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By: CoBL Staff

Central League (@ Haverford HS)
Bye: Ridley
Semifinal 1: Conestoga vs. Strath Haven (Sat., 7 PM)

Breakdown
With its win over Garnet Valley on Thursday night, Ridley finishes the Central League season a perfect 16-0, eliminating the need for the Green Raiders to play a semifinal matchup per league rules. Giving East Stroudsburg commit Brett Foster (17 ppg) and a strong supporting cast including Julian Wing (13 ppg) and Ryan Bollinger (9 ppg) a few extra days’ rest before Monday’s final will only make Mike Snyder’s group more dangerous.

Both Conestoga and Strath Haven have the pieces to pull the upset, depending on who gets there. ‘Stoga (12-4), whom Ridley defeated in last year’s Central League championship, is led by a three-year starter at point guard, Darryl Caldwell. The small-college target has played in more big games than anybody else in the league, and he’s got a very good cast around him, including 6-5 senior forward Andrew Larkin, 5-11 senior guard M.J. Lezanic and 6-4 junior Charlie Martin, all of whom are extremely dangerous from the perimeter. Strath Haven (13-3) is much more the upstart, having completed a turnaround from a 2-14 league record a year ago under first-year head coach Dave McFadden. Senior Alex Ischiropoulos and junior Jahmeir Springfield run the offense, but what helps separate the Panthers is 6-8 junior John Harrar in the middle.

(click on this link for the coach’s take and more league championship previews)

By Bruce Adams

The Haverford School basketball team made its Senior Night a memorable one Friday, coming back from a 20-point third-quarter deficit to beat Malvern Prep, 93-86.

“Our guys didn’t hang their heads when they were 20 points down,” Haverford coach Bernie Rogers said. “They just keep on plugging, kept playing.”

Although Malvern Prep kept hitting three-pointers in a fast-paced first half (they finished with 16 treys), the Fords picked up scoring momentum of their own midway through the third period, and finished with a flourish, tallying 29 points in the final stanza.

Jack Marshall, one of the four Ford seniors honored, tallied 24 points and made his presence felt inside in the second half. The High Point University-bound senior was accurate from the free throw line, going 10-for-13.

“He was really getting the rim in the second half,” noted Rogers.

(click on this link for the full article)

 

 

You can always tell when the District One tournament is approaching. Chester starts to heat up, and this season is no different.

Khaleeq Campbell and Ahrod Carter scored 12 points each as the Clippers closed out the season with their 14th win in 15 games in a 58-52 Del Val decision over Penn Wood Friday night.

Carter scored nine of his points in the third quarter to help break the game open. Stanley Davis Jr. (11 points) shot 6-for-7 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter. The Clippers, who were 15-for-40 from the stripe in a three-point win over Chichester Thursday night, connected on 20 of 29 against the Patriots including 11-for-15 in the fourth quarter.

Ryan Kelly had 13 points to lead Penn Wood.

(click on this link for Catholic League game results)

By Matthew De George

Gabe Alter calls them “scrappy points.”

The Germantown Academy forward isn’t the guy that the Patriots normally create offense for, he admits. But once a shot clangs off iron or Plan B evaporates in the face of the defense, Alter kicks into overdrive.
Friday night, all that scrapping resulted in an Inter-Ac championship.

Alter scored 14 points and added seven rebounds, many of them demoralizing putbacks on the offensive glass, to lead GA to a 64-51 win over Episcopal Academy.

The win clinches GA (20-5, 8-1) at least a share of its fourth straight Inter-Ac title. Episcopal (15-6, 6-2) can still claim a piece of the crown with two wins next week against bottom feeders Springside Chestnut Hill and a loss by GA at Malvern Prep.

Friday, EA’s direct route to the title was denied one rebound at a time by GA. The Patriots outrebounded EA, 31-20. Kyle McCloskey led the way with eight boards to go with three blocks in anchoring the post defense and reducing the need for perimeter help on Nick Alikakos, mitigating the threat of EA’s inside-out game.

Alikakos was customarily productive, scored a game-high 22 points and dishing out six assists. But GA’s approach wasn’t so much in shunting Alikakos’ productivity as in shutting off EA’s complementary scorers.

(click on this link for the full article and video)

By Terry Toohey

Ridley’s boys basketball team made history Thursday night, which is saying something considering the success the Green Raiders have had on the hardwood over the years.
Senior Sean Bingnear came through on Senior Night as the Green Raiders downed Garnet Valley, 59-49, to post the best regular-season record in program history.
The Green Raiders finished 21-1 overall and 16-0 in the league. They’ll play the winner of Saturday night’s game between Strath Haven and Conestoga Monday night for the Central League title.
Bingnear made three big 3-point field goals and finished with 11 points. He hit a trey to keep things close in the first quarter and drilled two more triples in the fourth quarter to put the game away. Fellow senior Julian Wing led Ridley with a season-high 29 points.
Andrew Louden paced Garnet Valley with 15 points. Austin Laughlin and Brandon Starr chipped in with 13 points each.

(click on this link for more Central League scores)

By Bruce Adams

Conestoga, the third seed in the upcoming Central League boys’ basketball playoffs, ground out a 50-45 victory Thursday against a veteran Haverford High School squad celebrating Senior Night.
The Fords clawed back from a 26-20 halftime deficit to tie the score at 35-35 at the end of the third quarter, but Conestoga took charge in the fourth period, scoring the first seven points and holding the lead the rest of the way.
Conestoga head coach Mike Troy saw this game as vital to the Pioneers’ post-season fortunes.
“We needed [to win tonight] to cement a district home playoff game, and this [contest] was a good test,” said Troy, whose Pioneers were ranked 13th in the latest PIAA Class AAAA District One power rankings. “Haverford’s a well-coached, well-disciplined team, particularly on their home court. We ground out a victory tonight – every time Haverford kept coming back, we had an answer for them.”
Senior MJ Lezanic led the way for the Pioneers with 16 points, and was potent from the free-throw line (7-for-9). Senior guard Darryl Caldwell, who earlier this season reached the 1,000 career point milestone for Conestoga, added 13 points and was 4-for-4 from the charity stripe.
Another key factor for the Pioneers Thursday night was junior Peyton Jones, who did not crack the scoring column.
“Peyton’s effort in the second half really keyed us up,” said Troy. “He’s stepped up all year, provided [on-the-court] energy coming off the bench, given us a defensive spark, and hit his shots.”
Heading into the Central League playoffs, Troy feels that the Pioneers’ best team attribute is their unselfish play.

(click on this link for the full article)