Delcohoops.com

By Matthew DeGeorge

Six basketballs were produced for Garnet Valley’s warmup Tuesday evening at Radnor. As the clock ticked down to less than 90 seconds before introductions and the anthem, all six basketballs found their way to shooters on the perimeter and, within a second or so, splashed into the net, with nary a glance off the rim.

Another round of shots, another sequence of swishes, one after the other, save for one rim out, from all over the court.

The shooting display wasn’t just for the early arrivers, since Garnet Valley started the Central League contest by sinking four 3-pointers on six trips down the court, via four different Jaguars, a blitz that staked them to an early 10-point lead that wouldn’t be surrendered.

The Jaguars came back to earth with just 10 3-pointers on the game, but even shorthanded they controlled matters from start to finish in a 66-51 decision over the Raiders.

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

Christian Clover had 10 of his 13 points in the second half Tuesday but Haverford School fell to Springside Chestnut Hill Academy, 56-50, handing the Fords their first Inter-Ac League loss in nearly three years.

Zach Genther was the only other scorer in double figures with 10 points and Bernie Rogers had nine for the Fords (5-8, 0-1), who went down in an Inter-Ac game for the first time since Feb. 3, 2017.

Also in the Inter-Ac Tuesday:

Germantown Academy 59, Episcopal Academy 49 >> Alex Capitano led the way with 20 points, including two of the Churchmen’s seven three-pointers, but it wasn’t enough against GA. Colin Chambers and Sam Malloy had seven points apiece for EA (6-10, 0-1), while Adam Archambault had six on two triples.

In the Bicentennial Athletic League:

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

By Matthew DeGeorge

Based on games reported to the Daily Times through Jan. 5 (list of missing games at bottom). For questions or corrections, email mdegeorge@21st-centurymedia.com.

Scoring Average
(Minimum half of team games played)

Grant Sareyka, Christian Academy 21.0
Josh Hankins, Chichester 20.1
Carl Schaller, Garnet Valley 19.8
Tyreese Watson, Bonner & Prendergast 19.5
John Seidman, Haverford 19.1
Jack D’Entremont, Radnor 18.2
Tre Dinkins, Cardinal O’Hara 18.2
Christian Clover, Haverford School 18.1
Shamir Baunes, Penn Wood 18.0
Billy Fisher, Sun Valley 18.0
Jackson Piotrowski, Delco Christian 18.0
Alex Capitano, Episcopal Academy 17.9
John Camden, Archbishop Carroll 17.8
Luke Edwards, Strath Haven 17.0
Karell Watkins, Chester 16.8

(click on this link for the complete list of all the stat leaders)

By Matt Smith

It’s too early for Cardinal O’Hara to book a trip to the Palestra, but the Lions are serious contenders for the Catholic League title.

They keep proving they’re for real this season.

Anthony Purnell made the tying and go-ahead free throws with 40 seconds to play as O’Hara extended its season-opening win streak to 11 games with a 45-42 triumph over Bishop McDevitt Monday night.

Trailing by four points with a minute to play, Kevin Reese drilled a 3-point field goal to trim O’Hara’s deficit to a point. Moments later, Purnell gave O’Hara a slim advantage, then Adrian Irving capped the scoring with a pair of freebies with 20.8 seconds to go.

Tre Dinkins poured in a team-high 19 points and Purnell finished with 12.

The Lions (11-0, 4-0) are tied atop the Catholic League standings with Archbishop Wood and Neumann-Goretti. Wood visits O’Hara Wednesday night.

In nonleague action:

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

By Matthew DeGeorge

 By tip-off time Saturday afternoon, 26 people, many of them adults, including two uniformed security guards, did their best to populate the stands adorned with banners for “Upper Darby students.”

Behind the Conestoga bench sat a contingent of parents and the remnants of the JV team. Members of Upper Darby’s family and friends occupied a section behind the Royals’ bench. All told, a little more than 100 fans were in the Upper Darby gym for the Central League contest.

It was, by all appearances, an ordinary boys basketball game, even if it followed a very unusual Friday.

The first event hosted under Upper Darby School District’s new game attendance policy – which was announced Friday as making Upper Darby games “no longer open to the general public,” then substantially clarified late Saturday in light of a flood of media attention – didn’t seem much different from many others in the past.

It certainly underwhelmed compared to the controversy stirred up a day earlier, and most importantly, it was markedly different from the Royals’ last home game, a Dec. 17 visit from Haverford marred by a melee that interrupted the game, injured security personnel, led to arrests and inspired the new policy in the first place.

(click on this link for the full story)