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Malvern Prep's depth shows in Inter-Ac opener against Haverford School

01/07/2023, 1:45am EST
By Josh Verlin

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)

In a deeper, more talented Inter-Ac, Malvern Prep knows it has to be deeper, too.

The Friars entered the season with two proven scorers in senior Andrew Phillips and junior Ryan Williams, but without Tyler Lauder and Joey Vandergeest, two stalwarts from last year’s Inter-Ac co-championship squad. To compete for the title once again with co-champs Penn Charter, entirely back from a year ago, and the rest of the league adding talent —including some impressive youngsters — across the board, Malvern Prep needed more than its two established stars.


Charlie Oschell (above) had nine points and 11 rebounds as Malvern Prep won its Inter-Ac opener. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

“A lot of people, I’m sure coming into this season were thinking ‘they lost two of their best players, Joey and Tyler,’ who provided a lot of points and a lot of great senior leadership for us,” senior forward Charlie Oschell said, “but I think in terms of scoring the basketball, we’re a lot deeper this year and we can score in all sorts of ways.”

The Friars showed off that depth in their Inter-Ac opener on Friday night, five players scoring eight-or-more points in a 66-48 win over The Haverford School.

Malvern Prep (8-5, 1-0) was in control most of the way, save for a 15-0 run by Haverford (7-6, 0-1) that spanned the end of the first and beginning of the second quarters. But the Friars responded with a 17-0 run of their own to go into the break up seven, and then used the third quarter to open up a double-digit advantage, not once threatened during the fourth quarter. 

And while Williams (16 points, 3 assists 2 rebounds, 2 steals) and Phillips (13 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists) showed why they’ll be playing in college, they didn’t come close to having to do it all on their own. 

Freshman guard Rowan Miller popped off the bench for 13 points, the 5-9 point guard going a perfect 9-of-9 from the line, with a couple third-quarter buckets for good measure; junior wing Ryan Pegg added eight points, four rebounds and three blocks. Oschell, a 6-6 senior forward, contributed nine points, including a 3-pointer, plus 11 rebounds, two steals and a block.

They didn’t need much scoring tonight from senior Hayden Pegg, Ryan’s older brother, or junior guard Achilles Tucker-Turner or junior forward Tague Davis, but all three of them play significant roles for the Friars, and have had their share of games where they approach or surpass double-digits. It’s a top eight that’s versatile, with size in Oschell, Davis (6-5) and Phillips (6-4), good length, shooting, ball-handling, and more.

“All eight of those guys have started at one point in the season,” Romanczuk said. “Maybe it was a week into the season, I said ‘listen, I’m going to have some tough decisions here. I had four guys in front of me at that time — it was Achilles, Ryan Pegg, Charlie and Tague Davis and I said listen [...] I have to figure out which of the four of you are going to start.


Freshman guard Rowan Miller (above) had 13 points for Malvern Prep in the win. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

“We’ve actually had eight guys start at one point in time of the season, and last year I didn’t, I had the same starting lineup the entire time. It’s a credit to our depth and a credit to some of these kids, they’re competitive and they want to start, they want to play a lot of minutes.”

That depth will be put to the test over the next four weeks; by the midpoint of league play on Jan. 20, a road game at SCH Academy — which lost by two points to Penn Charter in their opener Friday night — Malvern Prep will have a better idea where it stands.

“It’s a nice jumping-off point, obviously,” said Romanczuk, in his second year at Malvern Prep after a long, successful run at Archbishop Carroll. “I think the league’s going to be tough, teams have gotten better, to get the one at home here, you have to hold court at home if you have any chance at getting somewhere in the league. It’s only one win but it’s a nice start to the league for us.”

While Williams, Phillips and Miller are basketball-first athletes, that’s not true for all of their teammates. The Peggs are both standouts on the football field; Oschell (Virginia) and Davis (Louisville) will both be pitching in the ACC after their time at Malvern Prep. 

Oschell isn’t the first member of his family to go from Malvern into high-major pitching; his brother Fran, in attendance on Friday, is a sophomore at Duke, and played the role his younger brother’s filling on the hardwood two years back.
It’s not lost on the younger brother that this is his last season of competitive hoops, and he’s looking to get all he can out of it.

“I think for me, it’s all about competition,” he said. “I love competing against other schools, especially in an atmosphere like tonight where it’s super-loud and there’s a bunch of people there. Sports teach you so much in life and just building those friendships with my teammates and my coaches is something I’m going to miss a lot from playing basketball. 

“I’ve been playing basketball my whole life, it’s been a great experience for me.”

By Quarter
Haverford School: 14  |   6   |  10  |  18  ||  45
Malvern Prep:        8   |  19  |  19  |  20  ||  66

Shooting
Haverford School: 17-42 FG (8-29 3PT), 6-8 FT
Malvern Prep: 23-53 FG (6-15 3PT), 14-15 FT

Scoring
Haverford School: Butts 12, Rasmussen 11, Carson 6, Scanlan 6, Leary 4, Graham 4, Baker 3, Cloran 2

Malvern Prep: Williams 16, Phillips 13, Miller 13, Oschell 9, R. Pegg 8, Tucker-TUrner 3, Davis 2, Blakey 2


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