Delcohoops.com

By Josh Verlin

The PIAA playoff second round began on Tuesday night with the Class A and AAA brackets, and continues this evening with the AA and AAAA tournaments.

Here’s a look at all of Wednesday night’s games that involve area teams:

Chester (1-2) vs. Spring-Ford (1-5)
Where: Cheltenham HS; Wyncote
When: 7:00 PM
How they got here: Chester def. Hempfield (55-46); Spring-Ford def. Spring Grove (74-43)

Skinny: It’s a District 1 showdown for a spot in the quarterfinals as the Clippers and Rams meet for the first time this year. Chester (21-7) presents a matchup problem for any team in the state with its depth and size — no fewer than six members of the rotation stand 6-5 or taller — and Spring-Ford will need to make sure this game doesn’t get into a track meet or volleyball contest on the boards. For that, the Rams (21-7) will need strong games from the perimeter trio of Matt Gnias, Nigel Cooke and Charles Drummond, who combined for 47 points in the win over Spring-Grove, but they’ll also need a big effort from 6-6 Cameron Reid inside. Spring-Ford will have to figure out a way to slow down Chester’s big scoring wings, senior Stanley Davis and Marquis Collins, from getting loose inside, but a 3-point contest benefits the Rams.

Webmaster’s note: If you can’t make the game you can listen to it LIVE right here on Delcohoops.com.  Our broadcast will begin at 6:45. Click on the Game-of-the-Week logo on the left hand side of this page.

(click on this link for the complete preview)

By Matthew De George

For the first 30 minutes Tuesday night, Alex Marsico seemed destined to influence Bishop McDevitt’s PIAA Class AAA second-round game without the ball in his hands.

But when the rock found the senior guard in the final minute, he rose to the occasion.

Marsico buried the go-ahead 3-pointer with less than a minute to play, putting the Crusaders ahead for good and ending an uncharacteristically error-prone Archbishop Carroll’s season, 62-60, at Garden Spot High School.

The shot was Marsico’s only made basket of the night on just his second attempt. But when Bryce Hall drove the lane and found his progress blocked, he fed Marsico on the left wing to bury a triple in front of the McDevitt bench and put the Crusaders ahead, 56-55.

No matter how much energy he expounded defensively as Ryan Daly’s shadow, he had no problem rising and hitting.

(click on this link for the full article and video from the game)

By Jeff Griffith

Mike Gaffey will be the first to admit his Bishop McDevitt Crusaders had some unfinished business coming into this season.

Their first goal was to exorcise their district three championship demons of a year ago; McDevitt lost the 2015 title game by just three points to Steel-High.

The Crusaders checked that one off the to-do list, earning this year’s district hardware with a dominant win over Eastern York.

The next order of business was a taller task to say the least.

“Last year, we lost with a lead in the last minute against Neumann-Goretti,” said Gaffey, the Crusaders’ head coach. “This was on our bucket list, to get a Philly team that we knew we could beat in the last minute of the game and win it.”

Instead of getting Neumann-Goretti, the defending state champions, Gaffey’s team was matched up with the Philadelphia Catholic League’s next best AAA squad, the state runners-up of a year ago, the Archbishop Carroll Patriots.

However, despite the change in opponent, McDevitt got exactly what they wanted.

A win.

Webmaster’s note:  You can listen to this entire game by going to our Game Archives.  Just click on the logo on the left side of this page and listen to the entire game 24/7.  Our sponsors (listed on the right side of this page) pay for all broadcasting and archive costs!

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By Josh Verlin

Bishop McDevitt (3-1) vs. Archbishop Carroll (12-3)
Where: Garden Spot HS; New Holland
When: 7:30 PM
How they got here: Bishop McDevitt def. Salisbury Twp. (75-48), Archbishop Carroll def. Holy Ghost Prep (76-27)

Skinny: Archbishop Carroll had perhaps the most impressive first-round performance of any team in the entire state, running out to a 48-9 halftime lead. Ryan Daly, a Hartford-bound senior, scored 18 points in the first eight minutes and finished with 23 despite sitting the fourth quarter; fellow senior John Rigsby added 21 for the Patriots. Last year, Carroll made it to the state final out of this same spot in the bracket, and they had to get through the District 3 champion in this exact spot, it was a fairly easy 83-54 win over Steel-High. McDevitt, powered by 30 points and 11 rebounds from 6-4 senior big man and 1,000-point scorer James Williams, had no troubles with District 11’s third seed Salisbury Twp. in its opener, but they know things will be much tougher against one of the top teams in the Catholic League. Last year, the Crusaders made it to the quarterfinals before falling at the hands of eventual champ Neumann-Goretti.

(click on this link for all the game previews)

By Matthew DeGeorge

12-3 Archbishop Carroll vs. 3-1 Bishop McDevitt, Garden Spot, 7:30

Last year, the Patriots encountered District 3 champ Steelton-Highspire at this stage in what seemed a daunting matchup. They steamrolled the Steamrollers by 29 points, a fate the Crusaders hope to avoid in the Class AAA second round.

Neither team broke much of a sweat in its opener. The Patriots (23-3) scored 26 points in the first quarter and permitted District One champ Holy Ghost Prep just 27 total in a 76-27 shellacking. McDevitt (21-6) toppled Salisbury Township, District 11’s third seed, 75-48.

McDevitt was powered by 1,000-point scorer James Williams, who poured in 30 points. He averages 21 per game, but McDevitt isn’t a one-man show. Guards Nick Gemmell and Tim Kater, the latter a sharp-shooting sophomore and defensive end who stands 6-foot-3 and 260 pounds, can also supply points.

Carroll possesses a pair of Division I talents in Ryan Daly and Josh Sharkey, plus John Rigsby, who scored 21 points against Holy Ghost and has scored in double figures in each of his last five outings to raise his season average to 12.2 ppg. With Miks Antoms and company, Carroll owns a decisive size advantage. McDevitt lists the 6-foot-4, 180-pound Williams as a center.

Webmaster’s note: If you can’t make the game you can listen to it LIVE right here on Delcohoops.com.  Our broadcast will begin at 7:15. Click on the Game-of-the-Week logo on the left hand side of this page.

(click on this link for a preview of the rest of the game tonight and tomorrow)