City of Basketball Love

Andrew Hayn (@aghayn24) &
Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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When thinking of Conestoga’s season up to this point, one word comes to mind: streaky. The Pioneers, who only returned one player with varsity minutes last season –– senior Connor Steele –– started off the season with a win, followed by a six-game losing streak. The young squad then benefitted from the turn of the new year, as they won seven of the next eight, including a five-game winning streak within the Central League in January.

Mike Troy, head coach for Conestoga, complimented his young group for maturing throughout the season, though they’d lost three of four headed into Thursday night’s Central League matchup at Ridley.

“You know, you look at some of our early games and our youth really showed,” Troy admitted. “When your top seven guys all graduate...we’re a good team, there’s a difference between being a good team and an experienced, varsity team. So we learned a lot of tough lessons early in the year, and hopefully now they’re coming into fruition.”

The Pioneers’ game against the Green Raiders played out like a mirror version of ‘Stoga’s season. A blazing-hot start for ‘Stoga gave way to a brutal cold stretch that saw the home squad seize control, before the visitors re-found their momentum and closed strong for a 66-51 win.

Though it wasn’t always pretty, it was a crucial win for Conestoga (10-10, 6-8 Central), which entered the night No. 18 in the unofficial District 1 6A rankings, six spots ahead of the cut line. By the end of the night, they were No. 15, in line for a home game in the first round, with only games at Lower Merion and at home against Upper Darby remaining.

“The bottom line is between now and next Sunday, a whole lot can change. I’ve been at the seeding meetings for the last 20-some years, and...two games make a huge difference,” Troy said. “So right now the playoffs would be great, we’ll take a peek at them, but when I get home tonight I’ll worry about Lower Merion.”

The Pioneers are also still technically alive for one of the final two spots in the Central League playoffs, though they’ll need to win both of those games and get some help. Altogether, it’s not a bad spot for a team that got off to the start they did, with three juniors and a sophomore in the starting lineup –– none of which had varsity experience prior to this year –– and only one senior in the top eight.

“I think that we’re discovering that we can do this,” said junior guard Jeremiah Miller, who scored 15 points and grabbed six boards in the win over Ridley. “We’re young, we’re still learning, there’s been a lot of growing pains, but we’re really pulling things together and starting to find our rhythm.”

Ridley (10-9, 7-7) had a chance to all but lock up a berth in the league playoffs –– and, as No. 20 in the 6A rankings, could have used the win in that regard as well –– but will enter the final stretch in the mix with Radnor (12-8, 7-7), Upper Darby (10-8, 6-7), and Haverford High (10-8, 6-7). Upper Darby and Haverford meet Friday night at Haverford.

The Raiders close with Haveford at home next Tuesday and then a trip to Lower Merion, after playing SOL National champ Bensalem on Saturday.

Both teams had long stretches Thursday night where it looked like they’d cruise to an easy win.

After getting off to a hot start, thanks to sophomore Ryan Mackey’s eight first-quarter points, the Conestoga led 20-4 after eight minutes of basketball. The Pioneers were 7-of-9 from the field in the opening stanza, holding Ridley without a point for the first seven minutes as they raced out a 17-0 lead.

That advantage didn’t last very long, as the Green Raiders hustled their way back in the second quarter in a solid team effort. Ridley seniors Josh Howard (18 points) and Jack Grace (11 points) played huge roles in the team’s comeback, as Howard grabbed six first-half rebounds to go along with his four points, and Grace drained three shots from beyond the arc late in the second quarter. 

Two of those threes capped off a 21-2 second-quarter run for Ridley, sending them into halftime up 25-22. By the middle point of the third quarter, the Raiders were up comfortably, 35-26, not at all bothered by the Conestoga length and defense that had given them fits early on.

Troy, in his 14th year at Conestoga, knew how to calm his team down in this situation; he stressed that they stick to what they know.

“You know, we’re young, and the approach was ‘guys, if we do what we’re supposed to do, if we do the basics well, we’re going to win the game,” Troy said. “Second quarter, we got away from doing the basics, and it showed.”

Thanks to the defensive pressure of Miller and fellow sophomore Austin Fontaine (16 points/4 steals), Conestoga got the pendulum swinging the other direction, and suddenly it was the first quarter all over again. By the end of the third, Conestoga had regained a one-point lead, and didn’t look back; a 19-2 run re-established a double-digit lead, and 17 fourth-quarter foul shots ensured Ridley couldn’t come back.

Conestoga’s overall size bothered Ridley, including 6-8 junior big man Andrew Fox, who had 10 points, eight rebounds, and two blocks.

Miller and Fontaine, who play AAU together for the Keystone Blazers, both helped ‘Stoga get out in transition over and over during the fourth quarter, scoring a total of 16 points in the fourth quarter, while sophomore Matt Mayock (12 points) added seven in the final frame. 

“Between me and Austin, it’s been real fun,” Miller said. “We’ve been playing AAU for a while together, so we kind of have chemistry already, but I just love running with Austin and getting out, and his energy and mine together just makes the game fun.”

“(Miller) is a tremendous defender, he gives us good length, good athleticism, he’s learning more and more on the offensive end about the best ways to attack the defense,” Troy said. “And as that knowledge grows, he’s going to become just exponentially better.”

By Quarter
‘Stoga:   20 | 2   | 14 | 30  | 66

Ridley:    4 | 21 |  10 | 16 | 51

Shooting
‘Stoga: 17-35 FG, 5-12 3PT, 27-33 FT

Ridley: 17-44 FG, 6-20 3PT, 11-13 FT

Scoring
‘Stoga: Fontaine 16, Miller 15, M. Mayock 12, Fox 10, Mackey 8, D. Mayock 4, Steele 1

Ridley: Howard 18, Grace 11, Hagen 9, Farro 7, Cantwell 4, Henson 2