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'Wonder Twins' Miller, Williams lead Chester Charter to District 1-1A title

02/25/2023, 8:15pm EST
By Owen McCue

Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue)
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ROSEMONT — Chester Charter senior guards Kevin Miller and Jayden WIlliams were nicknamed the ‘Wonder Twins’ as freshmen on the Sabers’ first title team in 2020.

One of their older teammates came up with the name as he watched the two speedy guards in practice everyday. They were the same size, had the same haircut and played with the same high intensity. If you were watching them without their numbered jerseys on, it was tough to tell them apart.

“We were kind of the same player, had the same goals,” Miller said. “In practice when we were freshmen we didn’t really get in the game that much so we’d go head-to-head and see who wanted it more. He actually turned out to be one of my best friends on the court.”

The two disruptive guards were mostly practice players during the program’s first District 1 title run there years ago, but their older classmates let the ‘Wonder Twins’ know it would soon be their time.

It came Saturday at Harriton as Miller and Williams led Chester Charter to the program’s second District 1-A championship with a 70-64 win over Phil-Mont Christian. Williams had 17 and Miller had 15 and both made big plays late as the Sabers held off a fourth-quarter rally from the Falcons, who were led by 22 from senior Julian Ray and 18 from sophomore Kendall Bratten.

“We’ve been waiting for this since freshman year,” Williams said. “They got one freshman year, but we wasn’t playing that much. This year really means the most because we’ve been waiting for it forever.”

The Chester Charter boys basketball team poses with its District 1-1A basketball trophy after defeating Phil-Mont Christian on Saturday. (Photo: Owen McCue/CoBL)


Chester Charter seniors Jayden Williams, left, and Kevin Miller helped their team to a district title Saturday. (Photo: Owen McCue/CoBL)

Coach Daniel Spangler said Miller and Williams, who have matching Wonder Twins t-shirts from one of the team’s moms, began to take control of the team midway through last season. After their district title in 2020, the Sabers didn’t get a chance to compete in the District 1 tournament again until this season, earning the top seed.

During the last two seasons, they were already prepping for the next year around this time. It became more urgent at the end of last season when they knew they had just one more shot.

“Even the seniors that year were telling us, when we leave this y’all’s and we took it,” Williams said.

“Our connection after freshman year, it clicked more because we knew what we had to do to come back and win another medal,” Miller said.

The two guards helped the Sabers (18-5) get ahead early Saturday. They jumped out to a 20-13 lead on Phil-Mont (18-9) behind seven points from Miller and led 36-31 at halftime as Williams poured in 11 points in the second quarter. 

Miller got going again in the third quarter with six points and senior 6-6 forward Azarhis Smith added six of his eight points in the period as Chester Charter began to separate itself. The Sabers looked ready to coast with a 55-37 lead when sophomore Calvin Lewis drilled a triple to end the third quarter.

Ray, Bratten senior Jack Swider, who had 13 points, and junior Peter Haviland sparked a Phil-Mont comeback in the fourth. The Falcons used a 10-0 run to cut their deficit to 57-49 with 4:28 left on a Swider three. Ray added a triple with two minutes to go to pull Phil-Mont within five and finally Haviland added another deep ball to make it 61-59 with 1:20 to play.

 “After they made the three and we called timeout, our main goal was to turn it up on the defensive because we got a little too happy because we knew what was coming after the game,” Miller said.

With the coveted championship slipping away, the Wonder Twins responded with a few big plays.

Williams hit a pair of free throws to put the Sabers back up four. Great defense from Miller forced Swider into a turnover to get the ball back. Smith hit two more free throws to give Chester Charter a 65-59 lead with 54 seconds to play. Miller added two more with 26.6 to play to make sure the game stayed on ice.

“I think Kevin’s play won the game to be honest,” Spangler said. “Jack Swider, he’s a helluva player. We were only up two or three and Kevin defended him and turned him over on the sideline and ... we got on the line and got it to another two or three possessions. That was the game-changer right there.”

Junior Samaad Powell finished with 11 points for Chester Charter, making a few big buckets in the fourth. Williams had six steals and three assists, and Miller had five steals himself to spearhead the team’s defensive effort.

The Chester Charter program has only been around for six seasons. Williams, Miller, Smith and fellow seniors Brian Holley and Zach Howard helped add a second title in four seasons on Saturday.

“Our coaches kept telling us to put our heads down and grind because the results will show,” Miller said. “We just stuck together and nobody left each other hanging and we all just built more relationships and went hard in practice everyday. No days off and it showed. Today in the District chip.”

By Quarter

Phil-Mont 13 | 18 | 6 | 27 || 64

Chester Charter 20 | 16 | 19 | 15 || 70

Scoring

Phil-Mont: Julian Ray 22, Kendall Bratten 18, Jack Swider 13, Peter Haviland 8, Jameer Zachary 3.

Chester Charter: Jayden Williams 17, Kevin Miller 15, Samaad Powell 11, Azarhis Smith 8, Calvin Lewis 6, Brian Holley 6.


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