Delcohoops.com

By Terry Toohey

Once Lower Merion opened up a five-point lead in the third quarter Tuesday night, Garnet Valley coach Mike Brown knew what was coming.

With no shot clock in Pennsylvania high school basketball, Brown knew the Aces would turn to their four-corners offense to try to chew up the clock in much the same way a football team does with its running game.

“We had the same idea,” Brown said. “If we could have gotten a lead mid-to-late first quarter, we would have gone more four corners. Both teams are hard to guard on a spread-out floor and they’re very good at it. They’ve been playing that offense for as long as I’ve been at Garnet Valley. You don’t want to get behind because they play it well and they make foul shots. And at the end, who are you going to foul? They all make their foul shots so they’re a tough team to get behind.”

Lower Merion used its four-corners offense to stretch its lead to 10 points after three quarters and pull away for a 56-41 victory over the Jaguars in the semifinal round of the District 1 Class 6A playoffs.

The ninth-seeded Aces’ reward is a home game in the district final. They will host No. 14 Abington Friday night. The Ghosts knocked off seventh-seeded C.B. West in double overtime, 56-54.

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By Terry Toohey

From the start, Springfield was locked in defensively in its District 1 Class 5A semifinal showdown with Upper Moreland Saturday.

That’s nothing new. As head coach Ky McNichol said after Wednesday’s quarterfinal victory over Mount St. Joseph’s, defense is the Cougars’ “MO, our bread-andbutter.” That reliance was on full display from the getgo in a 51-24 triumph over the Bears.

The top-seeded Cougars forced six turnovers on Upper Moreland’s first eight possessions. Springfield only capitalized on one of the early miscues, but that would soon change. The Cougars had seven points off turnovers by the end of the quarter and would go on to score 25 points off 21 Upper Moreland giveaways to set up a championship showdown next Wednesday with second- seeded Harriton, a 46-43 winner over No. 3 Rustin in overtime.

It was the sixth time this season Springfield held an opponent under 30 points. The Cougars (19-0) allow just 32.5 points per outing.

“We know that if we cause turnovers on defense the offense is going to come with it so we really focus on defense,” said senior guard Mikayla Cox, who scored six points. “The offense is going to be there if we play good defense.”

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By Owen McCue

Carl Schaller and his Garnet Valley teammates were sick of early postseason exits.

Whether in the Central League playoffs or the District 1 tournament, a quick boot had become routine for the Jaguars.

Schaller helped lead Garnet Valley to two wins in the Central League playoffs earlier this season to earn the school’s first league title since 1998 and erased memories of last year’s upset district loss to Downingtown East with a win over 20th-seeded Upper Dublin in their opener.

On Friday night, the No. 4 Jags continued on their path of redemption, storming past No. 5 Perkiomen Valley, 63-38, to advance to the District 1 Class 6A semifinal for the first time since winning the district’s Class 2A crown in 1997. Garnet Valley will face a familiar foe in the district semis after No. 9 Lower Merion defeated top-seeded Cheltenham, 59-50.

“The first three years I’ve been here, we’ve had some pretty bad losses where we should have won in the playoffs,” Schaller said. “Going into senior year it was important to win the Central League, finally get through the semifinals. To be at this point, it’s just a huge step from last year. I’m just proud of the team.”

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By Bob Grotz

When all was said and done, it was impossible to believe the Chester High Clippers trailed three times in their runaway 73-40 District 1 Class 5A semifinal victory over Phoenixville Friday.

At the end of the day, the Clippers (11-1) had a lot of energy left while their opponent had to be wondering how you can play so hard and fall behind by such an astronomical number.

The full court press had a lot to do with that, and few teams in the history of Pennsylvania High School basketball do it like the Clippers, who tow a seven-game win streak into the District 1 title game against West Chester Rustin, which rolled to a 68-57 success over Unionville in the other semifinal.

“The beginning of the game, we wanted to recognize who the shooters were,” Clippers coach Keith Taylor said. “That (Mike Memmo) was killing us. He hit some big-time shots. Pulling up for three-pointers on the fast break, that’s tough to defend. And they played hard the whole game. Whether they were up or down, they just played hard.

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By Kev Hunter

Cheltenham got to within two points of Lower Merion with about two minutes to play Friday night, but the Aces were clutch from the foul line and tough defensively, holding on to defeat the Panthers 59-50 in the quarterfinal round of the District 1-6A Playoffs.

The win sends ninth-seeded Lower Merion to Tuesday’s semifinals, at No. 4 Garnet Valley, a 63-38 winner over No. 5 Perkiomen Valley.

One team advances to states out of District 1-6A.

Top-seeded Cheltenham finished a fine season at 14-2.

“I’m really proud of this team,” Panthers coach Patrick Fleury said. “We had a lead early but just have to learn that in the playoffs, every possession matters. Overall, this will be a good experience for the guys moving forward.”

The Panthers blew out to a 19-10 advantage early on their home court, but Lower Merion chipped away by halftime, cutting the deficit to 30-26, and then stormed ahead for good in the third.

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