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By Tyler Sandora

You will never find Great Valley’s best attribute on the stat sheet.

They have shooters, rebounders, and passers, but there is one piece missing from the engine that powers the Patriots game.

Intensity.

They definitely brought that intensity on Saturday night as they defeated Springfield (Delco.), 41-38.

With the win, Great Valley punched its ticket to Temple University for the 5A district Final Four, where it will meet the No. 3 seed Penncrest Lions. The Patriots also qualified for a spot in the PIAA 5A state playoffs.

The main catalyst of the intense game play was junior forward Nate Graeff. At 6-foot-2, Graeff needed to play shut-down defense to make up for his lack of height.

Whether it was diving on the floor after loose balls, boxing out Springfield’s big man Great Orjih, or making shots just as the score was getting closer, Graeff was seemingly everywhere on the court

“Nate Graeff played the game of his life,” coach Paul Girone said. “I thought he defended their big men well. He is three or four inches shorter but he took him right out of the game. He did exactly what we needed.”

(click on this link for the full article)

 

By Matt Smith

Six weeks.

That’s how long Upper Merion senior Matt Faw spent inactive and deprived of basketball action. The two months off was precisely what his doctors ordered after Faw suffered a bone injury in his foot following an awkward landing in a Dec. 20 meeting with Upper Perkiomen.

He returned just in time for the playoffs. And the Vikings sure are happy to have their 6-8 superstar back in the fold.

When No. 8 Upper Merion walked into Chester High’s Clip Joint for Saturday’s District 1 Class 5A quarterfinal, not many folks were expecting an upset. The Clippers were the top seed and a perennial contender for a PIAA championship.

Faw and the Vikings didn’t care.

“I believed as soon as I got in here, that we were going to win this game,” Faw said.

He was right.

Faw was perfect at the free-throw line down the stretch, going 8-for-8 in the fourth quarter to lead the Vikings to a thrilling 53-50 victory. UM (15-9) advances to the semifinal round Wednesday to face No. 4 Bishop Shanahan at Temple University’s Liacouras Center.

Faw poured in a game-high 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.

The Clippers (18-6) will have to kick the bitter taste of a stunning defeat and battle for a berth in the PIAA tournament out of the losers bracket. The Clippers will prepare to tackle fifth-seeded West Chester Rustin Wednesday.

With 29.1 seconds to play, and Chester clinging to a one-point lead, Clippers point guard Michael Smith missed a 1-and-1 and Faw came down with the rebound. He was fouled, inadvertently, and strolled to the foul line where he made two to put the Vikings in front, 51-50.

Chester fumbled an opportunity to take the win in dramatic fashion. A loose ball led to a mad scrum underneath the basket. A jump ball was called, with the possession arrow in Upper Merion’s favor with 2.1 seconds to go.

Faw received the ensuing inbound pass and was hacked with 0.8 seconds. He calmly swished both freebies to make it 53-50.

While Upper Merion was effective from the charity stripe  (18-for-22), Chester struggled mightily in far fewer opportunities (2-for-9).

(click on this link for the full article)

 

By Matthew De George

Over 24 games, finding qualitative differences between Archbishop Carroll and Bonner & Prendergast posed a distinct challenge. Mathematically, the Philadelphia Catholic League’s points system couldn’t either, hence an impromptu meeting Friday night at Cardinal O’Hara.

But in the course of two head-to-head meetings in as many weeks, two glaring disparities emerged: The superior depth possessed by Carroll, and its propensity for devastating stretches of explosive offense.

Both were on clinical display Friday in a 66-48 win that vaults Carroll into the District 12 Class 5A third-place game with Mastery Charter North next Wednesday for the district’s final PIAA tournament bid.

Bonner & Prendergast’s resurgent season concludes with a 16-9 record.

Though numerically it fell short of the 73-50 pasting Carroll hung on its Delco rivals on home court two Fridays ago, this win-or-go-home affair showed the best of what Carroll can do, starting with freshman point guard A.J. Hoggard.

Hoggard was the best player on the court, amassing the stat line to prove it — 16 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, three steals and two blocks. He orchestrated a heady but composed attack that staggered Bonner & Prendergast with a 14-0 second-quarter run, then knocked them to the canvas with a 16-2 opening to the third.

(click on this link for the full article)

 

By Tom Nash

In order to take a step forward Friday night, Episcopal Academy senior Conner Delaney first needed to take a step back.

A step back in time, that is.

“I wasn’t having too much fun early on and it showed,” he said. “Once I got things going, it felt like I was playing eighth grade basketball again.”

The Johns Hopkins University commit went on a 15-point surge during the fourth quarter and eventually sealed it in overtime at the free-throw line during Episcopal Academy’s 59-58 win over the Hill School in the semifinal round of the Pennsylvania Independent Schools Athletic Association (PAISAA) playoffs.

Delaney scored 18 of the No. 3 seeded Churchmens’ final 21 points, kick-starting it with a 3-pointer two minutes into the fourth quarter. Even with the Hill defense selling out to put a hand on him, Delaney was locked in from all over the court. He’d finish with a game-high 25 points, that after going scoreless through the first quarter.

“That first 3-pointer went down and I knew I was back on track,” he said. “I got hot at the right time. Coach (Craig Conlin) said I was controlling the game and I think that helped keep me in it.”

(click on this link for the full article)

By Christopher A. Vito

One player stepped out of the Penn Wood locker room, then another followed. They both left smiling. The next few joked with each other as they packed their bags.

Frowns were nowhere to be found. The way they were behaving, one might have guessed that Penn Wood came out on top in Friday night’s District 1 Class 6A quarterfinal.

The Patriots, though, didn’t escape Abington’s stuffy, sweaty home gym with a victory. Eric Dixon paired 20 points with 14 rebounds and the third-seeded Ghosts took down 11th-seeded Penn Wood, 67-49, with a lopsided fourth quarter.

So why the smiles from Penn Wood?

Perhaps rookie coach Matt Lindeman’s group had reason to be happy. After all, his guys already had locked up a spot in the state tournament. The challenge now, he said, is ensuring that they will remain as motivated for Tuesday, in the first of two playback games that will determine PIAA playoff seeding.

“It’s a weird feeling that you’re out of one tournament, but still playing for the next one,” Lindeman said. “But they’ll be ready.”

Readiness was the issue for Penn Wood (18-7) heading into the game’s final eight minutes. The Patriots labored mightily to erase Abington’s seven-point lead, which at that point had been the game’s largest. A 9-2 Penn Wood run over a three-minute stretch of the third quarter leveled the score at 37.

In a blink, Abington got two buckets to fall and carried a 41-37 lead into the fourth. Then the wheels came off completely. Penn Wood went nearly three minutes without scoring, and the Ghosts staged a 12-2 run to create some distance.

(click on this link for the full article)

 

By Matthew De George

One buzzer-beater wasn’t enough for Cade Brennan Friday night.

Sadly, even two weren’t enough for Garnet Valley.

Brennan nailed clutch shots as time expired in regulation and the first overtime period, but No. 9 seed Spring-Ford ultimately outlasted Garnet Valley, 93-85, in a thrilling District 1 Class 6A playback game.

No. 11 Garnet Valley’s season ends at 15-10. Friday was its fifth overtime game of the season.

Brennan only hit three baskets on the night, but his triple at the end of regulation sent the game into the extra session tied at 72, helping Garnet Valley surmount an 11-point third-quarter deficit. It’s just his second 3-pointer of the season.

Each team only scored five points in the first OT, punctuated by Brennan’s deuce at the buzzer to extend it to an extra, extra session. Brennan tallied nine points on the night.

Austin Laughlin led Garnet Valley with 35 points, including seven 3-pointers. It’s the junior’s sixth 30-point game of the season.

Brandon Starr added 22 points, and Connor O’Brien chipped in 13 for the Jags.

(click on this link for more game stories and scores)

By Mike Cabrey

With the clock running down and the season on the line, Miz Nyagwegwe found himself with one option left driving to the basket.

“I was looking pass at first and then the last second threw up the shot,” the Dock Mennonite junior said. “Hoped it went in.”

Nyagwegwe’s hope got help from the backboard, as his running floater in the final seconds banked in, capping the second-seeded Pioneers boys basketball team’s rally from eight down in the fourth quarter to edge visiting No. 3 Delco Christian 59-58 in the District 1-2A semifinals Friday night.

“Just unbelievable,” said Nyagwegwe of his shot. “It was just amazing.”

Nyagwegwe scored nine of his 17 points in the fourth while Deins Bergis posted 15 of his team-high 19 points in the second half as Dock clinched its first PIAA Tournament berth since 2008.

“We just kept battling and every they’d come down and make a play, we wouldn’t quit, we’d come back and make a play on the other end. It was like two heavyweights slugging it out,” Dock Mennonite coach Mike Fergus said. “And at the end Miz just made the play. We ran the play that we called and I don’t know how he made that shot.”

(click on this link for the full article)

 

By Josh Verlin & Anthony Dabbundo

The eight teams left in the District 1 5A bracket aren’t quite safe yet.

Only seven of those left in the district’s second-largest classification will advance onto the PIAA Class 5A Tournament, meaning whoever loses three consecutive games from this point out is done for the season.

Here’s a look at each of the quarterfinal matchups, which take place on Saturday at 7 PM (unless otherwise noted):

3) Penncrest vs. 11) Wissahickon
The Lions come into this game off a close revenge win over Harriton on Wednesday night, and will look to their leading scorer, junior guard Tyler Norwood to produce yet again. Norwood is very tough to stay in front of, and can shoot it from the parking lot off the dribble. Fellow seniors Mike Mallon and Justin Ross will be key for the Lions to provide auxiliary scoring to Norwood. Norwood and Ross combined for 37 of the Lions 51 in their opening-round win. Mike Doyle’s group has experience making the state tournament, qualifying in 2010 and 2015, but this year’s Penncrest squad is trying to make its own legacy in the new 5A bracket.

Wissahickon enters this second round affair off an impressive upset win at Phoenixville, a game they controlled throughout thanks to dynamic offense from senior Shane Ford and junior Zach Reiner. The pair scored 20 and 17 respectively, and Ford showed his ability to score both inside and out for the Trojans, with Reiner controlling the interior. Chaz Owens, a 6-3 junior wing guard who also features in the Trojans lineup, can provide additional scoring as he showed Wednesday with 12 points. Neither team has a ton of size, but the Trojans might have a slight advantage in that category across the board; if Wissahickon can’t slow down Norwood, though, it might not matter.

(Webmaster’s note: The Wissahickon vs Penncreast game is our Game-of-the-Week and can be heard LIVE by clicking on the GAME-of-the-WEEK link on the left hand side of the page.)

(click on this link for the full review)

 

By Will Slover

The field for the Pennsylvania Independent School Athletic Association (PAISAA) semifinals might look a little familiar to some, as the same four teams who reached this round last year will all be back for another shot at the title.

The only differences from last year are that this year’s bouts will take place at Malvern Prep, as opposed to last season’s venue of Penn Charter and the match-ups differ as well. Last season, Westtown Academy was pitted against Episcopal and Germantown Academy took on the Hill School.

So while the settings surrounding the contests may be different, four familiar teams are back and will be giving it their all to reach PAISAA glory and win the coveted state championship. 

Here’s a look at Friday night’s games:

Game 2: No. 2 The Hill School vs. No. 3 Episcopal Academy (8:00 PM)
The second matchup of the night will pit the two losers of last year’s semifinal games against each other to see who will be able to reverse last year’s fortunes and earn a spot in the championship. The Hill School’s game plan will depend on the potential return of 7-foot-1 senior Solomon Ruddell. Ruddell, the UC-Irvine commit, has been sidelined for the last two games with a concussion. Filling in for Ruddell in his absence has been Chase Audige, Colton Lawrence, and Ethan Norton. Audige, a 6-foot-4 junior, stuffed the box scored in Hill’s 63-46 quarterfinal win over the Haverford School as he turned in a 22-point, seven-assist, six-rebound, four-steal performance to lead the way for the Blues. Lawrence, a senior, added in another 15 points and eight rebounds while Norton dished out six assists, grabbed five rebounds, blocked four shots and stole the ball twice. 

(click on this link for the full review)

 

By Bob Grotz

Coach Larry Yarbray called just one timeout, with a minute to go, his top-seeded Chester High Clippers comfortably ahead of Upper Moreland in the District 1 Class 5A opener Wednesday night.

In essence the Clippers were coming off a 12-day timeout and the rust from it showed early, not late, in the 74-59 victory at the Clip Joint.

“That’s probably the first time ever we had that much time between games,” Yarbray said. “But the guys worked, they kept playing hard and we came away with a win. And this time of year, you take them any way you get them.”

The Clippers (18-5) oppose Upper Merion, a 55-45 winner over Strath Haven, in the second round of the districts this Saturday.

Until then, senior Jamar Sudan, who registered game-highs of 16 points and eight rebounds, will remind teammates how important it is for the Clippers to reestablish their identity. Chester High hasn’t won a state championship since 2012. The mission statement of this group is to rekindle the old spark.

“We don’t have the talent we had from a few years ago,” Sudan said. “Now it’s like a rebuilding time for us. We’re a senior team, a veteran team and now we have a chip on our shoulder. Our identity is definitely still evolving. Right now we’re focused on the districts.”

Sudan played a key role in fighting off the last challenge from the 16th seeded Bears (12-11), who pulled within 62-56 with 2:41 left on their 11th and final three-pointer, a bomb by Brett Brossman.

Sudan responded with a basket off a dribble drive that began at the top of the key. Then he scored on an offensive rebound and center Jordan Camper (10 points) added a basket. Sandwiched around those buckets were two free throws each from point guard Michael Smith and Brian Randolph III, who contributed 12 points. The Clippers, down by five points early in the first quarter, scored 12 of the last 15 points in the game.

(click on this link for the full article)

(Webmaster’s note: The Upper Moreland vs Chester playoff game was our Game-of-the-Week and can be heard on our Archives link on the left hand side of the page.)