LM’s Horn, Fennell too much for Garnet Valley

Lower Merion’s Jeremy Horn (above, last week) led Lower Merion with 24 points in a close win at Garnet Valley on Wednesday. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

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By Daniel Newhart

Garnet Valley head coach Michael Brown entered his team’s locker room at halftime, preparing to speak to his team that had already fallen behind by double digits to Central League opponent Lower Merion.

After a first half in which his team hurt itself with turnovers, missed shots and a lack of flow offensively, Brown could have chosen to fire his team up with a strong Bob Knight-esque pep talk. However, the message he sent the Jaguars at the half contained some good news.

“I told them the first half could not have been worse, the good news was we were only down 10 points to a good team,” Brown said. “We did things that were not characteristic of us; turned the ball over constantly, took poor shots, the first half was a disaster.”

An inspired effort ensued from Garnet Valley, however the Jaguars’ comeback effort ended up falling short as the Aces of Lower Merion took the game by a score of 64-58.

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Basketball Round-up – Wednesday

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By Matt Smith

Upper Darby 39, Haverford 33 >> Juwan May-Craddle had 12 points, all via the long ball, as the Royals edged the Fords.

May-Craddle hit two of his four three-pointers in the fourth quarter, which went as a 16-10 Upper Darby advantage. Jack Donaghy had 12 points to front Haverford. Webmaster’s note:  You can listen to this entire game by going to our Game Archives.  Just click on the logo on the left side of this page and listen to the entire game anytime you want.  Our sponsors (listed on the right side of this page) pay for all broadcasting and archive costs!

Kelly’s trey caps Radnor rally past Harriton>> Vinnie Kelly hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer to lift Radnor to a thrilling, come-from-behind 51-48 victory over Harriton in Central League action Wednesday.

The Raiders (9-8) were down 11 points with less than three minutes left before Alex Hino took over. His free throws tied the game late, his defense wound up giving Radnor the decisive possession. It set up Kelly, who caught an inbounds pass and drilled a contested triple to give Radnor a superb road triumph.

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Penn Wood rights the ship with an easy win

Penn Wood’s Ryan Kelly drives through Glen Mill’s defender Laron Wilcox, right, to the basket. Kelly and the Patriots rolled to a 59-43 Del Val League win. (ROBERT GURECKI – DAILY TIMES)

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By Matt Smith

The balancing act for head coach Clyde Jones on an afternoon like Tuesday is familiar. There are times when his Penn Wood team needs a reminder to slow down, run through its offensive sets, be more deliberate.

And there are times to just go and play.

The latter is what the Patriots did most effectively in a comfortably 59-43 Del Val League win at Glen Mills Tuesday.

The proof was in the volume level coming from Jones’s bench. He called his first timeout at 2:27 … of the fourth quarter. His opposite number, Glen Mills’ Tony Bacon, whistled for his first stoppage a mere 32 seconds into the game.

That contrast reflects the teams’ relative positions, with Penn Wood starting to figure out workable combinations and Glen Mills forced into its customary midstream recalibration.

But Penn Wood, which had lost four of five games, hadn’t exactly been sailing into the meeting, leaving Jones to tinker.

Enter the idea of Vincent Smalls, basically a lanky shooting guard, playing essentially as a center in the middle of the Patriots’ 2-3 defensive looks.

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Carroll downs Prep in battle of Catholic League unbeatens

Archbishop Carroll senior guard Ryan Daly. (Photo: Tom Reifsnyder/CoBL)

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By Thomas Primosch

There was a large crowd on hand at St. Joseph’s Prep to see a meeting between two of the remaining three unbeaten teams in the Catholic League as Prep hosted Archbishop Carroll on Martin Luther King Day.

Both teams came into the game unbeaten in six prior league contests, and a win would mean that one program would be on a level with only Neumann-Goretti with nearly half the league slate completed.

Even for a Monday afternoon game, the atmosphere inside the Kelly Fieldhouse was that of a marquee playoff matchup.

Those in attendance were treated to a fast-paced, entertaining game, but only one team could stay perfect in PCL play.

The visiting Patriots got off to a quick start against the Hawks, and that proved to be a telling sign. They never trailed on their way to a 63-49 victory.

Archbishop Carroll (15-1, 7-0) got out to a quick 8-0 lead to start the first quarter, forcing Prep coach Speedy Morris to call a timeout.

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Archbishop Carroll boys jolt Father Judge

Carroll’s Ryan Daly watches a three-pointer go in as the third quarter ends. He had 23 points. CHARLES FOX / Staff

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By Aaron Carter

Ryan Daly is a complete offensive player now, but that wasn’t always the case.

The 6-foot-5 forward for Archbishop Carroll employed his vast arsenal of abilities Friday night in the Patriots’ 69-57 triumph against visiting Father Judge.

Daly, a senior who will play at Hartford next season, finished with a game-high 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting. He also added nine rebounds and two steals and hit 3 of 5 three-pointers for Carroll (14-1, 6-0 Catholic League).

After struggling to find his shot early last season, Daly focused on becoming a more complete offensive threat.

“I think I’ve made strides with my ballhandling instead of just being an outside shooter,” he said. “Sometimes I’ll need to blow by people, slow as I am, but I need to put the ball on the floor a little bit.”

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Johnson warms up, so does Cardinal O’Hara

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By Terry Toohey

Chris Johnson had five points heading into the fourth quarter of Cardinal O’Hara’s Catholic League showdown with Lansdale Catholic Sunday.
The 5-10 sophomore three-man would not stay on that number long.
Johnson scored six points in the final period to propel the Lions to a 41-37 victory over the Crusaders.
It was O’Hara’s first win since a 42-36 decision over Southern Dec. 29, and snapped a seven-game losing streak. It also gave the Lions their first Catholic League win of the season.
Johnson hit two baskets and went 2-for-3 from the line to finish with 11 points and help the Lions (5-11, 1-6) outscore the Crusaders, 8-4, in the fourth quarter. Zakee Griffin of O’Hara led all scorers with 15 points.

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