City of Basketball Love

Ryan Brennan (@ryan_brennan63)
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In a game that featured a 51-point scorer, a 36-point scorer and a 21-point scorer, it was a put-back layup attempt from an unlikely source that would prove to be the difference in Neshaminy and Lower Merion’s double overtime thriller Wednesday night.

Chris Arcidiacono was outstanding all game for Neshaminy finishing with a game-high and school record 51 points, but it was Greg Deluca’s offensive rebound and subsequent layup (his only made field goal of the night) that made him the hero of the game.

“I only got one but I sure as hell made it count,” Deluca said, “I was struggling with the shot and getting down on myself during the game, but I knew I had to just keep going and one would fall and one did fall.”

Trailing by one in the dwindling seconds of the second overtime period, Neshaminy had the ball in the hands of their star, Arcidiacono. He drove right but was unable to finish a contest layup. After the ball was juggled by multiple Neshaminy and Lower Merion players it wound up in the hands of Deluca who converted the layup attempt and sent Neshaminy into the PIAA 6A state quarterfinals with an  88-87 victory.

“We’re hot right now and we’ve been playing really hard,” Neshaminy (19-10) head coach, Mark Tingle said, “We have seven seniors and they don’t want end the year yet.”

The game featured a battle of three heavy weight scorers who seemed to throw jabs and hooks at each other all night. Jack Forrest (36 points) and Steve Payne (21 points) led the way for the Aces (22-6) but every time they hit what seemed to be a dagger, Arcidiacono would respond and in a big way.

With 20 seconds left in regulation, Neshaminy found themselves down three until Arcidiacono hit one of his six three pointers to tie the game up and send it into overtime.

In the first overtime, Forrest was able to finish two highly contested layups for the Aces before Darryl Taylor stepped to the line with just under 20 seconds left and hit two huge free throws to once again put Lower Merion up by three.

In the same fashion he did at the end of regulation Arcidiacono had an answer. The senior guard took the inbound and stuck yet another three in the face of an Ace defender to send the game into a second overtime.

“It felt great to hit some big shots because I missed the two free throws and I wasn’t too happy with myself,” Arcidiacono said, “I knew I had to help the team out in another way so I knocked down so I got my team back.”

While 51 points is impressive, it is even more impressive when you are held scoreless for the first quarter.

Arcidiacono struggled to find open shots or any shots at all during the first quarter being help to zero points on 0-2 shooting thanks to the superb defensive effort by Payne, leading the Aces to a 18-11 first quarter lead.

“I was confused at what kind of defense they were running so I talked with my coaches and we found spots for me to get open and I finished.” Arcidiacono said.

Hot shooting by seniors Pat Campbell and Charles Dominick kept Neshaminy in the game and allowed Arcidiacono to settle into a groove as he would score 18 in the second en route to 36-34 lead at the half.

“He did a great job avoiding doubles and when he was still doubled he got to the rim or made the appropriate kick and we had a lot of guys hit big shots tonight,” Tingle said.

Aces head coach, Gregg Downer, called the performance by Arcidiacono iconic but was proud of the way his team fought.

“One of the most historic games I’ve ever been involved in, 51 points by Arcidiacono, a thousand lead changes, and we just couldn’t stop them,” Downer said, “He’s a great player but I’m proud of my guys, we fought down to the final seconds but they made one more play than we did.”

The road that has led Neshaminy to this point has not been an easy one.

After losing to eventual District 1 champion Abington in the second round of district playoffs, Neshaminy was forced to win three straight games just to qualify for state playoffs. They then defeated District 11 champion East Stroudsburg South in the first round of the 6A bracket.

Neshaminy will face District 12 champion Lincoln in the quarterfinals, Saturday.

The quarterfinals appearance will mark the deepest Neshaminy has ever played into a state championship bracket in school history but they aren’t planning on it being their last stop.

“We knew with our potential we could be a state champion and we’re playing like it now,” Arcidiacono said, “We’re super hot and super confident going into the next game.”

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Bishop McDevitt cruises past Notre Dame-GP

Wednesday night’s PIAA 3A second round class between Bishop McDevitt and Notre Dame Green Pond seemed more like a track meet than a basketball game.

The Lancers jumped out to an early lead and never looked back, winning by a score of 77-51 and advancing to state quarterfinals to face District 12 champ Neumann-Goretti.

The full court press defense of the Lancers (16-10) was too much for the Crusaders (19-9) as they turned the ball over 18 times allowing the speed of Bishop McDevitt to take over the game.

Senior guard DaQuane Williams was involved in all aspects of the game for the Lancers finishing with 11 points, seven rebounds, six assists and two steals.

Junior Cameron Gardner was a force down low finishing with 11 points and three rebounds, while sophomore Robert Smith hit three of six three-point attempts to pace the Lancers with 13 points.

Bishop McDevitt converted 75 percent of their three-point attempts in the first half allowing them to build 41-18 lead at the break.

Juniors Filippo Baldo and Zach Defoe paced the Crusaders with 14 points each while Chris Omick provided a lift off the bench with eight points of his own.