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District 1 AAAA: No. 9 Chester back to winning ways, district final with win over No. 4 Ridley

02/24/2016, 1:15am EST
By Jeff Griffith

Khaleeq Campbell (above) and Chester will play Plymouth-Whitemarsh on Friday night for the District 1 AAAA Championship. (Photo: Mark Jordan/CoBL)

Jeff Griffith (@Jeff_Griffith21) &
Kyle Loedel (@KyleLoedel)
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After one surprising "down" year where Chester didn't make the PIAA state playoffs for the first time in over two decades, the Clippers are proving the orange and black is still very much a force in southeastern Pennsylvania boys' basketball.

A 74-62 District 1 AAAA semifinal victory over the fourth-seeded Ridley Raiders Tuesday night at the Liacouras Center, has put No. 9 Chester within one win of adding another district title to a trophy case that already includes 11 of them.

This, of course, is just one year removed from an underwhelming finish for Chester; the 2014-15 Clippers ducked out early in last year’s district playoffs and fell two wins short of locking up a state bid.

It wasn’t a horrible season by any means, especially factoring in the loss of point guard Khaleeq Campbell in mid-Decemebr to a season-ending injury. It just wasn’t the Chester people are used to.

However, Tuesday night was a bit more remnant of the Clippers that have ruled district one over the past several decades.

“Chester is back,” junior forward Jamar Sudan said following the victory. “We had momentum, we definitely played together, everything is clicking. We’re finally coming together. Everybody’s on the same page, we’re becoming brothers, and it wasn’t like that in the beginning of the season.”

Sudan had an outstanding night, dropping 16 points and adding 11 rebounds. Senior guard Stanley Davis Jr. finished with the exact same line in the win.

“I’m feeling great, we worked hard to get here and this is our second goal,” said Davis. “First was Del-Val champions, now we want to get the district championship, we really worked hard. It was hard work and dedication. That’s all I can say.”

The entire night was laden with physical play, coming in the form of a hefty Chester rebounding advantage, and, more specifically in the first frame, an overwhelming number of fouls--a combined 15 fouls were committed in the first quarter.

When the dust settled from the messy first half, however, the scrappy Clippers entered the break up 37-31; their half-closing 10-1 run was answered with two quick Ridley baskets to keep things close.

At that point, it was clear that most of what Chester needed to alter entering the third period was the influence of Ridley senior Brett Foster. The two-time defending Central League MVP had 17 of Ridley’s 31 first-half points, on the way to a game-high 31 of his own before fouling out in the middle of the fourth quarter.

“At halftime, coach said ‘lock down on defense, lock down the known,’ which is Brett Foster, he’s an animal. His game speaks for itself,” said Davis. “We locked him down and he fouled out, but that’s what coach said, lock down the known, play defense, and we’re going to get this win.”

"He made a lot of plays for us that we obviously needed,” added Ridley head coach Mike Snyder. “Take away his 31 points and we don't have much else."

In the pivotal third quarter, the Clippers proved why they belong in the district finals. The overwhelmingly physical backcourt tandem of Sudan and senior Maurice Henry was too much to handle for Ridley, as Chester started the quarter on a 10-4 run, leaving them up 47-35 midway through the third.

For the remainder of the night, the Clippers never let their lead dip below seven points, countering every push Ridley seemed to bring to the table.

That came in large part due to their ability to force the Raiders into mistakes and, more importantly, rebound what seemed like every single missed basket; Chester dominated the glass for a total advantage of 40-20.

The Clippers’ energy-filled night reached its peak when Davis received a lob from Campbell, and slammed it down in what was without a doubt the play of the game. Coming with just five minutes left and the Clippers leading by 12, it provided the spark of energy the Clippers needed to officially seal the deal and finish off Ridley.

“Me and my point guard, my brother, Khaleeq Campbell, we’ve been trying that all year,” Davis said. “I only catch it in practice, but this time I caught in the game. It was just a momentum changer and I guess that took over the game.”

“It’s good to see them doing good things,” Chester coach Larry Yarbray added. “That’s the type of game environment they want to be in. They’re here, they’re excelling, that’s what you live for.”

If this was the type of environment that Davis, Campbell, and the rest of the Clippers live for, they’ll certainly get to experience it again in just three short days, as the Plymouth-Whitemarsh Colonials await Chester in a showdown of two of the area’s most accomplished programs.

“It’s going to be an all-out war in here Friday night,” Yarbary concluded. “The team that imposes their will is going to win.”


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