Kehler on Hoops: District 1- 5A & 6A wraps- Lower Merion and Chester W’s

Written by: Dell Jackson on March 6, 2022

DISTRICT 1 CLASS 6A & CLASS 5A CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES: LOWER MERION AND CHESTER WIN

Traditional powers Lower Merion and Chester won PIAA District 1 championships on Saturday afternoon at Temple University. Chester defeated Radnor, in overtime, 66-65 for the Class 5A title, and Lower Merion topped Norristown Area 68-57 for the Class 6A championship. Although very different from each other, both games were competitive and intensely contested. Both games were played before loud and enthusiastic fans.

In the Class 5A championship game, longtime power Chester played Radnor, a program on the rise. The game was close all of the way, and the biggest lead at any point during the contest was seven points. There were 11 ties and 10 lead changes during the contest. The deciding factor in the game was Radnor’s poor free throw shooting.

Much of Radnor’s offense in the first half was focused on attacking the basket, while Chester had a more balanced approach, mixing some outside shooting with drives and fast breaks. The main contrast between the teams in the initial 16 minutes was that Chester took just one free throw, while Radnor got to the stripe 12 times. Radnor made seven of those 12 attempts. The teams repeatedly exchanged leads in the first half, with the biggest margin being four points, when Radnor junior Charlie Thornton made a couple of free throws in the second quarter to put his team up 14-10. A tip in at the buzzer by Chester’s Larenzo Jerkins, a 6′ 5″ sophomore, gave his team a 26-23 lead at halftime.

Chester led for the entire third quarter. Late in the third frame, a hoop inside by 6′ 3″ Chester senior Isaiah Freeman gave his team the game’s biggest lead, 42-35. Radnor tied the game at 42 on a 7-0 run by junior Jason Hicke, which spanned the end of the third period and the beginning of the fourth. Hicke scored on a hoop inside, a drive, and–at the beginning of the fourth quarter–a three pointer. Hicke was superb in the second half of the game, and his 12 third quarter points kept Radnor in the contest.

The lead flowed back and forth between the teams in the fourth quarter, with the game being tied at 50 and at 52. A drive by Radnor junior Danny Rosenblum gave his team a 54-52 lead. With 1:03 left in the fourth quarter Rosenblum extended Radnor’s lead to 55-52 with a free throw. Chester missed a shot in the ensuing possession, and Radnor’s Thornton grabbed the rebound. With 51 seconds left, Radnor missed two free throws. Chester rebounded the second miss, but Radnor stole the ball, and, with 36 second left in the fourth quarter, Rosenblum made a free throw to put Radnor up 56-52. In a tremendously clutch burst, with 27 seconds left, Chester’s Jerkins scored on a three point play to cut Radnor’s lead to 56-55. Radnor’s Hicke was fouled quickly, and he made a free throw. Chester missed a field goal attempt in the ensuing possession, and Radnor sophomore Michael Savadove grabbed the rebound and was fouled with 11 seconds left in the fourth quarter. Savadove made a free throw, and Radnor led 58-55. With five seconds left in the fourth quarter, Chester’s Kyree Womack, a 5′ 10″ sophomore, tied the game at 58 with a banked three pointer.

Radnor drew first blood in overtime on a drive by junior Cooper Muller. Chester’s Jerkins scored inside to tie it at 60. Radnor’s Muller responded with a hoop inside, and then he made a free throw shortly thereafter. Chester’s Womack made a couple of free throws, then he put his team up 64-63 on a drive. As the clock wound down, Radnor recaptured the lead, 65-64 on a drive by Thornton, but, with eight seconds left, Chester recaptured the lead, 66-65, on a drive by Womack. A last second shot by Radnor fell short.

Chester had a 28 to 25 edge on the boards. Chester committed 14 turnovers to 12 for Radnor. Chester was eight for 11 from the free throw line, while Radnor was 21 for 38. Missed free throws repeatedly plagued Radnor. Chester made six three pointers: two by Womack, two by 6′ 3″ senior Isaiah Freeman, one by 6′ 3″ sophomore Kevin Rucker, and one by 5′ 9″ junior Breilynd White. Radnor made two three pointers in the game, one each by Hicke and by senior Pierce Justice.

Both teams have qualified for the PIAA Class 5A state championship tournament.

Chester scoring Kyree Womack 20, Kevin Rucker 12, Larenzo Jerkins 9, Breilynd White 9, Isaiah Freeman 8, Quadir Lowrie 6, and Yinka Itabiyi 2.

Radnor scoring Jason Hicke 21, Danny Rosenblum 16, Cooper Muller 12, Charlie Thornton 9, Pierce Justice 5, and Michael Savadove 2.

Chester 10 16 16 16 8-66
Radnor 10 13 16 19 7-65

The Class 6A championship game had wild momentum swings, but the deciding factor was the inability of Norristown Area to contain Lower Merion’s 6′ 9″ senior Demetrius Lilley, who scored 24 points and had 18 rebounds. Although they fell short, Norristown Area displayed great heart and dogged persistence in coming back from a huge early deficit to tie the game late in the third quarter.

Lower Merion opened the game with a 17-2 run, consisting of a three pointer by 6′ 2″ senior Jaylen Shippen, a putback plus a free throw by Lilley, a fast break layup by Shippen, a follow of his own miss by Lilley, a hoop inside by 6′ 2″ junior Sam Wright, another follow of his own miss by Lilley, and a three pointer by Wright. This was accomplished against Norristown’s zone defense, and it wasn’t until Norristown switched to man-to-man that they made any headway against Lower Merion. Lilley had five rebounds in the game’s first five minutes and totaled eight rebounds in the first quarter. On defense, Lilley played a kind of one man zone, stationed in the lane.

Lower Merion extended their lead to 23-6 early in the second quarter on a spectacular putback by Lilley as he was falling to the floor. This would prove to be the biggest lead of the game, as Norristown began their determined comeback. Norristown launched a 9-0 run on a putback by senior D. J. Johnson, a three pointer by sophomore Myon Kirlew, two free throws by Kirlew, and a jumper by senior Greg Mobley. That made it 23-15, Lower Merion. The Lower Merion lead went to 32-19 following another three pointer by Wright and a drive by 6′ 1″ junior Justin Poles. Resilient Norristown did not fold, and they cut Lower Merion’s lead to 32-25 at halftime on a twistng drive plus a free throw by senior Nasir Williams and a three pointer by senior Righteous Mitchell.

Norristown’s run continued at the beginning of the second half on a follow of his own miss by Williams and a jumper by senior John Dinolfi to make it 32-29, Lower Merion. Norristown continued to chip away at Lower Merion’s lead until a three pointer by Johnson tied it at 39 with 2:41 left in the third quarter. Lower Merion quickly reclaimed the lead on a fast break layup by 6′ 1″ junior Justin Poles and yet another putback by Lilley. With 7:19 left in the game, Lower Merion went into their four corners offense, and Norristown did not have an answer.

Both teams have qualified for the PIAA Class 6A state championship tournament.

Lower Merion had a decisive 34 to 19 advantage on the boards. Lower Merion committed 14 turnovers to eight by Norristown. Lower Merion was 12 of 18 from the free throw line, and Norristown was 14 of 16. Lower Merion made six three pointers, three by Wright, one by Lilley, one by Shippen, and one by 6′ 3″ junior Sam Brown. Norristown made seven three pointers, three by Mitchell and one each by Kirlew, Dinolfi, Johnson, and senior Zaki Gomez.

Lower Merion scoring: Demetrius Lilley 24, Sam Wright 14, Jaylen Shippen 13, Justin Poles 10, and Sam Brown 7.

Norristown Area scoring: Righteous Mitchell 14, D. J. Johnson 13, Myon Kirlew 9, John Dinolfi 7, Nasir Williams 7, Zaki Gomez 5, and Greg Mobley 2.

Norristown Area 6 19 16 16-57
Lower Merion 21 11 13 23-68

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