The crown belongs to Lower Merion.

The Aces (21-2, 17-0) ran the table in the Central League, and topped Upper Darby (13-11, 13-5) for the third time this season -- including Saturday's 71-31 victory at Penncrest High School -- to lock up the Central League championship.

Upper Darby, which had been the champion, went unbeaten in league play a year ago.

The Royals were done in by paltry scoring in the middle quarters, being outscored by the Aces, 40-6, between the second and third quarters. The game looked manageable after the first eight minutes, with Upper Darby trailing Lower Merion, 17-11.

Kuity Slanger and Beni Toure led the Royals with nine points apiece.

Upper Darby defeated Conestoga Thursday for a chance to defend its Central League title. Here's a snippet of our coverage, from Friday's Daily Times:

Mahamane Toure’s double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds helped Upper Darby get past Conestoga, 50-47, Thursday night in a Central League tournament semifinal and earn a chance to defend its championship.

The Royals (13-10, 13-4), who won the league crown last season with an unblemished mark, will face rival undefeated Lower Merion (20-2, 16-0) Saturday at Penncrest in an 8 p.m. tipoff.

Upper Darby lost to Lower Merion Tuesday night, going 0-2 against the Aces in the season series.

“Even though it’s for the championship, our kids don’t need any sort of motivation to get up to play Lower Merion,” said Upper Darby coach Bob Miller. “It doesn’t matter if we’re both 0-20. It’s still Lower Merion. Our kids are going to be ready.”

Ralik Wise scored seven of his 10 points in the fourth quarter, and finished with eight rebounds for the Royals. Kuity Slanger and Yusef Ross also helped UD’s balanced attack, contributing 11 and eight points, respectively.

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)

Ask and you shall receive.

Springfield athletic director Glenn Mallon forwarded over the schedule and locations for this weekend's Central League championship tournaments. Here they are:

Thursday
BOYS SEMIFINAL - At Strath Haven
Conestoga vs. Upper Darby, 7

GIRLS SEMIFINALS - At Harriton
Radnor vs. Upper Darby, 6
Haverford vs. Lower Merion, 8
Boys semifinal – 7:00 at Strath Haven Thursday 2/9

Saturday
GIRLS CHAMPIONSHIP - At Penncrest
Two semifinal winners, 6
BOYS CHAMPIONSHIP - At Penncrest
Semifinal winner vs. Lower Merion, 8

It wasn't as dramatic as most championship games are, but Penncrest will take it.

The Lions thumped Ridley, 45-26, Tuesday night in the Central League championship game at Harriton High School. The teams' only other meeting this season went to overtime, with the visiting Green Raiders stealing a victory.

This time, it was all Penncrest (21-3), which won its first league title since 1999 and only its seventh all-time. Senior Rodney Duncan inflicted most of the damage, dropping in 20 points. Fellow senior and backcourt mate Andrew Radomicki dropped in 12 for the Lions, who outscored the Green Raiders (16-8) in each quarter.

Both teams could end up seeing each other in the District One Class AAAA playoffs, which commence Friday. Eighth-seeded Penncrest will host No. 15 Owen J Roberts and 19th-seeded Ridley heads to No. 14 Central Bucks South.

For more on the Central League championship game, pick up a copy of Wednesday's Daily Times.

It's going to be an all-Delaware County final in the Central League championship tournament.

That became official when Penncrest put the finishing touches on its 51-40 victory over Springfield and, at Bala Cynwyd Middle School, Ridley pulled a 42-40 upset of top-seeded Lower Merion.

In Penncrest's victory, Ian Campbell led three double-figure scorers with 14 points. Rodney Duncan had 13 and Andrew Radomicki scored 11. The storyline for the Lions was Matt Atkinson (9 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, 7 steals), who came very close to a quadruple-double.

"We're very excited to be in this situation," said Penncrest coach Mike Doyle, whose team has steadily improved its win total in each of his seven years at the helm.

For Ridley, it was all Cameron Gunter, who had 15 points and 10 boards. But Marc Dziadon stole the spotlight. He only made two shots the entire game --- and one of them was a running layup as time expired, sealing the Green Raiders' upset. Shawn Church tossed in 13 points.

ABOUT THE CHAMPIONSHIP ... No. 4 Ridley takes on No. 2 Penncrest for the title Tuesday night in a 7 p.m. tipoff at Harriton High. Should be a good one.

Here's an up-to-date look at the standings in the Central League:

Central League
Team .........................Lg. Record, Ov. Record
Lower Merion ............ 11-1, 11-5
Penncrest .................. 10-2, 16-2
Ridley ....................... 10-2, 13-4
Springfield ................. 8-4, 11-6
Conestoga ................. 7-5, 10-8
Strath Haven .............. 6-6, 9-9
Marple Newtown ........ 6-6, 8-10
Upper Darby .............. 6-7, 8-9
Radnor ...................... 5-7, 8-9
Harriton .................... 3-9, 7-10
Garnet Valley.............. 1-11, 1-16
Haverford .................. 0-13, 0-17

And here's a closer glance at the Central League:
1. The Top Seed. If Lower Merion wins out, the Aces own the top seed in the league's four-team championship tournament. They knocked off Penncrest in the teams' only meeting. And Ridley, which beat Penncrest, has an all-important meeting with Lower Merion Feb. 5 that could determine some top-spot seeding.

2. The reason for the tourney. The fact that Lower Merion beat Penncrest meant that the league would hold a title tourney for a second straight year. The only loophole that would prevent such a playoff would be a team going 16-0 in the league slate. Frankly, I don't see that ever happening. That would be like running the table in the Big East Conference - it's just too difficult, too competitive a league.

3. The Triple A Teams. Marple Newtown beat Strath Haven, which beat Springfield, which beat Harriton, which beat Marple Newtown. And round and round the Class AAA teams go. Sometime, somewhere, one of them is going to emerge from the pack. When that happens, consider that team a title contender. The only other solid District One Class AAA squad outside the Central is Holy Ghost Prep.

4. At the bottom. In the 2007-08 season - my first year on the boys basketball beat - Garnet Valley and Haverford finished in the top five of the Central standings and advanced to the District One Class AAAA playoffs as a result. How the tides have turned, with both programs struggling ever since. Here's hoping they can grab a couple wins here at the end and build momentum toward next season.