Delcohoops.com

It took Radnor a little while to get its offense in gear. Once it did there was no stopping the undefeated Raptors in the opening round of the PIAA Class 5A boys basketball tournament Friday night.
Radnor used a 43-point second half to pull away for a 70-59 victory over Warwick.

The District 1 champion Raptors (28-0) will take on the winner of Saturday’s game between District 2 runnerup West Scranton (14-11) and West Philadelphia (15-11) the No. 3 seed out of District 12. in the second round. That game was moved from Friday night due to the weather.

Radnor poured in 25 points in the third quarter to turn a 28-27 halftime deficit into a 52-41 advantage heading into the final period.

Jackson Hicke poured in a game-high 30 points to lead Radnor. He shot 12-for-18 from the field overall (2-for-5 from 3-point range) and was 4-for-5 at the free throw line. Hicke also pulled down nine rebound and handed out two assists. Jackson Gaffney add 17 points on 6-for-8 shooting (3-for-4 from deep) and 2-for- 3 at the charitv stripe.

By Terry Toohey

It would have been easy for Chester Charter Scholars Academy to look over at Lancaster Country Day School during warmups and think it had this game in the bag.

The visiting Cougars were without two of their top players, Toby Ashby and Mick Cook, and only had six players in uniform due to a set of circumstances beyond the team’s control. The school is on spring break, during which time several trips are planned a year in advance, according to LCD coach John Shultz. That was the reason for Ashby and Cook’s absence.

Yet Saber seniors Jayden Williams and Kevin Miller knew better than to take the short-handed Cougars lightly.

“We couldn’t lose sight on what we had to do,” Williams said. “We had to stay focused.”

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By Matt Smith

The wounds were too fresh for Haverford senior Caroline Dotsey to see the bright side of it all.

The Fords’ 48-41 loss to District 3’s Lebanon High on their home court Friday evening was not the way they envisioned their season ending.

A team that fell a basket here and a free throw there from winning a District 1 Class 6A championship was built for the long haul. It would have been no surprise had the Fords rebounded from their first loss of the season last Saturday in the district title game and put together a memorable run to the state final later this month in Hershey.

In that respect the Fords were understandably shell-shocked to go home for good Friday night. A 27-2 campaign was over just like that. But in the PIAA tournament, chances are you are going to face a pretty good team every night. Lebanon fit that description.

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By Matthew DeGeorge

Jackson Gaffney’s senior season at Radnor featured the kind of uncertainty he had hoped to leave behind.

Gaffney spent three years at St. Joe’s Prep before transferring back to his home district, the 6-4 college prospect hoping to get back into a rhythm alongside players he grew up with.

But an injury in the preseason cost him the first 11 games of the campaign. He was unsure how long his season might go, pending an appeal to a district committee for a waiver to play in districts and states.

Like much else for the Raptors this season, the pieces have fallen into place. Gaffney has grown into a valuable bench option, particularly offensively, helping unbeaten Radnor win a District 1 Class 5A title. He’ll be on the court again Friday when the Raptors host Warwick in the opening round of states.

“It was hard for part of the season I was injured and then not sure what the rest of the season would be,” Gaffney said. “It was hard mentally but I just stayed focused, stayed with the team and every game beyond that is a blessing.”

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By Matt Smith

As it embarks on a state playoff run, the Haverford girls basketball team finds itself in uncharted territory.

The Fords will host a PIAA Class 6A tournament first-round game Friday at 7. The opponent is Lebanon, which is the fifth-place squad from District 3, marking the only time Haverford will play a game following a loss.

Spirits were understandably low after the Fords fell to Perkiomen Valley, 48-44, for the District 1 Class 6A championship at Temple’s Liacouras Center last Saturday. Haverford (27-1) had won 26 straight games before running into Perk Valley, an incredibly talented sophomore-laden team that is built for the long haul.

If Perk Valley is the barometer going into the state tournament, Haverford can take solace in the fact that it competed with maybe the best team in PIAA’s highest classification. The Vikings made two runs in the second and third quarters to separate themselves from the Fords, who were in another unique situation by playing from behind most of the game. 

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By Josh Verlin