Delcohoops.com

By Josh Verlin

Lots going on this weekend in the city’s hoops scene, including a pair of great boys’ doubleheaders at West Chester University, while many of the area’s top girls’ teams are down at the She Got Game Classic in Washington D.C./Virginia. 

Here’s a closer look at the sextet at WCU this weekend as well as links to the full boys’ and girls’ schedules and other games of note (high school and City 6) in the area this weekend:

(click on this link for details on the games this weekend)

Gorman Bright made a pair of free throws Mike O’Donnell went for a game-high 14
with 20 seconds left in the fourth quarter to give Haverford a 48-46 win over Lower Merion in Central league boys basketball action Thursday. Googie Seidman and Tommy Wright forced a turnover by Aces star Sam Brown with 1.4 seconds to go.

Elsewhere in the Central League:

Radnor 53. Springfield 37 » Four players reached double digits in scoring for the Raptors led by Jackson Hicke, who finished with 12. Henry Pierce tallied 11 points while Danny Rosenblum and Charlie Thornton each had 10. Mike O’Donnell went for a game-high 14 points for the Cougars. Luke Biancanicllo added eight points.

Garnet Valley 50, Conestoga 41 » The Jaguars erased a five-point halftime deficit by outscoring the Pioneers, 27-13, in the final 16 minutes. Logan McKee scored 15 points and Max Koehler netted eight of his 10 points in the fourth quarter. Ryan Faccenda contributed eight points for GV.

HARRITON 47. STRATH HAVEN 42 » Jaden Jauregui went for 13 points and Jack Edwards pitched in with 11 for the Panthers. Marquis Kublish dropped a game-high 21 points for the Rams.

In nonleague action:

CHESTER CHARTER SA 76. GREAT OAKS (DEL.) 49 » Kevin Miller powered the Sabers with 23 points and five steals. Calvin Lewis netted 15 points and Jayden Williams added 16 points, three assists and two swipes. Jabryl Bennett racked up nine points, six assists and two steals.

CHICHESTER 65, BISHOP SHANAHAN 62 » Maz Sayed scored 15 of his 21 points in the middle periods to lead four Chi players in double figures. Vince Wildrick pitched in with 19 points and Carlton Gordy netted 12 off the bench.

By Josh Verlin

The Central League has had one dominant program in recent memory: Lower Merion, which seems to be the favorites year in and year out. The Aces have earned that right in Gregg Downer’s 30-plus years on the Main Line, with a couple state titles and double-digit league championships along the way. Lower Merion’s far from down this season, but there’s a significant challenger to the throne it successfully defended this year, and it’s a school just a few miles down Lancaster Ave. (and, to be specific, over Church Road).

Here’s how we see the Central League shaking out this year:

Predicted Top 4

1. Radnor
2. Lower Merion
3. Garnet Valley
4. Conestoga

(click on the link for the full story)

By Josh Verlin

The Grace O’Neill era is over at Archbishop Carroll.

After four years of running the Patriots’ offense, O’Neill’s already on her way to being a four-year starter at Drexel, where she just won CAA Rookie of the Week for the first time. That leaves Renie Shields needing to figure out who’s going to be at the point of attack for her offense for the first time in quite a while, one of a number of questions she’ll have to figure out if they want to better their Catholic League runner-up finish of a year ago.

Shields has no shortage of options to go to, her team quite guard-heavy; 6-foot-tall Army commit Taylor Wilson will be the de facto ‘5’ in the starting lineup, but Carroll’s going to have to rely on a group of pesky perimeter players to share doing…well, just about everything.

“We talk about, everybody’s a player, nobody’s a class year,” Shields said. “So when we ask you to step on the floor, we expect you to be ready to play that position, whatever that may be — and since we don’t have much height, everybody’s the same position, pretty much. We’re all guards, but we all have to contribute rebounding, defensively and offensively.”

(click on this link for the full story)

Taylor Wilson scored seven points, but Westtown School opened up a huge advantage after the break to claim a 64-24 win over Archbishop Carroll. Brooke Wilson and Alexis Ebert added five points each for Carroll (0-1).
Mount St. Joseph’s 51, Notre Dame 41 » Katie Halligan scored 13 points, and Annie Greek chipped in seven, but the Irish couldn’t product a one-point halftime lead. Lizzie Halligan added six points.

Boys Basketball

Haverford School 58, Friends Central 54>> KJ Carson scored 14 points as Haverford School rallied in the fourth to top Friends Central, 58-54, late Tuesday. Silas Graham scored 13 points, and Manny Butts added 12 for the Fords, who trailed by three going into the final eight minutes. Duke Cloran (eight points) hit a pull-up jumper with 10 seconds to play to put the game away.

TCA 79, Faith Christian 51 » Jahbril White went off for 28 points, including five triples, to lead the Crusaders. Joseph Graves poured ini 6 points, and Noah Boyd added 10 for TCA in its season debut.

Jake Sniras topped three Garnet Valley players in double figures with 23 points in a 67-57 nonleague win over Unionville. Logan McKee finished with 16 points and Max Koehler tossed in 11 for the Jaguars.

In other nonleague action:

Chester Charter SA 62, Belmont Charter 28 >> Kevin Miller went for 24 points and four steals while Jabryl Bennett had a solid floor game of nine points, five assists and two steals for the Sabers, who led 46-12 at halftime. Zach Howard racked up six points, seven boards and three steals.

Bonner & Prendergast 57, Pope John Paul II 30 >> Reggie Seiden Jr. nailed four 3-pointers and closed with 16 points to lead the Friars. Kevin Rucker Jr. pitched in with 13 points and Deuce Ketner tallied 11.

Strath Haven 56, Interboro 49 >> Jaden Jauregui led all scorers with 23 points and Jack Edwards added 13 for the Panthers, who held a 32-18 lead at intermission. The Bucs’ Dorn Gunter amassed 17 points in the losing effort.

Haverford 61, Central Bucks West 38 >> Googie Seidman was a perfect 14 of 14 from the foul line and finished with 25 points for the Fords. Brian Wiener drilled four treys and totaled 23 points.

Perkiomen Valley 65, Chichester 61 >> Maz Sayed dropped in a team-high 26 points, but the Eagles couldn’t get past Julian Sadler (28 points) and the Vikings. Zaiyin Keys and Vince Wildrick both netted 11 points and Ahkir Keys had 10 for Chi.

George School 54, Episcopal Academy 28 >> Timmy Dennis paced the Churchmen with 10 points.