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By Owen McCue

The Neumann-Goretti boys basketball team has a stable of speedy guards who can give opponents fits.

The Saints also have a 6-foot-6 big man who can take over down low.

When both pieces of the Neumann-Goretti attack are clicking, the Saints are tough to beat as Marple Newtown found out on Friday night.

Junior forward Alassan N’Diaye scored 26 points and the Saints drained 10 first-half threes in a 79-67 victory over the Tigers in a PIAA Class 5A opening-round game.

“It’s pretty tough, you’re not stopping it,” N’Diaye said of the N-G offensive attack when it’s firing on all cylinders.

The perimeter game clicked early for Neumann-Goretti (15-11) on Friday. N’Diaye, Keon Long-Mtume (15 points), DeShawn Yates (12 points), Stephon Ashley-Wright (12 points) and Jayden Williams all hit from deep to spot N-G a 25-11 lead after one.

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By Dan Arkans

Seniors Molly Rullo and Brigid Macgillivray have put the Cardinal O’Hara girls basketball team back in position for another run at a PIAA 6A title.

Throughout the season the dynamic duo has not only led them in scoring, rebounding and playmaking, but their experience has provided intangibles that do not come across in stats. The offense quite simply runs through the pair.

A funny thing happened though as the Lions began their defense of another state title on Friday night against Central Bucks East, the fourth-place finisher out of District 1.

MacGillivray got two quick fouls in the first quarter and never really got in the flow of the game. All of the Patriots’ defensive attention was on Rullo, who earned all 12 of her points, only four of which came in the first half. 

O’Hara responded with a balanced attack of seven players scoring and flat-out dominated the game with a suffocating defense in the second half as the Lions rolled to the 48-28 victory.

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By Josh Verlin

Class 1A: Christian Academy 66, Liguori Academy 41

When he arrived at The Christian Academy’s Brookhaven campus last year, Cameron Harrop-Wilson didn’t want to upset the Crusaders’ balance. He knew that TCA already had a quality guard in his class in Sir Guy Epps Jr., and, knowing his own scoring abilities, didn’t want to start a kind of power struggle.

Instead, it’s been a boon for both of them. The two guards form a potent 1-2 punch for the Crusaders, feeding off each other like they’ve played together their whole lives.

“I came in and I thought it was going to be a battle for that but he welcomed me in like a brother,” Harrop-Wilson said. “Me and Sir, we get it done every time, we mix like peanut butter and jelly.”

With the duo combining for 44 points on Friday, TCA picked up its first-ever state playoff win, beating Liguori Academy 66-41 in the opening round of the Class 1A boys’ tournament at Shanahan.

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By Matt Smith

Eight girls basketball teams from Delco are gearing up for the PIAA playoffs, tipping off Friday (6A) and Saturday (5A, 1A).

Here’s a breakdown of the first-round matchups:

  Mechanicsburg at Garnet Valley, 7

Led by the stellar senior trio of Haylie Adamski, Kylie Mulholland and Savannah Saunders, the Central League champion Jaguars (26-2) went toe-to-toe with arguably the best 6A team in the state, Perkiomen Valley, in last week’s District 1 final before fading in the second half. After last season’s run to the final four, the Jags are primed to take the next step.

Mechanicsburg (24-3) was undefeated in the regular season before stumbling in the District 3 playoffs, finishing in sixth place. Junior guard Maycee Yanoski was named the Keystone Division MVP in the Mid-Penn Conference.

Winner gets: District 9’s Altoona or District 7’s Norwin.

Webmaster’s note: Tonight’s Garnet Valley game will be broadcast LIVE on NFHS. Click here for a link to the broadcast: Playoff Game .

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By CoBL Staff

Garnet Valley (1-2, 24-2)
The Jaguars’ loss in the District 1 championship game was their first since Dec. 17, a 21-game run that established them as a big-time threat for a push deep into March once again after making it to the semifinals a year ago. Senior wing Haylie Adamski, a 6-0 Lafayette commit, is the school’s all-time leading scorer, boys or girls, and her younger sisters — sophomores Kylie and Addison Adamski — are talented guards in their own right. Two more seniors, 5-4 Jefferson commit Kylie Mulholland and 5-8 St. Joe’s lacrosse commit Savannah Saunders round out a starting lineup which does most of the heavy lifting; Mulholland is the team’s No. 2 offensive option and a skilled ball-handler and shooter, while Saunders is a terrific defender who will also knock down shots if left open.

Webmaster’s note: Tonight’s Garnet Valley game will be broadcast LIVE on NFHS. Click here for a link to the broadcast: Playoff Game .

For complete playoff coverage go to https://www.cityofbasketballlove.com/

By Matthew DeGeorge

It has been an intriguing year for the Central League.

Seven of the league’s 12 teams made the District 1 playoffs, plus the last team out of the Class 5A field. Three of the top four seeds in Class 6A and three of the top six in Class 5A hailed from the Central, each winning at least 15 games in the regular season.

That top-heaviness has resulted in five teams going to the state tournament, including a somewhat surprising District 1 Class 6A champion in Conestoga, which authored a special districts run after being upset in the opening round of the Central League tournament by Marple Newtown.

The amount of parity among the league’s elite casts intrigue upon the league’s hopes in the PIAA Championships, which kick off this weekend.

Conestoga (21-5) sits atop the 6A bracket, and its reward is a visit from Mechanicsburg, toting a 20-3 record despite being the sixth seed from District 3. Lower Merion is the fourth seed, and the Aces open Saturday with what could pass for a state final most years, hosting District 12 third-place team and Catholic League runner-up Roman Catholic. That game is in the nominal Western half of the bracket, though District 1’s second (Plymouth Whitemarsh), third (Coatesville) and fourth seeds are all on that side.

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