Balanced attack leads Academy Park past Penn Wood

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By Rich Flanagan

When Academy Park head coach Allen Brydges says his team likes to get “up and down” the floor and wants them to “score as quick as we can, then press,” he may be selling his team short.

Brydges’ Knights came into their Del-Val league contest against Penn Wood averaging 79.4 points per game, which has included two 90-point efforts and one 100-point outing. With a consistent combination of quick run-outs and forcing turnovers at half court, Academy Park cruised to an 80-69 victory over Penn Wood.

Brydges, whose team has scored 80 or more in four of the last five games, liked the complete game his team was able to muster.

“We didn’t actually have to press as much,” Brydges said. “We got them in the first half. We got a lead and then we kind of backed out a little bit. We still like to push the tempo with our defense and then just take good shots all night.”

The Knights had four players in score in double figures, lead by the dynamic backcourt of Nakim Stokes and Jawan Collins. Stokes posted a game-high 24 points to go along with two assists, four steals and a block while Collins scored 16, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out seven assists.

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Penncrest upsets Conestoga to alter Central playoff race

Tyler Norwood (above) and Penncrest helped out LM and Strath Haven by beating Conestoga on Wednesday night. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

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By Josh Verlin

Penncrest pulled off a Central League upset over Conestoga on Wednesday night, one that could help shape the conference’s playoff picture.

The Lions, who’ve had had a fourth quarter lead in all 19 of the games they’ve played this season, were able to finish off a big one, holding on for a 57-53 win.

Penncrest, which was led by sophomore Tyler Norwood’s 19 points and got 12 more from junior guard Justin Ross, improved to 7-6 in the league, while Conestoga dropped to 9-4. While the win certainly might have an impact on the Central League playoffs next weekend, it definitely helps the Lions’ push towards a spot in the District 1 AAAA playoffs.

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Episcopal finds redemption with win over Penn Charter

Connor Delaney (above) helped seal Episcopal’s 47-39 win with six foul shots in the final two minutes. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

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By Jon Bodack) & Josh Verlin

Earlier this month when Episcopal Academy and William Penn Charter faced off in an Inter-Ac battle to open the conference slate, it was a slow-paced, grind-it-out game. Which worked in the Quakers’ favor, as they pulled off a big upset over an EA squad with eyes on a league title.

With so few games played in the Inter-Ac and no postseason tournament to decide who wins the league, this early league loss provided for an immediate sense of urgency for the Churchmen.

“I think we were all shocked after the first game, but we all knew that we still controlled our destiny,” junior guard Connor Delaney said. “If we won nine games, we won the league.”

Four down, five to go.

Episcopal got their revenge on Wednesday afternoon, beating Penn Charter 47-39 to keep pace with Malvern Prep and Germantown Academy in a three-way tie for first midway through the six-team league’s round-robin season.

Although “revenge” is not how head coach Craig Conlin put it.

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Strath Haven suffers setback to LM during resurgent season

Alex Ischiropoulos (above) and Strath Haven are in the midst of a program-revitalizing season. (Photo: Abigail Hoffer/CoBL)

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By Josh Verlin

Strath Haven junior Jahmeir Springfield has one word to sum up the Panthers’ basketball prognosis last season.

Bleak.

That’s how it felt being part of a team that went 4-19 overall, including a 2-14 record in Central League play. Over a two-year span, a once-proud program won a total of six games.

Then head coach Dave McFadden was hired in the offseason to replace Tom Dougherty, and over the last few months that outlook has changed tremendously. A strong offseason in events like the Haverford Shootout got the Panthers thinking that maybe they were in for a decent year.

When the season began, something strange happened. They started winning.

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Covert goes on roll, Academy Park gets past Chichester

Academy Park's Devounghnte Brown, left, attempts to block a shot by Chichester's Derrick Welles Tuesday. Welles scored a game-high 26 points, but Academy Park claimed an 88-79 win. (Digital First Media/Robert J. Gurecki)

Academy Park’s Devounghnte Brown, left, attempts to block a shot by Chichester’s Derrick Welles Tuesday. Welles scored a game-high 26 points, but Academy Park claimed an 88-79 win. (Digital First Media/Robert J. Gurecki)

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By Matthew De George

As the tally of disqualifications at the end of the Academy Park bench grew and the Chichester deficit dwindled, DeAndray Covert knew what had to happen.

The blizzard of fouls, personal and technical, that eroded AP’s already sparse lineup left the senior guard as the closest remaining approximation to a primary ball-handler. In a frenetic Del Val affair, there was no panic, just the realization that it was Covert’s time to shine.

Covert scored 11 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter, weathering a feverish Chichester comeback in a wild 88-79 win that was heated and contentious, before and after the whistles.

“I know that I have to play a bigger role,” Covert said. “I wasn’t nervous or anything. I knew we could come up with the win. I just had to take a bigger role.”

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