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By Anthony Dabbundo

After a loss to Strath Haven back on February 12 in the Central League semifinals, Conestoga was banged up.

Both mentally and physically, the Pioneers needed to regroup to get ready for the district playoffs, where they were ranked No. 7 in the new 6A classification.

While most teams would rue a 10 day break that would throw them off their two-game-a-week rhythm, the Pioneers got exactly what they needed.

Enough time to get center Angus Mayock healthy, to get over the loss to the Panthers, and to get ready for a rubber match with their rivals, Lower Merion.

Playing on nine days’ rest, Conestoga got back to playing Conestoga basketball, dismantling No. 10 Lower Merion 77-57 and clinching its ticket to the PIAA state playoffs for the fourth consecutive season.

“Having that week off makes a big difference,” Pioneers head coach Mike Troy said.

“It was a great to have a week just to practice, we came in, we refocused, we went back to the fundamentals.”

“The past few years we lost in the Central League playoffs and let it fester,” senior wing Charlie Martin said. “This year, we didn’t want to let that happen.”

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By CoBL Staff

The 5A bracket is the PIAA’s version of the Wild West West: unexplored territory, up for grabs.

If there’s one Goliath in this classification, at least in District 1, it’s Chester. The eight-time state champions have by far the best resume of any program in the 5A classification, which is otherwise chock-full of teams who’ve been traditionally strong on the hardwood but had issues breaking through on the district/state level against previous AAAA powerhouses like Chester, Lower Merion, Plymouth-Whitemarsh and others.

So Larry Yarbray’s group opens as the favorite to emerge victorious at Villanova in two weeks, but there are plenty of capable contenders.

With seven teams from the district qualifying, a win in this round doesn’t guarantee a state berth — but only one of those eight winners will ultimately miss out. Here’s a look at the eight first-round matchups (all games 7 PM on Weds., Feb. 22 unless otherwise noted):

First-Round Matchups
1) Chester vs. 16) Upper Moreland

The first team that will step up to take down the Clippers comes out of the Suburban One League, as Upper Moreland is one of a few AAA teams from a year ago who have bumped up to the 5A classification. The Bears closed the year out strong, winning five of their last eight, playing 6A No. 2 seed Plymouth-Whitemarsh within seven points as well. Matt Heiland doesn’t quite have the size to work with that Yarbray does, but he’s got an upperclassman-led group that’s got some reliable pieces. A pair of seniors, 6-3 Shane Stone (12 ppg, 9 rpg) and 6-5 Damian Washington (10.8 ppg, 42 3-pointers) lead the way in the scoring column; they also get contributions from 5-10 junior point guard Ryan Coyle, 6-2 senior guard Casey Decker, junior guard Brett Brossman and more.

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By CoBL Staff

The 16 teams left in the District 1 6A bracket all have something in common: one win on Tuesday means a berth in the PIAA Class 6A state tournament, not to mention a spot in the district quarterfinals.

Eight teams will lock up berths tomorrow night, while the losing eight go into a play-back bracket, whose two final teams also qualify for the state tournament.

Here’s a look at each of the eight games taking place on Tuesday night (all games 7 PM at higher seed unless otherwise noted):

1) Perkiomen Valley vs. 16) Garnet Valley
This could be one of the more fun shootouts of the second round, as the two “Valleys” both love the 3-point shot, and both hit at a reliable pace with the ability to absolutely catch fire for stretches. Both are having season-to-remember type years, as well: Perkiomen Valley (21-3) won the most games in school history and captured the Pioneer Athletic Conference championship; Garnet Valley (15-8) won its first district playoff game since its transition from small-school to the Central League in 2008 (and well before that). Both teams are looking for their first-ever state playoff berth, and it’s likely going to come down to whoever’s feeling it from deep.

Each team is led by a dominant scoring guard with a very capable partner in crime. For the Vikings, it’s senior guard Justin Jaworski, the two-sport star who’s the shoe-in for PAC Player of the Year. The 5-11 dynamo is an outstanding 3-pointer shooter and rebounder from the guard position who can also get into the lane and make things happen; Sean Owens, a tough 5-10 scoring combo, fits in perfectly as well in Mike Poysden’s constant-motion offense. The Jaguars are paced by junior Austin Laughlin and senior Brandon Starr, who average slightly above and slightly below 20 ppg, respectively. In the first-round win over Methacton, GV got a nice boost from junior guard Connor O’Brien, who knocked down four 3s (including a half-court buzzer-beater at halftime) and dished out seven assists in the 49-45 win.

(click on this link for the full 8 game preview)

 

By Terry Toohey

If anyone had Connor O’Brien and Cade Brennan in the unlikely heroes pool for Garnet Valley’s showdown with Methacton in the first round of the District 1 Class 6A boys basketball playoffs Friday night, pat yourself on the back.

You made a good call.

On a night when leading scorers Austin Laughlin and Brandon Starr were guarded more closely than White House secrets, O’Brien and Brennan came through in a big way to help the Jaguars make history with a 49-45 victory over the Warriors.

O’Brien scored 12 points and handed out seven assists, and the 6-5 Brennan added eight, and teamed with Peter Tienabeso to hold Methacton’s 6-8 freshman center Jeff Woodward scoreless in the second half. That gave the Jaguars their first District 1 playoff victory since joining the Central League in 2008.

You can add Cole Palis to that heroic list, too. The 5-10 sophomore guard made both ends of a 1-and-1 with 55.8 seconds left to put the game out of reach.

“We’re not that hard to figure out,” Garnet Valley coach Mike Brown said. “We count on Andrew (Laughlin) and Brendan (Starr) a lot and when teams go after them the way Methacton did, other guys have to step up.

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By Matt Smith

Neshaminy’s Chris Arcidiacono is as good as advertised.

The junior guard, who is a younger brother of Villanova great Ryan, poured in a game-high 26 points in a first-round District 1 6A playoff matchup Friday night. At times, he was awe-inspiring. He even made a buzzer-beater from half court to end the first quarter.

Unfortunately for the No.22 Redskins, 11th-seeded Penn Wood was better.

Although Neshaminy led by as many as four points with three minutes to play in regulation, the Patriots persevered, overcame ‘Little Arch” and, at long last, broke their district playoff curse.

Vincent Smalls converted a three-point play to put Penn Wood ahead to stay with 1:30 left and the Patriots rallied past the Redskins, 59-51. It marked the club’s first district playoff win since a 74-48 drubbing of Bishop Shanahan Feb. 15, 2014.

Penn Wood advances to the second round Tuesday to play No. 6 Pennsbury, which earned a first-round bye.

“It feels good,” said Smalls, who scored 11 of his 15 points after halftime. “The last couple of years, we couldn’t get out of the first round. Last year, we lost on a buzzer-beater (against Lower Merion) and that really hurt us. Last year, we weren’t feeling confident, but this year it’s completely different. We’re more hungry. We want it more than ever, and we know what we got to do. We’re going to follow the game plan and just continue. No looking back, just looking forward and staying focused as a team.”

Smalls attacked the rim and was fouled en route to the hoop for the game-tying basket. He calmly swished the ensuing free throw to put the Patriots (16-7) in front, 47-46.

“That felt pretty good, honestly,” Smalls said. “I saw my teammates and I just knew, we got it. We felt pretty good after that one.”

After a Neshaminy turnover, one of 25 on the evening by the visitors, Pernell Ghee made a layup to extend Penn Wood’s advantage to three points. Ghee, who netted a team-high 17 points, hit three big baskets in the fourth period as the Patriots made their comeback. Kairi Jones had a steal and a layup and was a tremendous facilitator in the fourth quarter. Rashaad Anderson was clutch at the free-throw line (5-for-6) down the stretch to help seal the victory.

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By Bob Grotz

All six-feet, eight-inches of Villanova commit Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree elevated slightly and dropped in the first points over a sea of humanity.

Kentucky commit Quade Green scored the next bucket on a silky smooth reverse layup that left you muttering, how did he do that?

It was two blue-chippers too much for Archbishop Carroll. The Patriots fought to the finish Friday night in that steamy, headache-inducing bandbox Neumann-Goretti calls home. And they still exited on the wrong end of 73-55, Cosby-Roundtree leading all scorers with 22 points and Green contributing 14 to the Philadelphia Catholic League playoff success.

“Even when they take one or two guys out or you get one or two guys in foul trouble some of the guys on the bench are just as good, just as strong and can play, as well,” Patriots coach Paul Romanczuk said. “It’s a deep team and one I think is going to go far in our playoffs. I think they’re going to be really difficult to beat at the Palestra. And I think they’re going to be really difficult to beat in the state tournament. That’s a really good basketball team.”

The consolation prize for the Patriots (16-8), who suffered a 12-point loss earlier this season to the Saints, is a playoff early next week with Bonner-Prendergast. The survivor can make noise in the state tournament.

“I’m ready to kick some butt, excuse my language,” said Carroll’s Khari Williams, who fouled out with 14 points. “After this loss I wasn’t upset. I wasn’t sad. I just got hungrier. We’re not going down to the Palestra. We can’t win the PCL. Now it’s the state championship, and that’s the main goal now. Everybody is hungry for this.”

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