Delcohoops.com

By Harry Chaykun

Bonner & Prendergast coach Jack Concannon didn’t want to look at how teams were seeded before the Friars’ game against District 3’s New Oxford Friday night in the PIAA Class 5A tournament.“Any team that gets this far is a good team,” Concannon said of the No. 9 seed opponent. “They must have won something. What did they make, 10 3s? And we only made one.”

As the Friars showed, games aren’t won only by 3-point shooting. Bonner & Prendergast (23-4), the District 12 champion, did enough other things to earn a 56-45 decision over the Colonials (20-9) to earn the chance to play in a second-round game Tuesday night. It’s the Friars’ first PIAA tournament win in program history, the Catholic League only joining the state tournament proceedings in 2008-09.

The Friars missed six shots and turned the ball over six times in the opening period and fell behind, 15-10. The used a better defensive effort to outscore New Oxford in the second period, 20-8. Junior Isaiah Wong, who filled up the statistics sheets with 22 points, 12 rebounds, seven steals and a pair of assists, was 4-for-4 from the floor — one from deep range — and added three free throws to get 12 of his points in that second period.

(click on this link for the full story)

By PAPrepLive

Two hours from home and in its first state tournament in 28 years, Sun Valley put up a fight against District 3 third-place team Northeastern.
Sun Valley spotted the Bobcats the first 10 points of the game but battled in a 69-60 setback.

Vinny DeAngelo led the way with 24 points, including 10-for-10 from the line. Marvin Freeman (12 points) and Isaac Kennon (10 points) each hit a pair of 3-pointers.

Sun Valley carved an 11-point halftime deficit to three late in the third quarter and four with three minutes to play, but it couldn’t quite get all the way back in seeing its season end at 19-8.

 

By Matthew DeGeorge

 Just two years ago, the bar for success at Sun Valley was measured in District 1 tournament appearances.In 2015-16, Steve Maloney’s team went through a stretch of four wins in six games late in the season. The result was inclusion in the old Class AAA tournament, a loss to Octorara and an 8-15 record. It was progress, albeit with limits.

Two years later, Sun Valley has turned that record around and then some, to 19-7. And instead of a spot in districts, the reward is the program’s first states berth in 28 years.

Sun Valley will have a long ride to savor the experience, the fifth seed from District 1 trekking out to West York High School Friday night at eight to take on District 3 third seed Northeastern at 8.

“It feels great, honestly,” senior point guard Shahir Brown-Morris said. “Just knowing that we work so hard and every coach is here early, we get extra work in. We’ve earned it, and that’s why we’ve gotten so far.”

Maloney has forged a unique ethos at Sun Valley. The Vanguards play a rotation of six, Brown-Morris the only senior. They’re not particularly tall, with Lance Stone representing, as Marvin Freeman put it, “our 5-10 center.”

(click on this link for the full story and the other PIAA 5A team reviews)

The Strath Haven Middle School Home and School Association sponsors a basketball game between the Wallingford Swarthmore School District Faculty Basketball Team “Haven Hoopsters” and the Harlem Wizards at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 21, at the Strath Haven High School Gym.

Ticket cost is $12 in advance, $15 at the door. VIP Courtside Plus tickets are $25 (available online only, seating is limited). Doors open at 6 p.m.

Proceeds benefit the Foundation for Wallingford-Swarthmore Schools and the Jack Hontz Memorial Fund (music).

For advance tickets, visit www.harlemwizards.com/schedule-tickets/

 

By Matthew DeGeorge

Magd Abdelwahab takes a second to wistfully run down the roster of his eighth grade team at Beverly Hills Middle School.

He was part of that undefeated team, along with fellow Upper Darby senior Nasir Greer. Also included was Bonner & Prendergast sixth-man-turned-starting-guard Yohance Garner, who was a teammate of Abdelwahab in the two years he spent at Bonner.

Rounding out the starting five is Anthony McFall, who played at Upper Darby as a sophomore, and Kwazhere Ransom, who scored 44 points in five highly productive games at the tail end of his freshman year for the Friars.

The lone enduring similarity between the five, other than a shared zip code in junior high, is that all five will be taking part in the PIAA tournament starting this weekend: Abdelwahab and Greer at Upper Darby; Garner at Bonner; Ransom and McFall at Math, Civics & Sciences.

The journey of multiple schools that four of them share is a common refrain that extends well beyond the boundaries of the Upper Darby School District.

(click on this link for the full story)

By Ed Morlock

Wissahckon opens the PIAA Class-5A state playoffs against Archbishop Carroll at 8 p.m. Friday night at Bensalem High School.

The (1-3) Trojans haven’t played the (12-3) Patriots since beating them in 2011, but head coach Kyle Wilson and his team know what they’re up against.

“They’re a tough team,” Wilson said. “It’s what we’d expect out of the (Philadelphia) Catholic League. They’ve got a solid five or six guys deep of talent. They’re disciplined, skilled. A few guys have D-1 offers. Strong caliber of play.”

Carroll has four players who averaged double figures in the always-competitve Catholic League. Senior forward Keyon Butler (second team All-Catholic) led the way with 15.8 points, sophomore guard AJ Hoggard (first team All-Catholic) had 14.8, senior guard Justin Anderson (second team All-Catholic) 13.5 and junior guard Luke House 12.3.

“You basically talk to your guys about of all games you want to come up with your best defensive game, this is going to be it,” Wilson said. “When you know you’re facing a squad that’s that deep and talented, you want a little bit of luck on your side. Maybe some of the shots aren’t falling, maybe they’re not hitting the boards. There’s somewhere we have to win some of those battles — whether it’s on the boards, whether it’s defensively, offensively. Our goal is to have them play more of our style of basketball.”

(click on this link for the full story and more playoff game previews)