Delcohoops.com

By Josh Verlin

The first two-thirds of the season didn’t go the way Chester wanted.

Sure, the Clippers made their way to 20 wins, a nice standard for any team. But a trio of three-point losses ultimately cost them both a chance at the Del-Val League championship and the District 1 5A title: at Penn Wood (58-55) and at Academy Park (69-66) for its only two league losses; Upper Merion (53-50) in the second round of districts.

That means there’s only one trophy left winnable for this not to be a completely lost year for a program that’s used to bringing home some kind of hardware on a near-regular basis.

“We came up short, we lost some close games that could have gone either way, a couple of bad calls and it happens so we must learn from it and move on,” head coach Larry Yarbray said. “So we didn’t win the Del-Val, we didn’t win the districts and we’ve got a chance to win the state, and our kids understand that.

“Any team that can put five games together can win a state championship,” he continued. “That’s all it takes.”

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By Josh Verlin

After a successful six-year run, Mike Snyder has stepped down as the head coach at Ridley, he confirmed to CoBL.

It’s the end of a 20-year stretch at the school for Snyder, who also spent time as the girls’ head coach and a boys’ assistant coach at the Folsom (Pa.) high school.

Snyder, helped greatly by a class that included current East Stroudsburg freshman Brett Foster and DeSales’ Julian Wing, guided the Raiders to back-to-back Central League titles in 2015 and 2016, winning 49 games during those two seasons alone.

In six years, Snyder went 104-53 (.662), making the district playoffs in five consecutive years (2012-16), including three trips to the state tournament (2013, ‘15, ‘16).

“He just made me and my teammates overall better, complete basketball players and always pushed me to work my hardest and not let me cut any corners,” said Foster, the 2016 Central League MVP. “But even more then him being a coach, he’s a great person and I was lucky to have coach like him during my basketball career at Ridley.”

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By Chris Masse

One by one, dejected Penn Wood players exited the locker room. The Patriots did not think their season would end this way. That they made huge strides this season was little consolation.

Penn Wood furiously fought Williamsport Saturday at Milton, but could never generate offensive consistency and lost their PIAA Class 5A tournament opener, 59-41. Still, as disappointed as the Patriots were, Saturday may have provided more of a beginning than an end. The Patriots reached the state tournament for the first time since 2011 and laid a foundation that could again make them a perennial District 1 title contender.

The loss stings, but Penn Wood sure went on an impressive journey.

“The kids put in a lot of work and it was great to see them get rewarded for all their hard work,” Penn Wood coach Matt Lindeman said. “They’ve come a long way just in a year from where we were last year. It was a lot of fun and I’m proud of all the hard work and success they had this year.”

Williamsport (21-4) won its 14th straight game and the District 2-4 champions advanced to Wednesday’s second round against William Allen. Penn Wood finished a resurgent season and laid the foundation for future success. The Patriots captured the 2009 state championship and reached the state final a year later. But Penn Wood could not build on that success the next few seasons and finished a game shy of reaching the state tournament last year.

That is why what this Penn Wood team achieved could carry on beyond this season. The Patriots broke through again and this team that included five senior starters led the way.

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By Christopher A. Vito

He didn’t have a hood pulled up, or a towel draped over his head. He didn’t duck out a side door, either.

There was nowhere for Tyler Norwood to go. That was as much the case after the game as it was during.

Norwood, Delaware County’s second-leading scorer, received constant defensive pressure Friday night. He struggled to find a sweet spot on the court. His shot was off, and Penncrest’s hope at a lengthy state-playoff run went with it.

Penncrest, fresh off its first District 1 championship since 1969, bowed out of the PIAA Class 5A tournament with a 51-42 first-round loss to Hershey. The Lions’ historic season came to an end at Marple Newtown High School, in a game they trailed wire to wire.

Norwood shot 8-for-30 from the field, including 1-for-11 from 3-point range, to finish with 17 points. He even missed his lone attempt at the foul line. Seemingly epitomizing his off night, Norwood’s up-and-under layup attempt in the game’s final seconds — an uncontested look at the rim — rolled out.

“My shots just weren’t falling. Nothing I can do about it,” said the junior guard. “My teammates kept me motivated, confident. I just kept shooting and it wasn’t falling. It wasn’t my night.

(Webmaster’s note: The Hershey vs. Penncrest PIAA Playoff game was our Game-of-the-Week and can be heard on our Archives link on the left hand side of the page.)

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By Matt Chandik

It didn’t need much encouragement to do so, but once Hershey air balled four consecutive 3-point attempts, the massive sea of red-clad students reached a fever pitch.

Penncrest’s student section came out in force for Friday night’s PIAA Class 5A tournament opener against Hershey, with only 10 minutes or so separating them from Marple Newtown’s gym. The Lions’ faithful were quick to not-so-subtly remind the Trojans that those 3-pointers hadn’t even come close to hitting rim, let alone dropping through the hoop.

Jake Wilson made sure to bring the volume down, though. Minutes later, Wilson, who was part of the nothing-but-air 3-point barrage, cashed in on all six of his fourth-quarter free throws. In what essentially a road game, Wilson and the Trojans quieted the crowd and ousted the District One champions via a 51-42 victory.

“I love this kind of environment, so I feed off that energy. The crowd’s against you, stuff like that just motivates me to play even harder,” said Wilson, who finished with 14 points and six rebounds. “The adrenaline was going for us, which is probably we air balled those shots, but we were able to come back, make our free throws and ice the game.”

(Webmaster’s note: The Hershey vs. Penncrest PIAA Playoff game was our Game-of-the-Week and can be heard on our Archives link on the left hand side of the page.)

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By Matthew De George

It’s telling that the biggest spark in the fourth quarter Friday night came after whistles were blown and security had to come onto the court at Hershey High School.

For 30-plus minutes, Springfield and Mechanicsburg showed plenty of fight in the PIAA Class 5A opening-round game, but not much was geared toward each team positioning to win. And when tensions boiled over, with some questionable officiating, Springfield ended up on the wrong end of a 49-45 decision.

The game pivoted with 45 seconds to play and Mechanicsburg leading 44-42 when Springfield’s Ja’Den McKenzie appeared to tie up Mechanicsburg’s Kyle Scheib under the Wildcats’ basket. The struggle extended beyond the whistle, a little pushing and shoving ensued and players from both teams came together as security rushed to restore calm.

After deliberation, the refereeing crew from York assessed flagrant fouls to McKenzie and fellow Cougar Mike Webb, who entered the fracas with a two-handed shove into the back of a Wildcat. Webb was ejected; McKenzie was announced as ejected, though Springfield coach Kevin McCormick said he merely subbed out the junior forward to allow him to cool off.

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