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District 1 5A: Sun Valley beats Holy Ghost in seeding game

03/06/2018, 12:45am EST
By Ryan Brennan

Marvin Freeman (above) and Sun Valley beat Holy Ghost Prep after a 29-7 run to close the game. (Photo: Ryan Brennan/CoBL)

Ryan Brennan (@ryan_brennan63)
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In a game that was filled with multiple runs and scoring droughts, it seemed only fitting that in Monday’s District 1 5A fifth-place playback game between Holy Ghost Prep and Sun Valley the team that made the final run would leave the gym victorious.

After the Firebirds started the second half with eight straight points, opening up a seven-point lead,  Vanguards’ head coach Steve Maloney, was forced to call a timeout.

“The kids came into the timeout and said ‘we have to make these guys play faster’,” Maloney said, “If they’re saying it, they’re relaying it from me and starting to listen to what we are trying to get at.”

Led by juniors Vinny DeAngelo and Marvin Freeman, the Vanguards came out firing, finishing the game on a massive, game-clinching run, lifting Sun Valley to a 49-34 victory and a fifth-place finish in the District 1 5A playoffs.

“We had had to come out and play defense in the fourth quarter, we had to rebound way better and get all the loose balls,” said Freeman, who finished with 11 points, including back-to-back three pointers (the latter being a four-point play) allowing the Vanguards (18-8) to open up a 42-31 lead late in the fourth quarter.

The decisive spurt was a 29-7 run, which included the two -3 pointers by Freeman as well as six points from junior point guard, Shaw Brown-Morris, and key free-throw shooting from Isaac Kennon, whose six late game free throws iced the game for the Vanguards.  

DeAngelo scored eight of his game-high 18 points during the run, including a huge steal at half court which lead to a fastbreak layup. That gave Sun Valley the lead, which they would never surrender.

“It felt great,” DeAngelo said. “I thought that would be a momentum-changer and pump up my teammates for the rest of the game.”

After getting off to a quick start, the Vanguards’ offense hit a wallm=, as they were held scoreless for over eight minutes of game time. That allowed Holy Ghost (16-12) to use a 13-2 run to build a 15-9 lead late in the second quarter.

DeAngelo was finally able to stop the drought finishing back to back and-one layups, spurring a 7-0 Vanguards’ run of their own and giving Sun Valley a 20-19 lead at the half.

Following the break, Holy Ghost got off to a quick start led by junior Sean Sylvester, who was able to use his size advantage in the post to get some easy buckets and build a 27-20 lead for the Firebirds.

Sylvester finished with a team-high 11 points for Holy Ghost, but it was not enough in the end as the Vanguards used their late game run to propel them to the fifth-place finish.

“We knew what kind of style they wanted to play and for the most part of two and a half quarters I think that’s the style that wins them games,” Maloney said, “We tried to speed them up a little bit and we picked up the energy and the intensity.”

Both teams qualified for the PIAA State Playoffs with wins on Wednesday. Sun Valley will take on Northeastern High School, the third-place finisher in District 3, on Friday, while Holy Ghost will matchup with York High School, the second-place finisher in District 3.

While qualifying for state playoffs is important Firebirds head coach, Tony Chapman was not satisfied with the sixth-place finish.

“It’s a great accomplishment to get in but fifth is better than sixth and you don’t know what you’re gonna get out in that state tournament,” Chapman said, “I know my team and they’re resilient, it will be a tough challenge and I know we will come back and play a better brand of basketball than we did in the second half.”

The Vanguards will be playing in their first state playoff game Friday since 1988.

“It’s surreal to share this with my teammates and coaches,” DeAngelo said, “We worked so hard for this all summer and during the season to get to this point this was one of our goals and to get here is just awesome.”


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