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PIAA 5A: Watkins powers Chester past King

03/10/2018, 3:00am EST
By Owen McCue

Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue)
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SOUTH PHILADELPHIA--Chester was supposed to have a disadvantage down low against Martin Luther King in Friday’s PIAA Class 5A tournament matchup.

King, the District 12 and Public League runner-ups, boasts a frontcourt including 6-foot-9 center Will McNair, and lanky 6-foot-7 forward Jerry Andrews-Fulton. Even wing Semaj Oliver stands at 6-foot-5. In comparison, Chester tops out at about 6-foot-4 on its front line.

While McNair put together a solid game with 14 points and eight rebounds, a Clippers forward was the star in the first round state playoff game. Freshman forward Karell Watkins scored 20 points and collected 10 rebounds for Chester in Friday’s contest as the Clippers picked up a 61-47 win.

Though giving up several inches and pounds, the 6-foot-4 Watkins looked comfortable and confident throughout the game, finishing some easy looks from his teammates and converting some more difficult shots inside as well.

“That’s what he does,” Chester coach Keith Taylor said. “Get easy baskets, he’s relentless down there on the boards, and he’s a young guy. He still has a lot to learn.”

Coming off the bench, Watkins didn’t score any points in the first quarter,.

He burst out in the second quarter, scored eight points to put the Clippers up 23-19 at halftime. The freshman added 12 more points in the second half.

“I only had a great game because everyone played as a team, everyone played to win tonight,” Watkins said.

Though Chester’s lead didn’t grow to more than four points in the first half, King didn’t lead until Ricardo Montereiro knocked down one of his two triples to put the Cougars up one less than two minutes into the third.

The advantage was short lived as Chester went on a 12-2 run to go up by nine before McNair and Cougars’ senior guard Denelle Holly Jr. cut the lead down to five, 37-32, with back-to-back baskets to end the third quarter.

An 8-0 run early in the final period put Chester up by double digits. By the middle of the fourth, the Chester lead was up to 15. King cut the lead down to six at one point, but the Cougars did not have enough offensive firepower to complete the comeback.

Along with Watkins, the Clippers got 14 points from senior Brian Randolph III and nine points from junior Rhamaad Dejarnette. Both are listed as guards, but played a lot inside on Friday.

“We knew we had to lock in and be tough with them,” Randolph said. “We know they’re big. We’re undersized, so we gotta have a little bit more heart and a little bit more fight than they do.”

To combat the Cougars’ size, Chester adjusted defensively. Though the Clippers usually play mostly man-to-man, they dropped into a 3-2 zone out of their press on Friday.

It proved effective.

After McNair scored King’s first six points inside, Chester held him to just eight throughout the rest of the game. The Cougars got 16 points from Holly, but Andrews-Fulton was held to just four.

“They did great,” junior guard Michael Smith said of Chester’s forwards. “I really liked the way they played today. They played with so much energy. What they did that was key was defense first. They stopped the big 6-9 guy (McNair) from doing what he likes to do down low.”

Taylor, who is in his first season as the Clippers head coach, picked up his first career state playoff victory with Friday’s win. Smith joked that while Taylor coached 26 other games this season, he didn't truly become a Chester High coach until reaching the achievement.

The win is certainly a big one for Taylor and his players, but he realizes at a program with as much history as Chester, one state playoff win isn’t enough. They now have 113 of those. Deep playoff runs and state titles are the standard.

“This is just the beginning,” Taylor said. “It’s just one out of the five that we need to get.”

The Clippers will meet up with District 2 champ Abington Heights on Tuesday as they try to make a run for a state title.

Abington Heights defeated Chester in double overtime in the state quarterfinal last year.

"The mindest is revenge," Randolph said.

CLASS 5A
FIRST ROUND
Friday, March 9
Penncrest 49, Shippensburg 36
Northeastern 69, Sun Valley 60
Abington Heights 75, Garden Spot 46
Chester 61, Martin Luther King 47
York 63, Holy Ghost Prep 59
Bonner-Prendergast 56, New Oxford 45
Allentown Central Catholic 69, Greencastle-Antrim 52
Dallas 70, Lower Dauphin 54
Milton Hershey 75, West Chester Rustin 52
Bishop Shanahan 76, Hershey 38
Archbishop Carroll 66, Wissahickon 59
Lampeter-Strasburg 54, Bangor 42
Highlands 52, Franklin Regional 31
Carrick 53, Hollidaysburg 38
Mars 68, Hampton 47
Trinity 45, Cathedral Prep 42

SECOND ROUND
Tuesday, March 13
Sites and times, TBA
Penncrest (1-1, 26-3) vs. Northeastern (3-3, 27-3)
Abington Heights (2-1, 23-3) vs. Chester (1-4, 19-8)
York (3-2, 17-10) vs. Bonner-Prendergast (12-1, 23-4)
Allentown Central Catholic (11-1, 24-4) vs. Dallas (2-2, 21-5)
Milton Hershey (3-1, 24-5) vs. Bishop Shanahan (1-2, 23-5)
Archbishop Carroll (12-3, 19-7) vs. Lampeter-Strasburg (3-6, 26-4)
Highlands (7-4, 19-5) vs. Carrick (8-1, 20-5)
Mars (7-1, 22-4) vs. Trinity (7-3, 21-5)

CLASS 4A
FIRST ROUND
Friday, March 9
Berks Catholic 47, John Bartram 43
Valley View 64, Mifflinburg 45
Conwell-Egan 73, Wilson Area 58
Bethlehem Catholic 71, Nanticoke 30
Imhotep Charter 76, Kennard-Dale 30
Scranton Prep 69, Tamaqua 35
Overbrook 76, Lower Moreland 51
Middletown 66, Montoursville 57
Bishop McDevitt 60, Danville 45
Huntingdon 60, Lancaster Catholic 58
Quaker Valley 54, Grove City 48
Hickory 92, Belle Vernon 52
New Castle 79, Fort LeBoeuf 48
South Fayette 55, Clearfield 44
Johnstown 67, Indiana 59
Sharon 72, Valley 45

SECOND ROUND
Tuesday, March 13
Sites and times, TBA
Berks Catholic (3-1, 27-2) vs. Valley View (2-2, 17-9)
Conwell-Egan (12-2, 9-15) vs. Bethlehem Catholic (11-1, 26-3)
Imhotep Charter (12-1, 27-2) vs. Scranton Prep (2-1, 21-5)
Overbrook (12-3, 14-8) vs. Middletown (3-3, 18-7)
Bishop McDevitt (3-2, 15-12) vs. Huntingdon (6-1, 22-2)
Quaker Valley (7-2, 24-1) vs. Hickory (10-2, 21-5)
New Castle (7-1, 22-4) vs. South Fayette (7-5, 17-8)
Johnstown (6-2, 19-7) vs. Sharon (10-1, 24-2)

CLASS 1A
FIRST ROUND
Friday, March 9
Plumstead Christian 62, York Country Day 50
Sullivan County 49, Pottsville Nativity 43
Millville 59, Lincoln Leadership 40
Faith Christian 80, Berks Christian 34
Lourdes Regional 71, Greenwood 33
Sankofa Freedom 80, Girard College 59
Susquehanna Community 58, Conestoga Christian 54
Lancaster Country Day 74, Blacklick Valley 51
Vincentian 60, Cameron County 53
Shade 67, Cornell 63
Elk County Catholic 66, Jamestown 40
Bishop Carroll 85, Imani Christian 76
Eden Christian 30, Johnsonburg 28
Shanksville-Stonycreek 63, St. Joseph’s Catholic 51
Union Area 71, North Clarion 56
Kennedy Catholic 73, Propel Andrew Street 26

SECOND ROUND
Tuesday, March 13
Sites and times TBA
Plumstead Christian (1-3, 18-10) vs. Sullivan County (4-3, 20-6)
Millville (4-2, 22-3) vs. Faith Christian (1-1, 26-2)
Lourdes Regional (4-1, 23-4) vs. Sankofa Freedom (12-1, 18-7)
Susquehanna Community (2-1, 18-9) vs. Lancaster Country Day (3-2, 19-8)
Vincentian (7-1, 19-7) vs. Shade (5-1, 23-3)
Elk County Catholic (9-2, 22-6) vs. Bishop Carroll (6-1, 18-8)
Eden Christian (7-6, 17-6) vs. Shanksville-Stonycreek (5-2, 19-7)
Union Area (7-2, 18-6) vs. Kennedy Catholic (10-1, 19-4)


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