.3
John Camden, Archbishop Carroll 16.7
Christian Clover, Haverford School 16.6

(click on this link for the full scoring stats)

Looking to watch some great basketball this weekend before the PIAA District 1 playoffs start?

Check out the games for the Boy’s and Girl’s Central League Championship games:

 

click on the bracket for a larger view

Need directions to get to one of the schools in the bracket?  Check out our Delaware Cty Schools page.

Webmaster’s note: The Central League Boy’s and Girl’s Basketball Championships on February 11th will be audio broadcast LIVE right here on Delcohoops.com!

By Matthew DeGeorge

A year ago, the scoreboard at Radnor High School showed the same final score. But the teams involved could scarcely be in more different places a year on.

In the 2018-19 season finale, Radnor beat Strath Haven, 48-46, to clinch a District 1 Class 5A playoff berth. It paved the way for the Raiders to be dispatched by Unionville in the first round of the postseason and Haven to cap a moribund 3-19 season, leading to an offseason coaching change.

Thursday night, Radnor wound up on top, again by a 48-46 margin. But where last year’s combatants combined for a mere 14 wins, the total this year stands at 29 and counting. Both are in position to host District 1 Class 5A playoff games. Both qualified for the first installment of the extended Central League playoffs, to start Saturday.

And both face incalculably brighter horizons now then they did a year ago.

“It’s been a great four years,” said Radnor’s Colin Lane, one of seven Raiders celebrating senior night, a group that endured its three-win campaign as sophomores. “It’s been a great journey. We’re just going to keep getting better, keep getting stronger and keep going as a team.”

Webmaster’s note: The Central League Boy’s and Girl’s Basketball Championships on February 11th will be audio broadcast LIVE right here on Delcohoops.com!

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