Delcohoops.com

By Tyler Sandora

It was a situation Plymouth-Whitemarsh wasn’t too familiar with.

The Colonials have been beating their opponents all year by margins as big as big as 50 points. Entering Friday night 25-0, and ranked the 23rd-best high school team in the country by USA Today, P-W has been beating most opponents with ease this year.

But against eighth-seeded Upper Darby in the quarterfinal round of the PIAA District One tournament, in a home gym which has seen the Colonials win 50 straight games, the top-seeded Colonials knew the Royals wouldn’t go down without a fight.

What they might not have been able to guess, however, is that Upper Darby would start the game by hitting six straight threes, and lead by 12 at the end of the first quarter.

Sure, Upper Darby is a talented shooting team. But jumping out to a 12 point advantage in the first quarter on P-W this season? Almost unheard of.

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By Josh Verlin & Tyler Sandora

After a wild first round that saw six of the eight games end in upsets, the top seeds got into the mix in the second round of the District 1 6A playoffs, and all eight held serve on their home courts to advance into the quarterfinals. Now things really get serious, with all eight safely qualified for states and one win away from playing at Temple University’s Liacouras Center in next Tuesday’s semifinals.

Also in action are the eight second-round losers, who are still alive in the play-back bracket, fighting for the two final spots the district gets in the PIAA Class 6A tournament.

Here’s an in-depth look at each of the four quarterfinals, plus a brief glance at the four play-back games as well:

By Jack McCaffery

Thirty one years after he’d been harshly reminded of everything cruel about the Palestra, Jack Concannon was reminded that it works the other way, too.Aware through a lifetime of basketball, and haunted by one moment since 1987, Concannon was convinced of one thing as he prepared Wednesday to coach Bonner & Prendie against Archbishop Carroll in the Catholic League semifinals.

“We knew,” he said, “it was going to be close at the end.”

That end would last only 18.1 seconds.

It would seem to take another lifetime.

Through the usual circumstances that define postseason high school basketball, the Friars needed to force three turnovers in that final stretch to hold off the Patriots, 48-45, and advance to the Catholic League championship game. That will be at 8:15 Monday night, also at the Palestra, against 18-5 Roman Catholic, a 69-66 winner over St. Joseph’s Prep Wednesday.

(click on this link for the full story)

By Matthew DeGeorge

There weren’t many certainties to be found Wednesday night at Sun Valley — not as Marple Newtown’s top two shooters failed to top 30 percent from the field, not as turnovers piled up and leads yo-yoed between double-digits and one possession.But when Sun Valley needed the space to exhale in a hectic, rugged District 1 Class 5A first-round contest, the Vanguards knew they just had to place the ball in the steady hands of Vinny DeAngelo.

The junior guard scored 19 points, but his contributions were far more numerous in a 62-56 win for the sixth-seeded Vanguards.

DeAngelo did a little of everything. He dished four assists. He pocketed four steals, setting the defensive tone that muzzled Marple Newtown’s high-powered duo of Mike May and Tommy Gardler to 9-for-33 shooting.

And most frequently, DeAngelo exuded a tempo-dictating calm that helped the Vanguards (17-6) nurse an occasionally shaky lead in the fourth for a wire-to-wire win that sets up a quarterfinal date with third seed Chester Saturday.

(click on this link for the full story)

Webmaster’s note: The Marple Newtown vs Sun Valley game was our Game-of-the-Week and can be heard on our Archives link by clicking on the player below:

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By Matt Chandik

As his Academy Park team continued to turn the ball over and as Chester happily converted the turnovers into points, Knights coach Frank Wolf kept looking at the clock, waiting for the worst to end.The Clippers had turned a six-point lead after one quarter into a blowout in the teams’ District 1 Class 5A opener Wednesday night at the Clip Joint, and it seemed like that first half would never end for a young Knights team facing its first playoff adversity.

“I do think that it was a little eye-opening in the second quarter,” Wolf said. “Halftime couldn’t come quick enough. We couldn’t get out of that first half fast enough.”

The final, a 72-54 Chester victory, wasn’t indicative of the dominance that the Clippers put forth in the second quarter. Chester outscored the visitors 25-9 on the strength of its defense and transition game, which left AP bewildered and blitzed. Seven Clippers scored in that frame, paced by Michael Smith’s seven points, and the 40-17 halftime lead was all Chester needed to cement its win.

(click on this link for the full story)

Webmaster’s note:  The quarter-final game this Saturday between Sun Valley and Chester will be audio broadcast on Delcohoops.com.  Our broadcast begins at 6:45 PM. 

By Ed Morlock

After allowing a layup off of the opening tip, Wissahickon’s defense forced four straight Strath Haven turnovers.That was a sign of things to come.

The No. 4 seeded Trojans forced 17 turnovers in a 67-48 win over the No. 13 seeded Panthers Wednesday night at Wissahickon High School in the first round of the District 1 Class-5A playoffs.

Wissahickon (17-6) will face No. 5 Great Valley Saturday for a spot in the district semifinals and state playoffs.

“With Cheltenham and PW we’ve continued to battle the past few years for the top of the league,” Trojans coach Kyle Wilson said. “We’re pressure teams. We like to get out there, like to create havoc. I always feel if a guy is going to get a three, I’d rather him get it in the first 10 seconds than run his offense for 35 seconds and still get the same three. So let’s get after it a little bit and force the issue and be aggressive on defense.”

 

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