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)

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)

I should've known Upper Darby was due for a strong season ... when coach Bob Miller deflected preseason attention upon other teams in the Central League.

When asked about his club, Miller told me to talk to the coaches from Ridley, Strath Haven and Springfield. That's usually a good indicator that a team is going to win -- a lot.

That's what Upper Darby has done thus far, winning its first 16 contests overall and the first 11 of its Central League slate. They have to be at or near the top of the District One Class AAAA tournament points scale.

And for good reason: the Royals are for real, something that looked more apparent following their win Tuesday over Springfield.

They have a post presence in senior center Daron Harris (6-5, 240) that is unmatched in the Central League. No one can keep a body on Harris without getting into foul trouble.

Elsewhere, junior Brandon Hashim (pictured) and Terrence Bridgers have long, lean, athletic bodies on the perimeter that create headaches on defense and matchup problems on offense. They are the Royals' leading scorers. And point guard DJ Johnson, a senior, is one of the best on-the-ball defenders in the county.

I can't help but think Upper Darby stands a great chance at making the PIAA playoffs this season. In District One, all it takes is two wins in the tourney ... or one win and staving off trouble in three rounds of elimination games.

Keep an eye on the Royals. They could be around deep into the winter.