City of Basketball Love

Matthew Ryan (@matthewryan02)
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ROYERSFORD, PA — When Daniel LaRue entered the game for Church Farm on Wednesday, he only had 25 points on the season. The senior guard had only made nine shots and three 3s. But in a matter of minutes in the second quarter, LaRue had knocked down three triples and a two-pointer, helping cut Sankofa's once double-digit lead to just two at the half.

It was the only quarter LaRue scored in, but his 11 points came at one of the most crucial moments as the Griffins topped the Warriors, 70-61, to advance to the second round of the PIAA 2A state playoffs.

"He was a big reason why we were only down two at halftime," Church Farm head coach Jonathan Guarente said of LaRue. "We talk everyday about [how] you never know who it's going to be. Any given night, it can be any of our brothers. Tonight, it was Daniel's night, and we couldn't be happier for him.

"This was a huge, huge night for him, and I don't think we're playing Saturday without him."

"Honestly, we were playing slow at first, and I just didn't want to go out like that, I didn't want to lose," LaRue said. "So I just wanted to bring energy off the bench offensively and defensively; I think I had a charge in the game."

It was easily LaRue's highest-scoring output of the season, as this year has certainly had its ebbs and flows for the reserve guard.

He began the year as a starter but had to miss some time due to COVID, causing him to lose his spot in the lineup. Leading up into the playoffs, he didn't play much, but because junior guard Cooper Shivers has to sit out due to the PIAA transfer rules, LaRue has earned more playing time in the postseason.

"It's why you coach," Guarente said about LaRue's performance. "We tell our guys we never know whose night it's going to be. Stay ready so you don't have to get ready, and Daniel did that. There were nights where Daniel didn't know whether he was going to play one minute or 15 minutes, and he just stayed ready. And he was happy for the guys that did well. And it's just great to see that culmination of all those times where he sacrificed for the team, and then he stepped up when the team needed him the most."

The game started off slow for Church Farm (15-8) as it found itself in a 6-0 hole early and turnovers were frequent. There was sloppy play on both sides of the floor for the Griffins, putting them behind by five entering the second quarter before LaRue's big showing.

Church Farm didn't pick up its first lead of the day until Brandon Hernandez knocked down a 3-pointer in the third to make it a 35-34 game. Hernandez was quiet in the first half, scoring just four points, but scored 13 across the final two quarters to lead his squad with 17 points.

The third quarter was a back and forth affair, but late in the frame, Guarente backed off the pressure a bit, which he thinks helped his team pull away.

"We had a game plan. We wanted to pressure them, but they handled our pressure pretty well tonight," Guarente said. "So I felt like maybe with a minute to go in the third quarter, we just played half court man, tried to keep it a little bit simpler for our guys. Protect the paint. And I felt like that helped us get us a few more stops and stretch out that lead."

In the final frame, the Griffins scored 23 points, led by Gavriel Henriquez-Peralta, who had eight of his 14 on the night.

On the other side, Zaki Alston finished with a game-high 20 points for Sankofa (6-16) as the Warriors' season came to an end in the first round of states. They controlled the game early on, but over time, Church Farm chipped away and advanced.

The Griffins will go on to play Holy Cross on Saturday in the second round; a win would tie Church Farm's furthest run in the state playoffs.

It's a big opportunity for a rather inexperienced team. But if Wednesday showed anything, it's that sometimes all someone needs is that opportunity.

By Quarter
Church Farm:   11  |  14  |  22  |  23  ||  70
Sankofa:          16  |  11  |  19  |  15  ||  61

Scoring

Church Farm: Brandon Hernandez 17, Gavriel Henriquez-Peralta 14, Matthew Sullivan 12, Daniel LaRue 11, Dominic Egu 9, Kazembe Okera-Anglin 7

Sankofa: Zaki Alston 20, Nasir Williams 17, Asim Hardy 6, Josiah Johnson 6, Rakim Precha 4, Stanley Parker 4, Kris Coleman 2, Ansar Saleem 2

~~~

Villa Maria falls in the opening round

Coming off a District 1 5A championship at Temple, Villa Maria couldn't keep the winning coming as it fell to West York, 45-37, in the first round of the 5A state playoffs.

"I think this is always a hard game," Villa Maria head coach Kathy McCartney said. "I've won a lot of first round games, and I hate the first round because you're coming off the district championship, and there's this euphoria about winning, and it's hard to get the kids back, and we didn't recoup from that."

After going down 4-0, the Vikings (14-12) got hot on both sides of the floor and jumped out an 18-9 lead in the second quarter. But T'Azjah Generett went on a personal 8-0 run for West York (17-9) to make it a one point game at the half.

The third quarter was back-and-forth, with Marah McHugh scoring eight of her team-high 15 points, as West York barely got the edge, leading by just one entering the fourth. But in the final frame, the Vikings were outscored by seven and gave up 18 points, leading to the end of their season.

"I'm really proud of the group overall. I'm very disappointed today because I don't feel like we put our best effort out today," McCartney said. "We didn't play real well, and that's not to take anything away from West York. They played very well. They made big shots when they had to. They were organized on offense. They did a really nice job, but we didn't play up to our abilities. And that's tough for the last game. You’ve got to wait 365 days to get that feeling out of your stomach."

By Quarter
Villa Maria:     8   |  10  |   8   |  11  ||  37
West York:     4   |  13  |  10  |  18  ||  45

Scoring
Villa Maria: Marah McHugh 15, Carly Cataina 9, Ava Irvine 7, Ella Iacone 6

West York: T'Azjah Generett 19, Faith Walker 10, Jewels Torres 6, Reagan Doll 5, Jorelyn Kern 5