Delcohoops.com

By Dillon Friday

It was a welcome sight after a trying close to the Chichester season: Mike Davie, all 6-8 of him, standing in full uniform in the starting lineup as the No. 8 Eagles got set to play No. 9 Holy Ghost Prep in the District 1 5A Playoffs.Davie tore his ACL in June and missed the entire campaign. Wednesday was his debut, and he played admirably, scoring 10 points. Alas, Davie’s return wasn’t enough as the Eagles fell, 50-45. The Firebirds will visit No. 1 Penncrest in the quarterfinals Saturday.

Chichester faced an uphill battle from the start. Top-scorer Da’quan Granberry picked up two technical fouls in the regular season finale against Chester and had to serve a one-game suspension. Davie stepped in as best he could.

“Da’quan was out, so I knew we needed another player to come in,” said Davie, a senior. “I went to the doctor’s on Monday to come back and play tonight.”

He was roughly 10 days ahead of schedule.

(click on this link for the full story)

By Josh Verlin

Vinny DeAngelo had one thing on his mind: get to the hoop.

From the moment Sun Valley’s first playoff game in nearly 20 years got underway, the Vanguards’ high-scoring junior guard put that mindset to work, taking the opening tipoff and racing in for a layup before five seconds had even ticked off the clock of a District 1 5A first-round game against Marple Newtown.

“We actually worked on that in practice, and it worked to perfection,” said junior wing Marvin Freeman, who jumps center for the Vanguards.

After waiting 11 days since the regular season ended, it was exactly the start that Sun Valley needed.

“We could feel in the locker room there was a little anxiety, people weren’t themselves, they kept to themselves,” Sun Valley head coach Steve Maloney said. “But once that layup came in, I think he settled down and I think the team settled down.”

Sun Valley certainly didn’t show too many nerves, jumping out to an early lead at home and hold on for a 62-56 win over Marple Newtown on Wednesday night.

(click on this link for the full story)

Webmaster’s note: The Marple Newtown vs Sun Valley game was our Game-of-the-Week and can be heard on our Archives link by clicking on the player below:

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By Matthew DeGeorge

When you look at Downingtown West’s roster and its quintet of contributors standing 6-foot-4 or taller, the natural inclination is to see a mismatch with Upper Darby.When Royals big man Kymir Roper, generously listed at 6-5 but with outsized tenacity, perused the roster, he saw opportunity.

“I love the challenge,” Roper said, “no matter what anybody says.”

Roper played only a peripheral role in the ultimate resolution to Tuesday’s District 1 Class 6A contest, setting the screen that was supposed to get Mamadou Toure to the basket. Instead, Toure banked home a 20-foot jumper with one second left in a 46-44 Upper Darby win.

But at the other end, when Will Howard’s home run pass fell shy of its target, Roper’s hands were firmly around the ball as time expired, a fitting symbol for how profoundly he set the tone of cutting the Whippets’ front line down to size.

(click on this link for the full story)

By Zach Drapkin

Every great team has a kryptonite, and for Lower Merion the past few seasons, that kryptonite has been Conestoga.

The Central League archrivals have played one another three times in each season since 2014-15, and every year, Conestoga has won two of the three meetings, knocking off the Aces in District 1 6A playoffs last postseason.

The Pioneers racked up another regular-season sweep of LM this year, taking the two games by a combined nine points, but the two teams found themselves facing off once against in district play on Tuesday after Conestoga dispatched Cheltenham in the first round on Friday night.

Lower Merion head coach Gregg Downer wasn’t very happy to see Conestoga potentially on his schedule, and even less happy when it became a reality.

“I didn’t like the bracket when I saw ‘Stoga out there lurking,” Downer said. “They’re a very good team, and they certainly know how to beat us.”

(click on this link for the full story)

 

By CoBL Staff

The second-ever year of the District 1 5A bracket brings back many of the same contenders from a year ago, including defending champion Penncrest and fellow semifinalists Great Valley and Bishop Shanahan are all back in the top five, with several other strong programs right there in the mix.

Seven of these 16 will advance to the PIAA Class 5A tournament, meaning first-round losers are done for the year but the winners guarantee themselves at least three games; only a quarterfinal win guarantees a spot, but three of the four losers in the next round will end up safe as well.

Here’s a look at the eight games (all played Wed., Feb. 21 at 7 PM unless otherwise noted):

6) Sun Valley vs. 11) Marple Newtown
When Sun Valley and Marple Newtown faced off earlier this year back on January 13, Sun Valley won 59-42. The Vanguards (16-6) were led by junior sharpshooter Vinny D’Angelo (20 points), and junior wing Marvin Freeman (12 points). Michael May was held to eight points that game, but is the go-to scoring option for the Tigers (13-9), who lost to Penncrest in the final-four of the Central League. Prior to the loss to Penncrest, Marple had won its last seven games.

(click on this link for the preview of all eight games)

Webmaster’s note: The Marple Newtown vs Sun Valley game will be broadcast LIVE right here on Delcohoops.com!

 

By CoBL Staff

After an upset-filled first round — six of the eight opening-round games saw the lower-seeded team win on the road — the District 1 6A bracket is already all sorts of weird. Now the top eight seeds join the fray, most of which will have to face a team that just pulled off one road upset and now finds itself one win away from a state berth.

District 1 places 10 teams in the state bracket, meaning all eight winners of Tuesday night’s games guarantee themselves a spot in PIAAs, as well as a guarantee of at least four more games between quarterfinals, seeding games and the first round of the state tournament. But the eight losers are not done; they’ll head into the playback bracket, whose final two remnants will also earn state bids.

Here’s a look at the eight second-round games, all of which tip at 7 PM except for Abington/Neshaminy, which tips a half-hour later:

(click on this link for the full preview)