In test of new PIAA rules, Roman Catholic’s Greer ruled ineligible for state playoffs

Roman Catholic’s Lynn Greer, seen in a game against Carroll last year, had his request for a waiver to participate in the postseason denied by the PIAA. (DFM file)

By Matthew DeGeorge

The 2019 PIAA Class 6A tournament will take place without one of the stars of the 2018 postseason.

Roman Catholic guard Lynn Greer III is ineligible for the tournament after an application for a hardship waiver was rejected, according to several officials with the PIAA.

Though Roman Catholic is still exploring legal avenues around the ruling, the PIAA’s stance is that the star guard is ineligible for district and inter-district competition. He can play for the Cahillites as they pursue a second straight Philadelphia Catholic League title, in which they open play as the top seed Friday. But he is ineligible for the District 12 placement game and for the PIAA tournament.

The 6-3 junior point guard transferred last spring to Oak Hill Academy, a national basketball power and boarding school in Virginia. But he never settled in there and returned to Roman before the 2018-19 season began without playing a game for Oak Hill.

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PIAA District One Playoffs brackets available

  

By Delcohoops.com Staff

The PIAA District One Playoff brackets are set.  Click on the PIAA logo (or click on the PIAA logo above) on the right border to see the brackets for 2, 4, 5 & 6.  We will update them at the games are played!

 

District 1’s new boys basketball math seems to have Ridley counted out

By Matthew DeGeorge

When Ridley finished Tuesday’s loss to Lower Merion, it found itself outside the District 1 Class 6A playoffs, in 25th place for a 24-team field.

After Friday’s win against KIPP-DuBois, added at the last minute to give the Green Raiders a full 22-game schedule, the Green Raiders had bounded into 24th.

Now, it appears that the Green Raiders are once again on the outside looking in.

Due to a discrepancy in opponents’ records for the purposes of calculating bonus points, Ridley is back in 25th place, per the rankings on the District 1 website as of Sunday evening.

As of press time Sunday, brackets for the District 1 boys basketball fields in all six classifications were not released, pending verification and finalization of records. The information is slated to be released Monday, and pending review, will be made official.

The updated district rankings have Ridley, at 13-9, again dropping below North Penn (9-13) in the race for the final berth in the District 1 Class 6A field. The difference, aside from four games in a traditional set of standings, is a margin of 0.101 power points, giving the Knights the edge.

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Little bit of an energy boost helps Carroll top O’Hara

By Matthew DeGeorge

Listening to Ny’mire Little talk, his hands gesticulating and eyes wide with intensity, it’s hard to believe energy would ever be something the Archbishop Carroll guard would lack. But Sunday afternoon, as Little so passionately described, the general intensity of his Patriots in their regular-season finale at Cardinal O’Hara wasn’t at the elevated, sustained level he wanted.

So when given the chance to alter the trajectory of the game, Little and his backcourt mate Kiyl Mack made it happen with a dose of electricity.

The duo combined for 15 of Carroll’s 19 fourth-quarter points, including the decisive run early in the final frame that the Patriots rode to a 72-70 Catholic League win.

With the victory, Carroll (13-9, 9-5) clinches the seventh seed in the Catholic League playoffs. It’ll host Father Judge Wednesday in the opening round, denied a bye to the quarterfinals only by Archbishop Wood’s buzzer-beating win over Archbishop Ryan Sunday.

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

With much will, Penncrest’s Williams and Rice find a way for Penncrest

Penncrest’s Malcolm Williams goes up for a shot over Conestoga’s Brooks Rush during the Central League semifinal Saturday between the teams. (Pete Bannan/Digital First Media)

By Matthew DeGeorge

It was a small sequence with two minutes left in a game that had been decided, but it still illustrated the unrelenting control Malcolm Williams and Isaiah Rice exerted for Penncrest Saturday.On one end, Williams stole the ball from a Conestoga player, then dished to Rice, who was fouled. Rice hit the first free throw, missed the second, only for Williams to scoop up the rebound, get hacked and head back to the line.

Those free throws helped salt away a 54-46 win for Penncrest in the Central League semifinal at Marple Newtown, booking the second-seeded Lions (17-5) a spot in Monday night’s championship game against regular-season champion Lower Merion (7:45 at Harriton).

Rice and Williams accounted for 17 of the Lions’ 19 fourth-quarter points. On both ends of the court, whether via Williams’ varied offensive game or Rice’s court vision or their collective muzzling of Conestoga leading scorer Zach Lezanic, the pair dictated the game.

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Webmaster’s note: The Central League Boy’s Championship basketball game on February 11th will be broadcast LIVE right here on Delcohoops.com. Pre-game begins at 7:45 PM.

With senior leaders lacking, Abbonizio, Conran lead way for Springfield

Springfield’s Jordan D’Ambrosio splits the defense of Haverford’s Lindsey Lane, left, and Erin Doherty in the fourth quarter. Springfield held off the Fords to advance to the Central league finals Monday evening. (Pete Bannan/Digital First Media)

By Matt Smith

As Jordan D’Ambrosio played on one good ankle Saturday, Springfield teammate Belle Mastropietro erred on the side of caution.

D’Ambrosio took a hard fall to the floor, but kept going after Haverford at less than 100 percent. Mastropietro picked up her fourth foul early in the third quarter, even though the officials called for a foul she didn’t commit on two occasions.

For three quarters, it was an agonizing, crummy, day for Springfield’s senior captains.

So, it wasn’t a big surprise the Cougars were involved in another defensive and low-scoring slugfest with Haverford, the second year in a row the teams clashed in the Central League semifinals at Marple Newtown. D’Ambrosio and Mastropietro weren’t in tip-top form, but Springfield came back to win, 33-30, and will take on No. 1 Garnet Valley for the league championship Monday at Harriton.

(click on this link for the full story)

Webmaster’s note: The Central League Girl’s Championship basketball game on February 11th will be broadcast LIVE right here on Delcohoops.com. Pre-game begins at 5:45 PM.