Joseph Santoliquito (@JSantoliquito)
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As they line up for pre-game layups, it’s easy to assume. The Garnet Valley boys’ basketball team is used to the looks. The Jaguars have no roof-scraper guys. They don’t look particularly fast, either. They’re used to it.
It’s been that way all season.
What they can do is play basketball. They do it cohesively, and at their own maddening drawn-out pace.
They also win. It’s a formula that works.
Max Koehler (above) set a career high as Garnet Valley won its first state playoff game since the 1990s. (Photo: Joseph Santoliquito/CoBL)
Garnet Valley did something Wednesday night that no Garnet Valley boys’ basketball team had done since 1997—that’s win a PIAA state playoff game, pulling off a mild surprise by beating Philadelphia Public League runner-up Lincoln, 65-56, at West Philadelphia High School.
The Jags’ Class 6A victory advances them to the second round, where they will meet Scranton, 84-70 winners over West Chester East, on Saturday at a site and time to be determined.
The No. 6 seed out of District 1, Garnet Valley (18-10) was led by junior Max Koehler’s career-high 27 points, supported by Ryan Wootten’s 14 and Logan McKee’s nine points and stellar work on the boards.
“I thought we never won a playoff game, but going back to 1997 since we last won (a state playoff game), that’s crazy,” said Koehler, who nailed eight of 10 free throws in the fourth quarter to assure the victory. “Winning this game means everything. We all believe and trust in each other and that hard work is paying off.
“We’re definitely a team people can underestimate. Every game people look at us, and we get, ‘Look at these guys.’ Well, we believed we could win this game and we do well against teams that pressure us. They got on a big run in the second, but once we composed ourselves, we were okay.”
Each member of the team wore a maroon No. 5 T-shirt with the name ‘Louden’ on the back, in honor of Andrew Louden, a 1,000-point scorer at Garnet Valley who was just diagnosed with cancer and is the younger brother of Jags’ assistant coach Mike Louden.
“Max was terrific, just terrific and I told Max that this is the best he’s ever played, Max was excellent,” said Jags’ coach Mike Brown, who did a masterful job with the game plan and it showed in the Jags’ execution. “We’re not a physically imposing team in the least, but we play hard and we play smart. I knew it was a long time since Garnet Valley last won a state playoff game.
“In 1997, I was old then (laughs). We appreciate how far we’ve come. I’m in my 10th year and this is big, because the kids are so happy. We haven’t played a home game in over a month, so the chances for us to get this far would have been nil. This has been a real easy group to coach.”
Garnet Valley wore t-shirts in honor of former program standout Andrew Louden, recently diagnosed with cancer. (Photo: Joseph Santoliquito/CoBL)
The Jags got out to an 8-0 start and led at one point, 25-10, with 6:07 left in the first half, But Lincoln made a push, going on a 13-0 run to pull within 25-23 with 1:16 left in the second quarter. The No. 2 from District 12, Lincoln (18-9) never got within a basket again.
Garnet led 62-52 with :37 and it was Koehler who put the finishing touches on from the free throw line.
“Garnet Valley did a great job, give credit to them,” Lincoln coach Mel Lindsey said. “We missed a lot of free throws and we didn’t shoot very well. They play a disciplined system and I warned my team about them. I knew what they were going to do, but we had to bring that plan to fruition.
“We missed a ton of easy shots. We missed a lot of free throws. They didn’t touch the rim with their free throws. We had to make shots, and when I looked at the film, their tallest guy (McKee) is 6-3 and I saw move guys way off the block. Credit to their coaching staff, they got everything out of their players.”
McKee said this is not it—the Jags are not settling with just this victory.
“Going into every game, we control the pace, we control us,” McKee said. “Everything going into this thinks we can win the state championship.”
It’s always good to win the first game to get to the second round. It’s something the Jags have done—for the first time since 1997.
By Quarter
Garnet Valley: 18 | 12 | 16 | 19 || 65
Lincoln: 8 | 15 | 15 | 18 || 56
Scoring
Garnet Valley: Max Koehler 27, Ryan Wootten 14, Logan McKee 9, Jake Sniras 6, Drew Van Horn 5, Ryan Facenda 2, Nolan Brennan 2
Lincoln: Jameer Trout 22, Khrys Murray 14, Tamir Powell 8, Kyrie Jenkins 4, Naeem Colston 4, Tahir Davis 4
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MCS 78, Notre Dame Green Pond 73
In the opener, MCS advanced to the second round of the PIAA Class 3A state playoffs with a 78-73 victory over the very feisty Notre Dame Green Pond Crusaders.
The Elephants, the No. 1 seed from District 12, will play York Catholic, 70-43 winners over Troy, on Saturday at a site and time to be determined. The No. 3 seed out of District 11, Notre Dame Green Pond (19-8) saw its season end, despite 26 points from Kutztown commit Brendan Boyle.
Trailing 7-2 at the outset, MCS (20-8) went on a 22-7 tear to take control of the game. The Elephants were up by as much as 15 at one point, though with two minutes to play, that margin was squeezed to 76-71.
“We lost our attention to detail a little bit there at the end,” MCS coach Lonnie Diggs said. “Those guys were tough. They made it a game. WE just have to get back in the gym and get better. Our pressure defense wasn’t as good as it should have been. I was hoping we could have gotten more turnovers.”
MCS received another strong game from Trent Middleton, who scored a team-high 17.
“From the start, we tried to come out hard, and in the end, we let our emotions get the best of us,” Middleton said. “We got ourselves together and pulled it out in the end.”
By Quarter
ND-GP: 14 | 15 | 23 | 21 || 73
MCS: 24 | 17 | 20 | 17 || 78
Scoring
ND Green Pond: Brendan Boyle 26, Sean Howlett 20, Zach Rodgers 14, Colin Boyle 7, Chase Marcks 2, Lucas Atmire 2, Dainn Vassallo 2
MCS: Trent Middleton 17, Isaiah Griffin 12, Khalif Crawley 10, Niare Poplar 8, Chauncey Pressley 7, Hymid Snead 7, Jaheim Bethea 6, Aasim Burton 5, Nayeem Johnson 4, Mohamed Sesay 2
Joseph Santoliquito is an award-winning sportswriter based in the Philadelphia area who began writing for CoBL in 2021 and is the president of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be followed on Twitter here.
Tag(s): Home Boys HS Central League (B) Garnet Valley Public League A (B) Lincoln Math, Civics & Sci. High School