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Radnor takes control of destiny, downs Strath Haven to clinch playoff spot

02/07/2020, 12:15am EST
By Josh Verlin


Jack D'Entremont (32) goes up for a rebound during the first half of Radnor's win over Strath Haven on Thursday night. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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Inside Radnor’s locker room, the same phrase gets written on the board no matter the situation: ‘one-game win streak.’

“It was written when we won eight in a row at the start of the season, and it’s the same thing when we hit that tough stretch in the middle, and it’s the same thing up there now,” said senior forward Jack D’Entremont, referencing the six losses in seven games that followed the Raiders’ unbeaten streak through the first three weeks of the season.

Coming down the stretch, Radnor needed a few one-game win streaks to rally for playoff positioning in the Central League, with a final opportunity coming on Thursday night at home against Strath Haven.

Win, and they’re into the league playoffs, with the added bonus of moving into a better spot for a home game in the first round of district playoffs. Lose, and not only might they miss out on the league playoffs, but it could be the last home game for a dedicated group of seniors.

“With the internet and everything today, you always know what’s going on, so there’s that feeling deep down that they’re super-important here at the end of the season,” D’Entremont said. “I’m definitely not trying to take anything for granted.”

For the third game in a row, the Raiders were able to go on that win streak. A 48-46 win over the Panthers wasn’t always pretty, but it was enough for D’Entremont and his teammates to ensure their season would continue for at least a couple more games. 

By beating Haven, Radnor (14-8, 9-7) was able to slip past its foe and into the fifth seed in the Central League playoffs, setting up a first-round matchup against Haverford High (13-9, 9-7) at a location still TBD. It also moved them up into the unofficial No. 7 spot in the District 1 5A rankings; a top-eight spot in Sunday’s official bracket reveal means at least one more home game.

Strath Haven (15-7, 9-7) will face third-seed Penncrest (17-5, 11-5) in the other opening-round matchup, losing out on tiebreakers to Raiders and Fords.

In avenging a three-point loss at Haven on Jan. 4, Radnor ensured it didn’t put its fate in the hands of Ridley, though Ridley’s loss to Lower Merion on Thursday meant Radnor would have qualified either way.

Radnor head coach Jamie Chadwin threw out a lineup on Senior Night containing three seniors who don’t typically play, with typical starters and team captains D’Entremont, Josh Savadove and Patrick Boujoukos coming off the bench. Junior guard Lew Robinson and senior guard Colin Lane were in their normal roles in the lineup, but the seniors elected to come off the bench instead of one or more of them starting in their potential final home game.

In their stead, big man Peter Dustin, Marcus Omwanza and Dylan Kasher got their run for the first few minutes of the game, with Dustin scoring a bucket and grabbing three rebounds to help Radnor out to a two-point lead after one quarter.


Jamie Chadwin (above) and Radnor have won their last three games. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

“Those guys were like, 'we’re the three captains, we start, we don’t need to start this game, we’re going to come in and bring it and we’re going to support them,’” Chadwin said of D’Entremont, Savadove and Boujoukos. “They were perfect captains in that respect.”

“(They) haven’t seen the court much this season up to this point, and they’ve put in just as much work this season and over their four-year-careers too, so they definitely deserved the honor, the recognition to get to go out there,” D’Entremont said. “They played hard, played well, we got to come in, had a nice burst of energy from the jump, so they did a great job.”

D’Entremont started slowly, but had a strong second quarter, where he scored seven of his nine points; he also grabbed nine rebounds and dished out three assists.

Robinson was the only Radnor player in double figures, with 10 points, as nine different Raiders scored.

Sophomore guard Matt Shuler paced Haven with 16 points, while Luke Edwards added 14. Both teams struggled from the floor; Radnor was 15-of-38 (.394) overall and 3-of-13 from deep, while Haven was 17-of-44 (.386) overall and 5-of-18 from distance. 

The Raiders were up eight with just over a minute to play, but some missed foul shots and turnovers allowed Haven to get within three, before one final free throw provided just enough cushion. Strath Haven scored a layup at the buzzer for the final margin.

“We’ve got to do some things to finish things out like make free throws and not turn the ball over,” Chadin said. “When we’re kind of struggling to finish a couple games...Conestoga and Ridley and Upper Darby this year, those are games where we were up in the fourth quarter and we just had some communication breakdowns or just not like the mental toughness that we needed to have.”

Radnor was able to do enough in its first game against Haverford, holding the Fords down in a 38-34 win. But Haverford enters the weekend having won its last seven league games, including an overtime victory over league leader Garnet Valley on Thursday night. Haverford is led by junior guard John Seidman, but head coach Keith Heinrichs has a number of developing weapons on his team.

“They’re a good team, since we beat them here, they’ve gone on a big stretch,” D’Entremont said. “They’ve got talent, they’ve got shooters, they’ve got some size, so we’re going to have to bring our ‘A’ game in the playoffs.”

By Quarter

Haven:    7 | 10 |  11 | 18 | 46

Radnor:   9 | 16 |  12 | 11 | 48

Shooting

Haven: 17-44 FG, 5-18 3PT, 7-10 FT

Radnor: 15-38 FG, 3-13 3PT, 15-24 FT

Scoring

Haven: Shuler 16, Edwards 14, Morris 9, Guilday 7

Radnor: Robinson 10, Dixon 9, D’Entremont 9, Savadove 6, Lane 4, Boujoukos 4, Rosenblum 2, Thornton 2, Dustin 2


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