City of Basketball Love

Rich Flanagan (@richflanagan33)
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HAVERTOWN — Haverford came into their Central League quarterfinal matchup against Penncrest riding high. They were coming off possibly their best game of the season, a five-point victory over league-leading Lower Merion in overtime. A win like that at this point in the season can build a lot of confidence and momentum in a team and catapult them on a deep postseason run.

While Fords head coach Keith Heinerichs was proud of that win on Tuesday, an exasperating, one-point loss to Garnet Valley two days prior was the key reason why the win over the Aces came about and why Haverford is hitting its stride at the right time.

“That loss helped us recognize some things about our identity,” Heinerichs said. “I’m not taking anything away from Garnet Valley, because they beat us, but there were things that we preach as a program on the defensive end that we didn’t do. Showing the kids the film got us focused on our defense again.”

The Fords held the Lions to three field goals in the first half and hit 11 3--pointers on the night in a dominant 53-38 victory to advance to the Central League semifinals. Junior guard Googie Seidman hit seven shots from downtown on his way to a game-high 23 points with two of those treys coming in a first quarter that saw Haverford run out to an 11-0 lead midway through.

Junior forward Tommy Wright (10 points) and Seidman had eight points apiece in that first eight minutes. Seidman’s 3-pointer from the left wing put the Fords in front 16-2 on a night where defenders were few and far to contest his lengthy perimeter jumpers.

“The further I shoot out, the more it spreads the floor,” Seidman said. “Coach Heinerichs is confident with me shooting anywhere.”

Haverford (17-4) showcased its defensive prowess throughout the contest as they limited the Lions to 30.9 percent shooting from the floor. Branden Hemphill converted Penncrest’s first field goal at the 3:43 mark of the first quarter and Chase Wilson, who hit three 3-pointers, scored the second basket of the game for his side three minutes into the second.

After Seidman hit his third trey of the night, senior forward J.R. Newman took advantage of the Penncrest (12-11) defense keying on his teammate. He stole the ball from Ben Stanton and finished at the other end to push the lead to 23-2 with 6:21 left before halftime. Newman scored the final seven points of the half as the Fords took a 23-point lead into the locker room.

The hot shooting of Wright and Seidman opened things up and, as Heinerichs notes, that’s where Newman found scoring opportunities.

“If [Googie] is hitting shots from there, it’s hard for them because then you saw J.R. getting some easy ones,” Heinerichs said. “The spacing was there and we got off to a hot start. It’s kind of been our thing getting off to good starts.”

Penncrest was never within striking distance, only two nights after closing out a dramatic win over Marple Newtown to advance to the Central League playoffs. Saahir Lee, who had scored 24 points in that victory, was held to six points and put in his first field goal with 1:34 left in the third quarter. Big man Quinten Perilli had two points and 11 rebounds while Hemphill scored six points of his own.

Head coach Mike Doyle, whose team had a seven-game winning streak snapped, hopes his team learned a lot about what they need to do differently as they shift their focus to the district playoffs.

“At this level, you have to fight because there are no bad teams left,” Doyle said. “Everyone can play and you have to be able to respond,” Doyle said. “If they make the first, you have to make the second shot tougher. It was unbelievable shooting by them.”

The Fords advance to play No. 2 seed Radnor in the semifinals on Saturday. The Raptors won the most recent matchup, 43-40 on Jan. 14 as Jackson Hicke nailed four free throws in the final minute to seal the victory. Seidman, who poured in 19 points in that loss, has been gradually building confidence and Thursday night was the perfect example of where his play is at this point in the season.

“I was really looking for my shot and when I was open, I was ready to take them,” Seidman said. “It’s all about confidence and the more they started going in, the easier it got. “It really opens everything up and forces the other team to really play defense.”

This performance epitomized what the Fords can do when their clicking on all cylinders and the offense spurs the defense. As the Fords head into their rematch with Radnor, Heinerichs wants to keep this momentum going and see how far it can take them.

“Our mantra is we want to push it, get to our spots and have good spacing,” Heinerichs said. “It leads to a good transition into our secondary break. Everybody needs to be ready to attack and not settle. When we don’t settle, we’re pretty darn good.”

By Quarter
Penncrest: 2 I 7 I 12 I 17 II 38
Haverford 18 I 14 I 9 I 12 II 53

Shooting
Penncrest: 13-42 FG (6-20 3PT), 6-12 FT
Haverford: 19-40 (11-21 3PT), 3-4 FT

Scoring
Penncrest: Chase Wilson 9, Branden Hemphill 6, Saahir Lee 6, Justin Sullivan 6, Garrett Whitfield 5, Quinten Perilli 2, Charles Dipasqua 2, Ben Stanton 1, Brett Hemphill 1

Haverford: Seidman 23, J.R. Newman 11, Tommy Wright 10, Brian Wiener 3, Jack Raech 3, Nick Colucci 2, Colin Reynolds 1