Delcohoops.com

By Matthew DeGeorge

Chester had the ball, down two, but still with a chance to keep its winning streak alive.

It was not meant to be.

A turnover by the Clippers led to a breakaway dunk by West Chester Rustin’s Jake Nelson that sealed a 64-58 win by the Knights that brought Chester’s 13-game winning streak to an end. It was Chester’s first loss since a 58-47 setback to Penncrest Dec. 30.

Brice Barrouk tallied seven of his 13 points in the third quarter and Brice Pew had five of his seven in the frame to help Rustin open up a 51-43 lead. The Clippers (14-6) fought back to make it a see-saw battle in the fourth quarter before Nelson’s dunk sealed it for the Knights. Nelson finished with 19 points.

Brian Randolph scored 19 points and Michale Smith added 16 to lead Chester.

In other nonleague action:

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

By Bruce Adams

When Haverford School senior guard Kharon Randolph joined in the on-court celebration Friday evening following the host Fords’ 83-58 win against Malvern Prep that clinched a share of the InterAc boys’ basketball title, he felt a sense of vindication.
“Last year, EA celebrated its title clinching on our court,” said Randolph, whose Fords finished 7-3 in the Inter-Ac last winter, a game behind league co-champs Episcopal Academy and Germantown Academy. “It was great to see our crowd celebrate on our court, and on Senior Night. It’s unbelievable to be sharing this with all of my teammates tonight.”
Randolph, who scored 26 points by the end of the third quarter Friday, knows the Inter-Ac job isn’t over yet for the Fords (17-5, 8-0).
“We have a chance to make history this season,” said Randolph. “Our last Inter-Ac title was in 1999, when we were 9-1. But we haven’t gone undefeated in the Inter-Ac since 1927, and we still have two Inter-Ac games to go (Feb. 6 at home against Sprinside Chestnut Hill, Feb. 9 at Penn Charter). Our season is nowhere near over.”

(click on this link for the full story)

By Josh Verlin

In his first three years at the Haverford School, Kharon “Bonk” Randolph had witnessed two separate court stormings on his home floor. Neither of them were by the Fords’ faithful; in fact, both were by Episcopal Academy students.

Three years ago, the Churchmen faithful celebrated a game-winning 3-pointer to knock off the Fords, who at the time featured current Temple star Levan Alston Jr. and Penn State wing Lamar Stevens. Last season, EA once again found itself celebrating on McBride Court, after gaining revenge on the Haverford School for an earlier defeat, a win that was a big reason the Churchmen were able to clinch a share of the Inter-Academic League championship a year ago.

Finally, on an evening where a packed house honored his and his classmates’ achievements during a pre-game Senior Night ceremony, Randolph got to experience a court-storming from his own classmates, after The Haverford School knocked off Malvern Prep 83-58 on Friday night to clinch at least a share of the league title for the first time since any of the Fords had been born.

(click on this link for the full story)

By Matthew DeGeorge

In a week, Upper Darby and Garnet Valley could find themselves matched up in the Central League semifinals. In two weeks, it could be in the District 1 Class 6A tournament, with a states berth or more on the line.

If Thursday’s intensity and entertainment was any indication, then clear your schedules to watch the next one.

Garnet Valley rode 35 points from Austin Laughlin to prevail, 69-64, in a back-and-forth game between two contenders that are tied for third in the Central League with two games remaining.

Laughlin had the first and final things to say Thursday. He scored the game’s first seven points, Upper Darby spotting the visitors a scoreless first four and a half minutes. And he scored nine in the fourth quarter, including a 4-for-4 effort at the free-throw line. The dagger was a 3-pointer with 3:08 to play, stepping over a screen to knock down one of his seven triples from the top of key.

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

By Matt Chandik

There isn’t a more passionate basketball community in the state of Pennsylvania than the fine folks in Chester, but sometimes, that passion manifests itself in a less-than-positive way.

If the number in the loss column keeps changing, you can bet that the Clipper faithful will have plenty to say. So when Chester started the season 1-5, Brian Randolph III heard it all.

“Everyone was saying that this was the worst Chester High team,” Randolph III offered, “but I already knew in my mind that we were going to make our run and turn it up a notch.”

Thursday night, the Clippers rolled over Glen Mills, 65-39, to claim their 13th consecutive win. Chester hasn’t lost since the calendar flipped to 2018, its last false step coming Dec. 30 in a 57-48 to defending District One Class 5A champion. Those 13 wins have come by an average of 17.4 points per game, and in their eight Del Val wins, that margin increases to 23.5 points per game.

(click on this link for the full story)

Click on this link for a PDF full size version in of the poster at the Sports Legends web site.