Chester coach Larry Yarbray (pictured, with Rondae Jefferson) said he's known Steve 'Bird' Powell for what seems like forever, their relationship renewed in the four seasons Yarbray has served as the man in charge of the Clippers.

"We've always been in contact, with summer leagues and whatnot," Yarbray said of Powell, a Chester native and the coach of District Three's J.P. McCaskey. "He's a good dude from the East side of the city, where my father's from."

Powell, a link to Chester's past, and Yarbray, a link to Chester's present, will collide Saturday in the opening round of the PIAA Class AAAA tournament. The game at 3 p.m. tips off at Norristown High School.

Chester defeated McCaskey, 71-61, in the second game of the Clippers' season -- their 17th in the last 19 tries against the Red Tornado.

“This is their championship, this is their measuring stick," Yarbray said of McCaskey's second crack at the Clippers, who are ranked fourth nationally. "That was our second game of the season. From that point, things change. People settle into the games and settle into their roles. This should be an interesting game."

For more on Powell, pick up Friday's Daily Times. And I'll have a preview of the game in Saturday's paper, too.

(Times staff photo / ROBERT J. GURECKI)

The day after Chester's big win over Lower Merion, in the District One Class AAAA championship game, here's another glimpse of the action through the lens of Daily Times staff photographer Robert J. Gurecki:


Chester's Darius Robinson drives the lane for a second-quarter layup.


Chester's Rondae Jefferson draws a blocking foul against Lower Merion's Justin McFadden.


Lower Merion's Yohanny Dalembert goes up for a shot contested by Chester forwards Rondae Jefferson and Erikk Wright.


Chester's Shanier Cottman takes a bit of his district-championship medal.


Chester coach Larry Yarbray puts a district-title medal around the neck of Rondae Jefferson.


Chester's Erikk Wright puts on display the Clippers' district-championship trophy.

Chester did it again.

The top-seeded Clippers used a superb outing from Rondae Jefferson to defeat second-seeded Lower Merion, 61-53, Friday night to claim the District One Class AAAA championship -- the program's 21st district crown.

The Daily Times sports staff was in full force at the game, with Matt Smith giving us a recap of what coach Larry Yarbray's reserves -- like Shanier Cottman, pictured -- mean to the success of the Clippers (27-0), who have won 53 straight games.

Meanwhile, columnist Jack McCaffery details just how dominant Chester's defense was, in limiting Lower Merion to 53 points, holding its leading scorer, B.J. Johnson, to 2-for-15 shooting, and forcing the Aces into 23 turnovers.

And then there was Jefferson, who was all over the map. The junior forward/point guard had 13 points, 21 rebounds, six assists, four steals and three blocked shots in 32 minutes. He was exceptional when the Clippers needed him most.

#####

Chester (27-0) will face J.P. McCaskey (22-7), District 3's seventh seed, in the first round of the PIAA Class AAAA tournament, which begins Saturday, March 10. The Clippers should have footage of their familiar foe, a team they schedule annually. Chester defeated McCaskey, 71-61, on the road Dec. 13.

Tickets to the game will be available at Chester High's athletic office Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, from 3 to 7 p.m. each night.

(Times staff photo / ROBERT J. GURECKI)

Shawn Oakman, a 2011 graduate of Penn Wood High School, was dismissed from Penn State's football team Tuesday night.

Though it sounds redundant, here is the official statement from Penn State: "Penn State freshman defensive end Shawn Oakman has been dismissed from the football team due to a violation of team rules."

A 6-9, 260-pound defensive end, Oakman was a redshirt freshman who sat out the 2011 football season at Penn State.

Oakman was an All-Delco defensive end for Penn Wood's football team. His senior year, en route to earning All-Delco distinction, he posted 80 tackles (23 for a loss), 16 sacks, nine batted balls, four fumble recoveries and three forced fumbles as the Patriots went 9-2 and won the Del Val League title.

He also was a standout center who helped the school's basketball team win the PIAA Class AAAA championship in 2009 and the District One Class AAAA championship in 2010.

(Times staff photo / ROBERT J. GURECKI)

Weren't able to make Tuesday's game? Here's a glimpse from the baseline where Times staff photographer Robert J. Gurecki and Journal Register photographer Bob Raines recorded these moments from Chester's 67-52 victory over Wissahickon:

Chester's Rondae Jefferson coasts in for two of his eight points.

Chester's Erikk Wright muscles up, scoring on a putback for two of his 10 points.

Chester's Richard Granberry outraces a pair of Wissahickon players to a loose ball.

Wright pulls down one of his 11 rebounds.

Jefferson tries his best to hold down Wissahickon's Chase Wilson, who logged 19 points.

# # # # #
Here's the Times staff's coverage of the District One semifinals, from Temple's Liacouras Center:
Game story: Chester can shift its focus to district final (Vito)
Column: Confidence is nothing new for the Clippers (Jack McCaffery)
Sidebar: Lower Merion does its part to reach final (Anthony J. SanFilippo)

And from a ninth-place playback:
Game story: There's little consolation for Penn Wood after loss (Bob Grotz)

Archbishop Carroll has been a breeding ground for guards, with Division I backcourt players dotting Matsonford Road with regularity.

So for Carroll coach Paul Romanczuk to be leaning upon two sizeable options in the paint this season is quite a departure from the norm.

Senior Lou Dominique (6-4, 200) and freshman Derrick Jones (6-5, 165, pictured) are having similarly successful seasons. Dominique, who's considering East Stroudsburg for football, averages 8.4 points per game with eight double-figure scoring games and four double-doubles. Jones averages 7.4 points per game with seven double-figure scoring games and four double-doubles.

“It’s fun to see a senior get his shot, pay his dues, wait for his time and flourish once he’s there. That’s special," Romanczuk said of Dominique. "Lou has been tough for us. He’s been a great defender, a great inside presence. Having seniors step up and play like he did is great."

"(Jones) has got tremendous potential and he’s only going to get better," Romanczuk added. "He’s 14-years-old playing with 17- and 18-year-olds who have been through the battles of the Catholic League. Nothing he does surprises me. He’s going to continue to mature and get better."

Dominique had 14 points and seven rebounds and Jones had seven points and seven rebounds in Carroll's double-overtime victory Sunday over St. Joseph's Prep.

Added Dominique: “It’s a nice combination. Derrick and I, we crash the boards, we get blocks and we get some defensive rebounds. We’re good down there."

(Times staff photo / ROBERT J. GURECKI)

It was tense. It was loud. And, for the first 16 minutes, at least, it was everything Monsignor Bonner expected, wanted or dreamed its final game at home would be.

The Friars lost to La Salle, 58-44, Friday night in what might have been the final basketball game at Bonner. Of course, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia - which condemned Bonner to death Jan. 6 - still has the final say and could accept the school's appeal to remain open, but that seemed to be in the rearview during this game.

Bonner's seniors -- pictured above, from left, Dan McLoone, Paul Pfeffinger, Kevin Sheridan, Mike Proska, and Nkingi Jones -- took a certain level of pride in knowing they might be the final graduating class for the Friars' storied program.

Here's what some of them had to say:
DAN McLOONE (two assists)
"I don't want to view it that way, but there's that saying: think the worst is going to happen but hope for the best to happen. I pray this place will stay open because it's a great place. Even when they told us, we all said, 'This is not possible.' It hasn’t sunk in. It’s not over until it’s over."

PAUL PFEFFINGER (11 points), who led the Friars in scoring
“This was probably the most important game of our season. We only have one more game (Sunday at Archbishop Ryan), and we expect to win. Could be the last game ever. Let’s try to get a win for Bonner."

MIKE PROSKA (5 points, 6 assists), who made the final bucket in the gym's history
"I wasn’t even thinking that. It didn’t cross my mind, but that’s big."
"I worry about (this school closing), but I know we're in good hands. Mr. Brannick (Bonner's principal) and Fr. Olsen (Bonner's president) are looking out for us. I have faith in them. Look at this: you’re talking to me, we’re in the news, we’re all over the papers, we’re raising money. It’s not over."

TOM MEAKIM, the coach
"We're not done. We have noon practice (Saturday)."

GAME STORY: Bonner keeps battling, on and off the court
McCAFFERY COLUMN: Blake, fellow alums give Bonner proper send-off



(Times staff photo / ROBERT J. GURECKI)

So it's come down to this.

Upper Darby and Conestoga played 16 league games apiece. They both won 10 of them. Now, they have to win one more. Well, two more...but first things first.

The Royals, technically the home team, and the Pioneers will go at it tonight at Strath Haven High School for the right to play Lower Merion in Saturday's Central League championship game.

Here's what you need to know about these teams:
Upper Darby, which won its first league games, closed out the season by losing three of four ... one to Conestoga and another to Lower Merion. Coach Bob Miller's team doesn't have a legitimate scorer to stop, which might work in the Royals' favor. On any given night, Ralik Wise, Mahamane Toure, Yusef Ross (pictured) or Kuity Slanger could assume the scoring duties.

Conestoga, meanwhile, has won four in a row. The Pioneers, who lost their first game against Upper Darby Jan. 13, rebounded to take down the Royals in the second go-around Feb. 3. Mike Troy's team counts on Brandon Thompson and John Grib to handle the scoring duties.

Even after Tuesday's loss to Lower Merion, Toure remained optimistic: “It’s not the end of it for us," he said.

So did Miller, who said it's nice to know the Royals have at least one more game to polish things up. “Hopefully it’s two games," he said.

(Times staff photo / ROBERT J. GURECKI)

Lower Merion (20-2) assembled the kind of season that makes outsiders salivate.

I had been hearing all year that the Aces were the best competition that Chester (20-0) could see for the District One and PIAA Class AAAA crowns.

Now that I've seen them, I'm convinced all that talk was legit ... because the Aces are legit. Lower Merion, which will play for the Central League championship Saturday night, has the total package: A trio of frontcourt players who will make most high-school forwards tremble and a capable point guard in Jaquan Johnson, who might actually be the Aces' only weakness in a meeting with Chester.

In Tuesday's win over Upper Darby, B.J. Johnson (6-5 junior) had 19 points and three rebounds, Darryl Reynolds (a 6-7 senior seen defending UD's Ralik Wise) totaled 10 points and 14 rebounds and Raheem Hall (6-2 junior) had 10 points. Yohanny Dalembert (6-7 senior) came off the bench for two points and four boards.

Not bad, huh?

“I’ve never had one 6-7 guy, so to have two is quite a luxury," said Lower Merion coach Gregg Downer. "We don’t lose much when we go to the bench, which is the sign of a good ball club."

As for hanging with Chester, though...

"I haven’t seen Chester, but I’m told they don’t have four guys like (Lower Merion)," said Upper Darby coach Bob Miller. "In all we’ve scouted, we have not seen a team with that much size. … We haven’t seen that much. To bring a 6-7 kid off the bench is good."

Added Downer: “Of course, every journey eventually would have to go through Chester. They’re just phenomenal, playing at a national level. We just take it one step at a time: win games, win the Central League, go to districts, be competitive, make states. That’s how we look at it."

(Times staff photo / ROBERT J. GURECKI)

Part II had a familiar feel to Part I.

Chester beat Penn Wood handily Thursday night, using an 80-57 victory at the Clip Joint to all-but-officially clinch the Del Val League championship. It would take Penn Wood (11-7, 6-2) winning out and Chester (19-0, 8-0) losing out to force a tie, but that's unlikely to happen.

Here's another glance at what happened Thursday:

OBSERVATIONS
****Penn Wood opened up a number of six-point leads in the first half. The reason? The Patriots shot 9-for-16 in the opening half. In the second half, they shot 11-for-27 -- not nearly as scorching.
****No one seems to pay attention to Tymier Butler (pictured). The Chester senior had nine points, six boards and four steals, on 3-for-8 shooting. "No one was bothering with us, really," Butler said. Fellow second-stringers also had big games Thursday.
****In the first half, Chester used three different players to defend against Malcolm Richardson, who shot 7-for-16 from the field, 7-for-10 from the foul line and finished with 21 points. "He's a matchup problem, isn't he?" Pats coach Clyde Jones said.
****Chester junior Rondae Jefferson didn't knock down a shot until the third quarter.
****Chester senior Erikk Wright got hit in an, umm, unforgiving location in the third quarter, forcing him to exit. He got back into the game in the fourth quarter feeling "a lot better than I did earlier," Wright said.

QUOTABLE
"This was my career-high tonight. Well, at least my career-high since I've been here. I had a lot of fun tonight. A lot of fun."
---Chester senior Shanier Cottman (pictured), who scored 16 points. Cottman, who at times looked unguardable while knocking down teardrop shots in the lane and uncontested layups, said he scored a career-best 22 points last year at New Beginnings Academy.

NEWS + NOTES
Penn Wood coach Clyde Jones told me two Patriots alums playing at Harcum could find their way onto Division I rosters in the near future. Tyree Johnson, the 2009 Daily Times Player of the Year, and Darian Barnes have garnered interest from Cincinnati and Temple, respectively. Johnson, a point guard, is sitting out the year due to transfer rules while Barnes, a big man, is in his freshman year.

FACES IN THE CROWD
The usual Chester alums were there, with Mo Nelson, Laquan Robinson and Rahlir Jefferson all sitting together across the court from the benches. Villanova assistant coach Doug West took in the game from the West corner of the bleachers. And Kareem Robinson watched the game from the bench. The senior point guard missed his second straight game due to a weak back.

(Times staff photos / ROBERT J. GURECKI)

The Haverford School's bid to win the Inter-Ac League title for the first time since 1999 sustained a roadblock Tuesday.

Junior center Tao Xu will miss the Fords' next game - Friday night at Germantown Academy - after incurring a pair of technical fouls in The Haverford School's 61-52 victory over Penn Charter.

Xu picked up the first technical foul in the fourth quarter, when he responded with a shove after taking a two-handed push to the back on an uncontested lay-up attempt. The 6-11 Chinese exchange student has a history of back injuries, including three broken vertebrae.

He got whistled for a second technical later in the fourth, when he issued a salute after knocking down a 15-foot baseline jumper.

"He's been doing it all season, so we don't know," first-year Haverford School coach Henry Fairfax said. "He was saluting our fans and our JV kids. It's something he's done all year.

"In response to the other one, he got shoved in the back," Fairfax continued. "He broke three vertebrae in his back, so he thought they were going after him. He's not a malicious kid, so I hope this doesn't paint him as a kid he's not. I think it would be a huge injustice if they didn't let the kid play."

Xu said he has made a habit of doing the Jaromir Jagr-esque salute "after big plays."

Fairfax told me that he would "start the (Inter-Ac) appeals process as soon as I'm done speaking with you." He later texted me to say the appeal was denied.

Xu had 17 points, six rebounds and five blocked shots in Tuesday's victory. He is averaging 8.3 points per game this season, his first in the states.

(Times staff photo / ROBERT J. GURECKI)

The first one is in the books.

While we have to wait until Feb. 2 for the rematch, Chester's 69-43 dismantling of Penn Wood had a few wrinkles. Firstly, it wasn't nearly as bad as the final score would indicate. But there's much more to the game than just the final score. Have a look:

OBSERVATIONS
****Chester officials gave me a reason for why junior Rondae Jefferson (pictured, above) missed last Thursday night's game against Interboro. "He was dehydrated. He went to the hospital," I was told. Well, Jefferson didn't waste any more time. He's averaging 11 points in the three games since his return.
****Jefferson brought the crowd to its feet on three straight trips up the floor, with electric dunks. None was better than the one served up by Darius Robinson (pictured, left).
****Penn Wood's gym, always cramped, was especially tight with The Comcast Network's camera scaffolding - at midcourt and in the Southeast corner.
****Villanova coach Jay Wright, after noticing his likeness was on live television, winked into the camera. A rare night in which Jay was not livid.
****In case you didn't notice, Chester had new uniforms. I heard UnderArmour sent a shipment of the new gear - which included socks, shoes and everything they could slap their logo on - arrived just in time for Tuesday's game.
****After Tymier Butler swatted Penn Wood shots on successive possessions, a Chester fan exclaimed, "Not in our house. Wait, and not in your house either."
****How deep is Chester's varsity roster? At one point in the JV game that preceded the varsity tilt, a fan asked former Chester coach Fred Pickett why sophomore forward Diamonte Reason, who scored all 14 points in the JV Clips' 14-0 third-quarter swing, wasn't on varsity. Pickett's reply? "There's no room," he said.


QUOTABLES
"We know, to beat them, we have to take care of all our details. We gave up 21 offensive rebounds. … There’s no way for us to (win). We don’t score enough to counter that. We had 17 rebounds for the game. I saw my stats. You don’t rebound, you’re not going to beat them."
---Penn Wood coach Clyde Jones

“We’ve been coming out (slowly) the last couple games. That means we’ve got to get better. We’ve got some work."
---Chester senior Erikk Wright of his 14-0 team

“It feels real good to blow them out like that. They’re the only team people come to see when we play and all that."
---Chester senior Richard Granberry, pictured

“In our league you’ve got to beat Penn Wood and Glen Mills. … Any team can beat any team, but we don’t want to be that team."
---Chester coach Larry Yarbray

FACES IN THE CROWD
For a game that permitted only 400 into the building, the usual suspects were there. Chester All-Delcos Maurice Nelson and Lamon Church from the 2010-11 PIAA Class AAAA championship team, were in the building. Penn Wood's Dequan Pelzer, from the 2008-09 PIAA title team, was there, as well. Villanova's Jay Wright, and Seton Hall assistant coach Shaheen Holloway also made a showing.

(Times staff photos / ROBERT J. GURECKI)

For the 20th time in the illustrious history of Chester basketball, the Clippers are District One champions.

The Clippers knocked off Council Rock North, 66-43, Friday night to win their first Class AAAA crown since 2007-08, when Chester won its most recent state title.

Here are a few photos from the game, by Daily Times photographer Bob Gurecki:

Maurice Nelson, who had 22 points, accepts his gold medal.


Rondae Jefferson splits a pair of defenders on his was to two of his 10 points.


DeQuann Walker wins a scramble to a loose ball.


Erikk Wright comes down with one of his four rebounds.

While the Daily Times had you covered from the reporting side, staff photographer Bob Gurecki had you covered from every angle of the Palestra floor.

Here are his photos:


Carroll's Juan'ya Green defends against Neumann-Goretti's Lamin Fulton.


Carroll's Shane Randall battles with N-G's Derrick Stewart for possession.


Carroll's Yosef Yacob attempts to shoot around N-G's John Davis.


Carroll's Tracy Peal can't bear to watch, with teammate Matt Donaldson, the final moments of N-G's Catholic League final win.


Carroll's Juan'ya Green walks off the floor as Neumann-Goretti celebrates its third straight Catholic League title.

Here's what you can find in print:
Game story: Carroll can't stop another Saints march (Christopher A. Vito)
Column: Going Green can't be Carroll's only plan (Jack McCaffery)
Sidebar: Green denied championship he wanted so badly (Tom Kerrane)

Here are a couple photos from Thursday night's Chester/Penn Wood game, which the host Clippers won, 71-65. (All work by Daily Times photographer Bob Gurecki):

Chester All-Delco Mo Nelson picks the ball from Penn Wood's Jerry Price en route to the rim. Nelson's bucket closed the Clippers' deficit to 16-15 just before the end of the first quarter.

Chester's Richard Grandbury swats a Penn Wood shot attempt in the third quarter, during which Grandbury made blocks on back-to-back possessions.

Chester's Tavaune Griffin tries to pass around a pair of Penn Wood defenders, reigning Daily Times' Player of the Year Aaron Brown, left, among them.

Friday night, Penn Wood put the finishing touches on its first District One Class AAAA championship in 18 years ... and the Daily Times was all over it. (Game story and column can be found here.)

The Times was on the baseline, too, with staff photographer Bob Gurecki nabbing some shots of the action:
Penn Wood reserve forward Jeff Kyem pulls down a rebound in front of Plymouth-Whitemarsh's C.J. Aiken in the first half.

Shawn Oakman (center) embraces Aaron Brown (left) and Will Brown (right) in the moments following the Patriots' upset of the Colonials.

Reserve guard Jerry Price (No. 1) rushes to the court after the buzzer to meet Will Brown and Aaron Brown (back) following the Patriots' first district championship victory since 1992.

AROUND THE STATE
In a major upset, Reading dispatched Hempfield, 54-46, Saturday in the District Three Class AAAA title game. Hempfield, the top seed, had gone 27-0 en route to the title game.

What that does is make Penn Wood's road to a repeat as state champion a little more bumpy, with Reading winning and going to the West side of the PIAA bracket. The weekend is long, so let's see how the rest of the bracket shakes out before we reach any conclusions.

AROUND THE COUNTY
In the District One Class AAAA seventh-place game. Penncrest toppled Chester, 56-53, at West Chester East High School. The Lions' Rodney Duncan went off for 31 points, a career high. The Clippers trailed by 10 with two minutes to go before closing the gap. According to Penncrest coach Mike Doyle, Duncan's point tally is the best for any Lion in more than eight years.

In case you didn't pick up the Sunday Times, the Daily Times sports staff was ALL over the District One Class AAAA, AAA and A playoffs. We had a writer at all six boys basketball postseason games.

We also had staff photographer at a few of them. Here's Bob Gurecki's view from the baseline:


Marple Newtown's Soutiri Sapnas drives past a Harriton defender Wednesday during the Tigers' District One Class AAA first-round victory.


Penncrest's Rodney Duncan eludes Plymouth-Whitemarsh's C.J. Aiken Saturday in the Lions' loss to the Colonials in a District One Class AAAA quarterfinal.


Chester's Rondae Jefferson tries to bring in an offensive rebound in the Clippers' District One Class AAAA quarterfinal loss to Souderton.

Here's a closer look at Penn Wood's 57-40 win over Chester Thursday:

***LAUGH IT OFF. Clippers forward Ronnell Williams experienced the joy and ire of coach Larry Yarbray in one trip to the free throw line. When the sophomore banked in a foul shot, Yarbray laughed and smiled at his young big man. And when Williams clanked the next one, Yarbray screamed at him to get down the floor and defend.

***COLLEGE ROLL CALL. Three members of the nationally-ranked Temple Owls' rotation were at the Clip Joint. Chester All-Delco Rahlir Jefferson sat beside former Clippers coach Fred Pickett, while Scootie Randall and Ramone Moore (Jefferson's teammates with the No. 19 Owls) were seated in the row in front of him.

***1,000 POINT CLUB, PART I. Before the game, Chester honored Maurice Nelson, who scored his career 1,000th point Tuesday in a road game at Interboro. But Tyree Johnson got the best of Nelson. Johnson, who scored his 1,000th point in an earlier meeting with Chester, had the better game this time around, too. ...And he did so less than 24 hours after making his college commitment.

***SUPER 7 DISCUSSION. Speaking of Pickett, the longtime Clippers coach asked me why Chester had slipped to No. 4 in the latest Daily Times' Super 7. After giving my explanation, Pickett walked away. He wanted nothing of it. But he's a good sport. He came back a minute later, smiling. (Like any good coach, he knows not to take sports too seriously. That's the key.)

***1,000 POINT CLUB, PART II. One of Darby Township's finest was a referee Thursday. Derick Loury, who scored 1,137 points in his career with the Eagles, worked the game at the Clip Joint.

(Note: PHOTOS BY DAILY TIMES STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER BOB GURECKI. Check delcotimes.com Friday for video from the game.)

Sunday, Penn Wood point guard Tyree Johnson became the eighth player in school history to score 1,000 points in his career. He did so nonchalantly, too, hitting a fourth-quarter free throw late in Penn Wood's 66-48 rout of Chester.

Johnson, the reigning Daily Times Player of the Year, finished with 10 points in the game. He joins Lamont Ferrell*, Rap Curry, Mike Holmes, Shawn Day, Ed Millard, Duane Johnson and Micah Covert# in Penn Wood's 1,000-point club. (Ferrell started at Yeadon and finished his career at Penn Wood; Covert started with the Pats and capped his career off with Chester).

Johnson's per-game average is down from a year ago. It doesn't have either him or Penn Wood coach Clyde Jones worried.

"Listen, it doesn’t really matter. I’m a point guard," Johnson said. "My job is to get everybody involved anyway. My points are going to come during the flow. I get them the ball, they get it to me. It’s as simple as that."

Added Jones: "The greatest compliment I can give Tyree this year is how, for the most part, he has really decided that he has other people to get the ball to. He sees himself as a distributor. And in this day and age, when it’s tough to get kids to not think I have to shoot, to see him do that is special. The sad part about that is it doesn’t put him in anybody’s rankings for scoring, but it makes him perfect for us and what we do. The other night, I actually had to tell him to shoot the ball."

Johnson is getting interest from Monmouth, Rider, Hartford and Siena.

###################

Also, here's some more from the boys basketball scene:
---Daily Times photographer Bob Gurecki grabbed some video and assembled highlights from Sunday's Penn Wood-Chester game.
---This week marks the first installment of the boys basketball notebook - the feature focuses on The Haverford School's Andrew Acker, probably the county's most improved player thus far. The notes include Glen Mills' Raheem Harvey, who sustained a car accident during the holidays and remains hospitalized, and Chichester's Brian Parker, who has an outside chance at 1,000 points.

Here's an up-close look at the Chester/Penn Wood game:
Early in the second quarter and with the game's outcome still in doubt, Penn Wood junior forward Aaron Brown (pictured) was whistled for a technical foul. The call was questionable, causing spectators and reporters, alike, to scratch their heads.

Brown is not an overly aggressive player. And players from both sides were jawing. Turns out he was whistled for running into his teammate, Shawn Oakman, which had to have been perceived as a sign of boasting, because there was no blatant contact between players from opposing teams.

"They all talk (trash) and any kind of bump would be seen as a form of aggression," Penn Wood coach Clyde Jones said. "Aaron is always emotional. But I know his emotions are going to lead to production."

#################


BY THE NUMBERS
10-11: Chester's proficiency at the free-throw line, a 91-percent clip.
19-34: Penn Wood's proficiency at the free-throw line, a 55-percent clip.
37-21: Penn Wood's rebounding advantage.
1: Technical foul, against Penn Wood's Aaron Brown.
3:28: Time it took Chester to get on the board.
4: Points scored by Will Brown during a dynamic second-quarter play. He hit a 3-pointer from the right side of the arc and, after sustaining a foul by Chester's Laquan Robinson, made the subsequent free throw.

#################


The arrangement to bring the first meeting of the season between these two Pennsylvania titans to Saint Joseph's University was the product of internal connections. Penn Wood alumnus Rap Curry, also the Patriots' athletic director, played a fruitful college career on Hawk Hill. So did Jameer Nelson, whose younger brother, Maurice Nelson, plays for Chester.

The younger Nelson, who had 17 points, was playing on the floor of Hagan Arena - formerly the Fieldhouse - for the first time in his life. And hanging about the court, in the rafters, is a banner bearing his brother's No. 14 and his likeness.

"I didn't even look up there today," Mo Nelson said. "I have in the past. Not today."

PHOTO BY DAILY TIMES' PHOTOGRAPHER BOB GURECKI