City of Basketball Love

Ty Daubert (@TyDaubert)
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RIDLEY TWP. — Lower Merion’s Demetrius Lilley is back at full strength.

Hampered by back issues that cost him the first four games of the season, the 6-foot-9 center feels like he’s at his best once again when it matters most for the Aces. Vying for the Central League title on Monday night, Lilley appeared just fine physically as he slammed home back-to-back dunks to help Lower Merion pull away late in the game.

“My back feels amazing right now,” Lilley said. “That’s why I can get back to my teammates and help them win.”

Lilley’s pair of emphatic dunks capped a 10-point fourth quarter for the senior as he led the Aces to a 59-49 victory over Radnor in the league championship game at Ridley High School.

“It feels amazing,” Lilley said. “Any way I can help my team win, I can bring to the table. I guess those two dunks were the spark to the fourth quarter.”

After starting physical therapy and stretching routines earlier this season, Lilley returned to the court as the anchor of this successful Lower Merion team. The Penn State-bound big overcame a bit of a slow start on Monday night to produce a game-high 20-point performance.

“They played good defense on him, and obviously we were trying to get him the ball,” Aces head coach Gregg Downer said. “We feel like he’s one of the top centers in the state, and he’s just like a double-double machine… He’s the guy, in many ways, that got us here. We tried to get it across the finish line with him.”

Before Lilley truly got going, Lower Merion jumped out to an early lead behind Jaylen Shippen. The senior guard scored nine of his 12 points in the first quarter to give the Aces a 17-8 lead.

Radnor kept it close in the second and third quarters behind Jackson Hicke, who finished with 13 points. Up until that point, Lilley struggled, scoring 10 points but working hard for every basket and not scoring efficiently. The undersized Charlie Thornton and Cliff Smith were tasked with guarding him for the Raptors, and they gave Lilley all they were capable of.

“Radnor played amazing defense,” Lilley said, “so they definitely had me frustrated in the first half — maybe all game. They had me frustrated a lot, so I had to calm down, take my time and let the game come to me.”

The Aces won the Central League championship thanks in part to a big fourth quarter. (Photo: Ty Daubert/CoBL)

With the Aces ahead by three points after the third, Lilley found his groove. He started getting deeper on his post-ups and being more precise with his moves. The Raptors gave him their best, but Downer summed it up perfectly: “He’s a hard guy to stop for 32 minutes.”

Lilley already had three field goals in the quarter and the Aces led by six when the center took over to seal the game. He dove to the basket in the half-court offense and threw down a dump-off for his first dunk of the night. After a Lower Merion stop, the Aces found a streaking Lilley in transition to go on top by double digits with 2:10 remaining. The team never looked back as it clinched the Central League title.

“We’ve been dreaming about this since last summer,” Lilley said. “We really dreamed about this, and we really wanted to be in this moment.”

With the victory over Radnor, Lower Merion has checked one milestone off its list of goals: championships in the Central League, District 1 6A and the state. With Lilley healthy and rolling, the other two are certainly possible.

“I’m at full strength” Lilley said, “So I’m ready and locked in for districts.”

By Quarter

Radnor:           8 | 14 | 11 | 16 || 49
Lower Merion: 17 | 11 | 8 | 23 || 59

Scoring

Radnor: Jackson Hicke 13, Pierce Justice 12, Danny Rosenblum 11, Charlie Thornton 5, Cooper Mueller 5, Cliff Smith 2, Michael Savadove 1

Lower Merion: Demetrius Lilley 20, Jaylen Shippen 12, Sam Brown 12, Justin Poles 5, Peter Gribbin 5, Sam Wright 5