Delcohoops.com

By PAPrepLive

Two hours from home and in its first state tournament in 28 years, Sun Valley put up a fight against District 3 third-place team Northeastern.
Sun Valley spotted the Bobcats the first 10 points of the game but battled in a 69-60 setback.

Vinny DeAngelo led the way with 24 points, including 10-for-10 from the line. Marvin Freeman (12 points) and Isaac Kennon (10 points) each hit a pair of 3-pointers.

Sun Valley carved an 11-point halftime deficit to three late in the third quarter and four with three minutes to play, but it couldn’t quite get all the way back in seeing its season end at 19-8.

 

By Matthew DeGeorge

 Just two years ago, the bar for success at Sun Valley was measured in District 1 tournament appearances.In 2015-16, Steve Maloney’s team went through a stretch of four wins in six games late in the season. The result was inclusion in the old Class AAA tournament, a loss to Octorara and an 8-15 record. It was progress, albeit with limits.

Two years later, Sun Valley has turned that record around and then some, to 19-7. And instead of a spot in districts, the reward is the program’s first states berth in 28 years.

Sun Valley will have a long ride to savor the experience, the fifth seed from District 1 trekking out to West York High School Friday night at eight to take on District 3 third seed Northeastern at 8.

“It feels great, honestly,” senior point guard Shahir Brown-Morris said. “Just knowing that we work so hard and every coach is here early, we get extra work in. We’ve earned it, and that’s why we’ve gotten so far.”

Maloney has forged a unique ethos at Sun Valley. The Vanguards play a rotation of six, Brown-Morris the only senior. They’re not particularly tall, with Lance Stone representing, as Marvin Freeman put it, “our 5-10 center.”

(click on this link for the full story and the other PIAA 5A team reviews)

The Strath Haven Middle School Home and School Association sponsors a basketball game between the Wallingford Swarthmore School District Faculty Basketball Team “Haven Hoopsters” and the Harlem Wizards at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 21, at the Strath Haven High School Gym.

Ticket cost is $12 in advance, $15 at the door. VIP Courtside Plus tickets are $25 (available online only, seating is limited). Doors open at 6 p.m.

Proceeds benefit the Foundation for Wallingford-Swarthmore Schools and the Jack Hontz Memorial Fund (music).

For advance tickets, visit www.harlemwizards.com/schedule-tickets/

 

By Matthew DeGeorge

Magd Abdelwahab takes a second to wistfully run down the roster of his eighth grade team at Beverly Hills Middle School.

He was part of that undefeated team, along with fellow Upper Darby senior Nasir Greer. Also included was Bonner & Prendergast sixth-man-turned-starting-guard Yohance Garner, who was a teammate of Abdelwahab in the two years he spent at Bonner.

Rounding out the starting five is Anthony McFall, who played at Upper Darby as a sophomore, and Kwazhere Ransom, who scored 44 points in five highly productive games at the tail end of his freshman year for the Friars.

The lone enduring similarity between the five, other than a shared zip code in junior high, is that all five will be taking part in the PIAA tournament starting this weekend: Abdelwahab and Greer at Upper Darby; Garner at Bonner; Ransom and McFall at Math, Civics & Sciences.

The journey of multiple schools that four of them share is a common refrain that extends well beyond the boundaries of the Upper Darby School District.

(click on this link for the full story)

By Ed Morlock

Wissahckon opens the PIAA Class-5A state playoffs against Archbishop Carroll at 8 p.m. Friday night at Bensalem High School.

The (1-3) Trojans haven’t played the (12-3) Patriots since beating them in 2011, but head coach Kyle Wilson and his team know what they’re up against.

“They’re a tough team,” Wilson said. “It’s what we’d expect out of the (Philadelphia) Catholic League. They’ve got a solid five or six guys deep of talent. They’re disciplined, skilled. A few guys have D-1 offers. Strong caliber of play.”

Carroll has four players who averaged double figures in the always-competitve Catholic League. Senior forward Keyon Butler (second team All-Catholic) led the way with 15.8 points, sophomore guard AJ Hoggard (first team All-Catholic) had 14.8, senior guard Justin Anderson (second team All-Catholic) 13.5 and junior guard Luke House 12.3.

“You basically talk to your guys about of all games you want to come up with your best defensive game, this is going to be it,” Wilson said. “When you know you’re facing a squad that’s that deep and talented, you want a little bit of luck on your side. Maybe some of the shots aren’t falling, maybe they’re not hitting the boards. There’s somewhere we have to win some of those battles — whether it’s on the boards, whether it’s defensively, offensively. Our goal is to have them play more of our style of basketball.”

(click on this link for the full story and more playoff game previews)

By COBL Staff

The final segment of the 2017-18 Pennsylvania high school basketball season is upon us.

Six different brackets of 32 teams each get underway this weekend in the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) state playoffs, the second year since the expansion from four classifications to six brought even more excitement to March in high school gyms around the Keystone state.

The CoBL staff will be going in-depth on each of the six classifications to preview the state tournament, with favorites, contenders, dark horses and players to watch.

Here’s a look at the Class 5A bracket (district-seed, record in parenthesis); all first-round games will take place Friday, March 9.

The Favorites
Bonner Prendergast (12-1, 22-4)
The Friars won the District 12 title, bringing them to their first ever PIAA state tournament appearance, a week after dropping the Catholic League title to Roman Catholic. Two junior transfers, Isaiah Wong and Tariq Ingraham, have been a huge part of the Friars’ attack, as has senior forward Ajiri Johnson, a Rider commit. Sophomore guards Tyrese Watson and Donovan Rodriguez, as well as junior Mike Perretta, also make an impact for the Friars. Bonner-Prendie has proved to be dangerous this year, beating powerhouses such as Neumann-Goretti, Roman Catholic, and Archbishop Carroll, and when they get hot they are a tough bunch to slow down.

(click on this link for all the 5A team reviews)