Delcohoops.com

By Josh Verlin

Conestoga coach Sean Forcine stood with his assistant coaches outside the visitors’ locker room at Penncrest for a quick post-game debrief. Amongst the various mentions of some late-game decision-making and defense, a couple of complaints of some turnovers and a generally optimistic tone, was one statement with which all in the huddle were in agreement.

“That,” Forcine said, “was not a game we would have won last year.”

‘Stoga’s gut-clenching, 35-33 road win over Penncrest was not just the third in a row and fifth in six games for the Pioneers, but a major sign of growth in the second-year coach’s eyes. After finishing 11-12 a year ago, Conestoga’s pushing for a much higher finish in the Central League and District 1.

“We’ve been preaching all year, it’s about staying positive no matter the situation,” Forcine said. “Not freaking out when we do good, not freaking out when we do bad, just keep an even keel. And it showed tonight.”

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By Matt Smith

Academy of Notre Dame’s Riley Davis has the family pedigree and certainly the skillset to go a long way in the sport of basketball.

She’s an unassuming freshman enjoying the ride of being a first-year varsity starter. But there are expectations when you are the daughter of Ben Davis, the Aston native who went on to star in basketball and baseball at Malvern Prep before being selected as the No. 2 overall pick in the 1995 MLB Draft. Riley’s mom, Megan (nee McGonagle), was a tremendous athlete at Sun Valley who played soccer and lacrosse at Rutgers.

Riley is starting to blaze her trail on the hardwood. On Tuesday, the sweet-shooting combo guard led the Irish to a 41-22 victory over Inter-Ac League rival Episcopal Academy, scoring a game-high 17 points.

“It’s so much fun, I couldn’t ask for a better school. It was either here or a public school and I am 100% more happy that I came here,” she said. “I love it here. Everyone is so welcoming here and it is so much fun to play on such a good team with such good coaches.”

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Matt Gardler was a scoring machine in Marple Newtown’s 58-34 victory over Upper Darby Tuesday night.

Gardler banked seven 3-pointers on the way to a 30-point performance. He also grabbed 10 rebounds.

Ryan Keating ended with 10 points and Steve Tansey added five points and five assists for the Tigers.

Elsewhere in the Central League:

Radnor 55, Haverford 38 >> Elijah Seller scored 12 points and Michael Savadove chipped in with 11 points for the Raptors (9-2, 6-2), who led 24-13 at halftime and never looked back.

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Haverford’s Rian Dotsey scored a game-high 23 points during Tuesday’s 51-33 Central League win over Radnor.

Dotsey had nine points in the second quarter to help give the Fords a 26-11 lead at halftime. She also had 12 rebounds and four blocks. Aniya Eberhart amassed 11 points, five rebounds and five assists in the winning effort.

Ashley Wright netted 11 points.

Anna Reger led the Raptors with nine points.

Elsewhere in the Central League:

Ridley 46, Springfield 45 >> Kyla Carney’s 13-point effort fueled a balanced scoring attack by the Green Raiders. Taylor Marsich hit a trio of 3-pointers and finished with 11 points, while Kailyn Bell had nine and Jamie Wojechowski added eight.

By Justin Procope

Although it was the first meeting of the season between the two teams, the matchup against Archbishop Carroll felt strangely familiar to Saint Joseph’s Prep. In many ways, the Hawks saw themselves.

“That’s what we talked about in film all week, how we used to be them,” SJP senior guard Jalen Harper said. “Young, inexperienced, but we brought that experience today.”

That they did. 

A youthful Carroll squad was simply outgunned and outmatched as Prep rolled to a 84-63 home victory.

In past seasons, Prep was known as the up-and-coming squad armed with some of the best guards the city has to offer. Now juniors and seniors, the guard quartet of Harper, Jaron Mckie, Olin Chamberlain, and Jordan Ellerbee are no longer up and coming, they are here. 

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By Josh Verlin

Gregg Downer knows what life in the driver’s seat is like.

The Lower Merion coach has had more than his fair share of Central League championships, from Kobe Bryant’s senior season in 1996 through his most recent in 2022. His Aces went undefeated in the league in a handful of them, which for a good while was enough for an automatic berth in the Central League championship game.

Usually, those teams were expected, stocked with proven talent, like the 2012-13 group led by B.J. Johnson or the 2018-19 team led by Jack Forrest, Lower Merion the clear favorite to control the league of suburban public schools west and southwest of the city.

This year’s group is doing something different: surprising everybody.

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