Delcohoops.com

By Matthew DeGeorge

For all the senior talent on the Sun Valley roster, there’s one commodity missing from last year’s squad that earned a berth in the PIAA Class 5A tournament. It just happens to be one of the hardest-to-fake entities in high school hoops.Six of the top seven scorers are back for the Vanguards, but the missing piece is a point guard, after the graduation of floor general Shair Brown-Morris. It’s a void rarely filled by committee – either you have an adept and stable ball-handler, or you don’t.

Turns out that Sun Valley has one, just not always the same one. And more than anything, years of experience built between a veteran corps seems to be steadying that role, as in Saturday’s 63-47 nonleague handling of Marple Newtown.

Vinny DeAngelo and Isaac Kennon rotated having the ball in their hands. Kennon held it down in the first half, DeAngelo sitting with two fouls. DeAngelo, who excelled as an off-ball player to tally 1,000 career points by the end of his junior campaign, took the reins in the second to jumpstart his offensive game.

With Sun Valley off a 5-0 start, the early returns of the time-sharing are certainly encouraging.

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

By Rick O’Brien

Xavier Edwards and his Norristown High teammates thrived against Lower Merion with their ball movement and unselfishness.

By Matthew DeGeorge

Strath Haven 59, Marple Newtown 54 >> The Panthers spread the scoring evenly, with Luke Edwards netting 16 points, Ibo Pio tossing in 13 and Brady Mutz adding 11. Justin Morris chipped in eight for the Panthers (1-3, 1-1).

Tommy Gardler led Marple (0-3, 0-2) with 23 points, and Aziz Khammassi chipped in 13.

(Click on this link for the games Box Scores)

(Webmaster’s note: The Marple Newtown vs. Strath Haven game was our Game-of-the-Week and can be heard in its entirety below or on our Archives link listed in the menu at the top of our page.)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

By Matthew DeGeorge

There was a lot of fouling going on in Chester’s game with South Philadelphia High School Friday. That suited the Clippers just fine.

Chester converted 37 of its 49 trips to the line to win an 87-47 nonleague decision Friday night.

Michael Smith led all scorers with 18 points, including a perfect 10-for-10 at the charity stripe. Karell Watkins added 13 points with a 7-for-8 day at the line, and Fareed Burton was 9-for-10 from the line for nine points. Rahmee Gilbert added 11 points, and Akeem Taylor had 10 for the Clippers (2-2).

In other nonleague action:

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

By Matthew DeGeorge

The clock showed 1:51 when Greg Vlassopoulos, Garnet Valley’s leading scorer this young season, attempted his first field goal of the third quarter. Yet in that first six-plus minutes, as the senior wing turned his attention elsewhere on the court Friday night, the Jags saw their lead balloon from seven to an ultimately decisive 15 points.The reason, as a boisterous Garnet Valley student section eagerly pointed out, was a pair of players who are sophomores.

Neel Beniwal scored a career-high 20 points, and Carl Schaller added 13 as Garnet Valley hung on late in the face of Ridley’s incessant press for a 64-55 Central League win.

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

By PAPrepLive

Three games into the season and Chester High can finally exhale.

Looking for win No. 1 Thursday night at home, the Clippers controlled the tempo from the outset and big men Karell Watkins and Zahmir Carroll dominated inside the paint, leading to an 81-59 rout of Newark (Del.).

Watkins (31 points, 11 rebounds) and Carroll (13 points, 10 rebounds) each recorded a career high in scoring as the Clippers (1-2) came away with the ‘W’ for the first time in 2018-19. For Watkins it was his second double-double in three games.

Chester pulled away by outscoring Newark 25-11 in the fourth quarter. Akeem Taylor added 12 points and All-Delco guard Michael Smith contributed nine.

In other nonleague action:

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