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The Daily Times' boys basketball blog

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

ODDS & ENDS FROM TUESDAY NIGHT

Couple things I pulled from the box scores of Tuesday night's boys basketball games:

*** Senior Taylor Wright scored 15 points and pulled down a career-best 14 rebounds in Episcopal Academy's 67-58 victory over Bishop Shanahan. Wright, known earlier in his career as an outside shooter, had 10 of those rebounds before halftime. Also an exceptional pitcher, Wright is in the midst of his best season.

*** Upper Darby shot 35 percent in the first half and 70 percent in the second half. What's more stunning? The Royals shot at an 80-percent clip (8-for-10) in the fourth quarter, beating Haverford, 56-40. (For more on this game, check out Wednesday's Daily Times.)

*** Sun Valley's Bill Hudson made more free throws (12-for-17) than Academy Park attempted (5-for-11 as a team), in the Vanguards' 69-61 victory. Sun Valley was 23-for-31 as a team.

*** Chester's Lamon Church (nine) and DaQuann Walker (eight) combined for 17 of the Clippers' 21 fourth-quarter points during their 71-64 win over Reading. Having faced two of the perennial Pa. powerhouses in the last week - JP McCaskey and Reading - the Clippers are 5-0.

*** All three of the shots knocked down by Springfield's Dave Carpenter were beyond the arc in the Cougars' 62-50 takedown of Marple Newtown. He made more 3-pointers than the Tigers did as a team.

*** Cardinal O'Hara shot 7-for-8 from the free-throw line ... none more important than Sean Mayo's two with two seconds to go in the Lions' come-from-behind, 65-64 win over Spring-Ford.

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Sunday, December 19, 2010

STRATH HAVEN HAS ATHLETES ... AND KNOWS HOW TO USE THEM


Ask any other coach in Delaware County, and each one probably would tell you that Tom Dougherty's fear at Strath Haven would be considered their gain elsewhere.

Dougherty, the Panthers' head coach, worried in the preseason about his basketball players getting "their basketball legs under them." What did Dougherty mean? Well, a good majority of his team is comprised of multi-sport athletes.

Friday, all of them had it going on for Strath Haven in the Panthers' 57-43 win over Ridley.

Omar Randall, a three-sport athlete, tossed in 12 points, grabbed eight rebounds and dished five assists. Christian Martin, an All-Delco boys soccer player, tallied 14 points. Chazz Fisher, an honorable mention All-Delco football player, also scored 14 points. Joe Raymond, an All-Delco soccer player, knocked down a critical 3-pointer in the second half ... as did three-sport athlete Jake Enterlin, a recent baseball commit to Johns Hopkins.

"I think it's going to work out for us," said Randall, who has gotten recruiting interest from college soccer, basketball and track coaches. "I think we have some great athletes on this team and we're going to match up well with a lot of teams."

The Panthers certainly did Friday, leading nearly wire-to-wire. Their only deficit against Ridley was following Shawn Church's first-quarter free throw, which gave the Green Raiders a 1-0 lead in the first minute of the game.

"Coach Doc talks about basketball legs," Randall said, "but we're all in great shape. We're going to be OK, I think."

To put it modestly.

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Saturday, December 18, 2010

ARCHBISHOP CARROLL'S JUAN'YA GREEN STRIKES FOR HIS 1,000TH POINT


Could it have been easier for Juan'ya Green? Sure, but what's the fun in that?

"We didn't come out with any momentum," Green said Friday night, when he and his Archbishop Carroll teammates needed a comeback to force overtime and get a 62-58 win against Philadelphia Electric Charter. "So we needed to find some momentum after halftime."

Along the way, Green became the eighth player in Carroll's program history to score 1,000 points in his career. The 6-3 All-Delco did so on a second-quarter 3-pointer from the left wing. During a timeout, it was announced to the Patriots' home fans that Green had eclipsed the mark.

"I'm proud to be a part of it," said Green, who finished the night with 21 points. "A lot of guys have been a part of this program and I'm proud to get to this point."

"He's working hard and it's showing on the court," said Carroll coach Paul Romanczuk, a great player at Carroll in his own right, but one who didn't reach 1,000. "(Green) will go down as one of the best in the program's history."

Green, through three games (all wins), is averaging 25.7 points per game. The Niagara University commit said it was nice to hear from his future coaches.

"The assistant coach was there (Phil Martelli, Jr.), and I got a text after the game from Coach (Joe) Mihalich, which was nice," Green said.

Read more about Green's accomplishment, the Patriots' win and all of Friday's boys basketball action in Saturday's Daily Times.

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Wednesday, December 15, 2010

CHICHESTER PINS HOPE ON LAMBERT


In the preseason, Chichester's first-year basketball coach Bill Fagan told me to keep an eye on junior Laquan Lambert. When I asked why, Fagan laughed.

"Because he's got heart," Fagan said. "Laquan plays for our football team ... and we don't win much. But he's the one who's at practice every day. He's a leader. He can inspire a group."

And that's why, this basketball season, Laquan Lambert is being looked upon as the lynchpin for a successful campaign.

In Chichester's 55-50 win over Sun Valley Tuesday night, Lambert might not have been the Eagles' leading scorer ... or second-leading scorer. (He finished with nine points.) But the 6-1 forward played bigger than his size. He routinely looked as if he was plucking quarters off the rim, on his way to collecting 10 rebounds (six offensive).

A 4.0 student, according to Fagan, Lambert represents what little size Chi has. Aside from 6-10 center Casey Burke, Lambert is it. Beyond his play, Lambert is hoping to lend something else to the Eagles' efforts this season.

"Football is a sport that's all about teamwork - a group of people working together at the same time," Lambert said after Chi's win. "That's what we want here. We want teamwork."

The Eagles certainly had that Tuesday, in beating the neighborhood rival Vanguards. For more on the game, check out Wednesday's Daily Times.

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Tuesday, December 14, 2010

BASKETBALL SEASON IS BACK


Hey basketball fans, welcome back to Gettin' Schooled for the 2010-11 season.

There are plenty of players to follow, games to be seen and matchups to salivate over. In the meantime, here's a look at the season preview that appeared in the Daily Times:

PIAA Proving Size Matters
: Three Class AAA teams in Delco - Springfield, Strath Haven and Marple Newtown - got the bump to Class AAAA, courtesy the PIAA's influx of charter schools occupying the lower classifications. District One chairman Rod Stone, PIAA executive director Brad Cashman and others chime in on how to remedy this issue.

Season Produces Plenty to Ponder: Which teams will experience rebound seasons? Which games are can't-miss games? Who will win the Del Val League title? These are burning questions worth investigating.

Recipe For Success? Depends Upon Whom You Ask: I asked the coaches of Delco's winningest programs during the last three seasons how they can maintain that level of success...and each offered a different opinion.

While you read over that stuff, be sure to bookmark Gettin' Schooled in order to check back throughout the season. It's sure to be a fun one.

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