Delcohoops.com

 

By Bruce Adams

It would have been a tall order for No. 24 seed Kennett to defeat host Haverford Friday evening in the PIAA District 1 Class 6A tournament opener. The ninth-seeded Fords had a height advantage on the Blue Demons, led by 6-foot-1 junior forward Caroline Dotsey, 6-1 junior forward/center Mollie Carpenter and 5-8 senior guard Emma Rowland.

Despite a slow start, the Fords used a quick 9-0 run late in the second period to earn a 36-26 win and advance to the tourney’s second round. The Fords will face No. 8 seed Downingtown East Tuesday.

“We knew we had an advantage height-wise against Kennett, and we wanted to take advantage of that,” Haverford coach Lauren Pellicane said. “Defensively our goal was to limit Kennett’s threes, and limit them to one shot. We missed a lot of easy shots, I thought, but we did enough in the second half to finish a few shots and maintain our lead.”

In the first quarter, Kennett forced numerous Haverford turnovers, and the Fords trailed until Rowland’s layup tied the score at 5-5 just before the quarter ended. With a little under three minutes to go before halftime, however, Haverford went on its nine-point run in a span of 96 seconds to go ahead, 16-6.

(click on this link for the full story)

By Jack McCaffery

If a career in and around high school basketball coaching has taught Mike Brown anything, it is that plans can be fuzzy but adjustments can always provide clarity.

The stunning 48-46 victory that he guided 24th-seeded Garnet Valley to Friday night at No. 9-seed Upper Dublin in the first round of the PIAA District 1 Class 6A tournament only fortified that belief.

Concerned about the Cardinals’ speed and the films having shown them to occasionally struggle from deep, Brown ordered an old-fashioned, one-foot-in-the-lane, hands-up 3-2 zone for most of the first three quarters.

“Then, they lit us up,” he shrugged. “So much for my scouting report.”

That, Upper Dublin did, going over the top for five first-half three-pointers and building a 30-14 lead on a Colin O’Sullivan triple early in the third. That’s when the Cardinals chose to go four corners.

The idea was to shorten the game. The effect was to widen the defense, the Jaguars springing both into a man-to-man and a frenzied effort to prove they were better than their seeding reflected. With Upper Dublin turning cold, Garnet Valley sizzled … and every role was reversed.

(click on this link for the full story)

 

By Bob Grotz

 It wasn’t a Van Gogh or a Rembrandt, but Marple Newtown certainly delivered Friday in the first round of the District 1 Class 5A playoffs, painting a 57-47 decision over West Chester Rustin.

The Tigers trailed three baskets to nothing when senior Justin “Bones” DiBona said enough is enough with a three-point bomb that woke his teammates and a partisan crowd at Marple Newtown High.

“When that first shot went in, it was just another basketball game,” Tigers coach Sean Spratt said. “We executed the game plan and it just kind of played itself out.”

By the end of the first quarter the seventh-seeded Tigers (14-9) began finding open men. Eric McKee got them within 12-10 entering the second frame with five of his team-high 18 points.

The Tigers never looked back after scoring 10 of the last 12 points in the first half to grab a 24-21 lead at the intermission. Jordan Bochanski, DiBona, McKee and Owen Mathes all had points in the run.

(click on this link for the full story)

By Matthew DeGeorge

Zaiyin Keys tried to contain his grin as he fielded questions. Maz Sayed dropped all pretense of anything but elation, smiling ear-to-ear throughout.

Sayed had seen enough to understand, perhaps better than his teammate, just what transpired at Penncrest’s Kaufman Gymnasium. Twice in his career, including as a freshman at this very gym, Sayed had seen Chichester’s boys basketball team stumble at their first District 1 hurdle.

Sometimes the games were close, something not so much. But four times in five years, Clyde Jones’ Eagles had reached the first round of the postseason and progressed no further.

Keys and Sayed played starring roles in ending that futility Friday night.

Sayed scored 17 points, and Keys paired with Eddie Swinton to clamp down on Penncrest’s Saahir Lee as No. 12 Chichester upended No. 5 Penncrest, 50-43, in the first round of the District 1 Class 5A playoffs.

“This feeling is amazing,” Sayed said. “It’s the first playoff win since, I don’t even know how long. I’m just very excited for my teammates.”

(click on this link for the full story)

By Joseph Santoliquito

For someone who had about 90 minutes of sleep over two days, Sun Valley coach Steve Maloney looked pretty good Friday night. He was riding an adrenaline rush after his wife Amanda gave birth to their second child, a 6-pound, 14-ounce baby girl named Raelynn at 3:40 a.m. Friday morning.

Maloney wanted to stay by his wife’s side and had no intention of coaching the Vanguards on Fright night in their opening-round PIAA District 1 Class 5A playoff game against visiting Holy Ghost Prep and legendary coach Tony Chapman.

But in a scene stolen straight out of Rocky II, Amanda whispered to Steve at bedside, “Just win, and come back at 9:30.”

That’s what Sun Valley did, 54-45, behind some clutch shooting from junior Chris Kwaidah, dropping in a game-high 17, and some big plays by Todd Harper, Noah Griffin and Nick Gianakopoulos, one the Sun Valley’s two seniors.

(click on this link for the full story)

By Matt Smith

No. 6 Radnor (13-8) hosts 11th-seeded Penncrest (10-12) in a first-round game. Tip off is 7 p.m.

The Raptors won both meetings with the Lions during the regular season, but each contest was determined by three points or less.

Paige Yurchak made the winning basket with four seconds to give Radnor a 55-54 win Dec. 14. On Jan. 27, the Raptors stormed back from a 10-point halftime deficit to claim a 47-45 decision.

Penncrest has received solid play all season from its underclassmen, most notably freshman forward Kathryn Harding and sophomores Emily Huggins and Baily Garrison. Junior guard Kyra Curci has played well, too.

The winner of Penncrest-Radnor travels to No. 3 Upper Moreland in the quarterfinals.

Webmaster’s note:  The first round Penncrest vs Radnor game is tonight’s Game-of-the-Week. Listen to the game, LIVE, right here on Delcohoops.com!

(click on this link for all the girl’s playoff game reviews)