City of Basketball Love

Jared Leveson (@jared_leveson)
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MAYFAIR — Chris Dolan didn’t have any Wheaties or “Mike’s Secret Stuff” before Springfield (Delco) boys basketball’s PIAA Class 6A first-round state playoff game at Abraham Lincoln High School. 

The usually reluctant shooter just stayed ready for his opportunities and made the most of them. 

In Springfield's first state tournament game since 2017, the 6-foot-4 junior let it rip early, scoring its first eight points. Dolan's spurt set the tone for the Cougars and propelled them to a dominant 59-43 win over Lincoln on Saturday afternoon. 

"I was open for all of them," Dolan said about his hot hand. “When you have other guys who score as much as we do, it opens up a lot, and that always helps." 

The Division 1-AA football prospect at wide receiver and safety finished with 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting and three assists. Still, he was proud of his effort on the glass and defensive end. Dolan racked up six rebounds and two steals.

"You couldn't have scripted that," Springfield head coach Kevin McCormick said. “I was chuckling on the bench when he didn't take that next 3 that came to him. He shot-faked and went into the lane, and every other human being is doing a heat check on that shot, but he didn't. 

"That is what our team is like: they share the ball well and they have fun playing together. We have a team that has five lacrosse players, and (a few) baseball players, and [there's] not one iota of people looking like they'd rather be on that field than where they are [right now]. If you have that and get the buy in there, good things can happen." 

The Cougars’ togetherness has paid off this postseason.

Saturday marked Springfield's first state tournament win since 2007 when they were in the 3A classification. In 2006, they also won a state tournament game in the 4A classification, the largest class at the time.

The Cougars got here by claiming the last seed in the District 1-6A tournament. 

Dolan didn't experience the state tournament this past football season, losing in the district semifinals to Strath-Haven on a late field goal. Even though it's not his primary sport, winning a state playoff game, the school's first in 17 years, made up for his disappointment this past fall. 

"It's always great to win something for the school that you go to," he said. "Everyone in the school knows, [and] it's awesome.

"We are just a great group of guys that just want to win. Nobody cares how many points they have on paper or anything, we just have a lot of fun together." 

The whole team had a hand in Springfield's historic win. 

Maryland lacrosse commit Patrick Flaherty scored a team-high 15 points, dished out two assists and notched three steals. York College commit Colin Treude added 11 points, seven rebounds and two assists. Seniors Jake Adams and Ryan Johnston each scored nine. 

Lincoln was paced by All-Philadelphia Public League guard Aldonis Martin, who finished with a game-high 22. Malachi Montgomery added 12 with four rebounds and an assist. 

"You always want to end (the season) under the umbrella (of the state tournament)," second-year Lincoln head coach Brandon Moultrie said. "That means you won, that means you worked your butt off, that means you were disciplined, you executed, and that means you did whatever it took to get here. 

"That's something we can be proud of, and I'm hoping this is one of many state appearances." 

The Railsplitters made the Public League semifinal, played for a city championship against Roman Catholic, and made the state tournament for the first time since 2022.

Moultrie was also proud of their fight in a game where they never had a lead and were missing stalwart Division I football prospect Mason Smith due to PIAA transfer rules. 

The Cougars accrued a 29-8 lead going into halftime. Lincoln cut its deficit to 13 midway through the fourth quarter. Still, Springfield's patient offense and disciplined defense took care of business. 

"We played really good on defense [and] played our pace on offense," Dolan said. "We talked all week about doing what we want to do, not what they want to do." 

Springfield's quarterfinal run in the district tournament and first-round state playoff may have surprised some. They didn't make the Central League playoffs and had lost three straight games heading into the state tournament, but the Cougars had planned to be in this position all along.

Springfield will play Spring-Ford on Wednesday at a site and time to be announced. 

"This is what we talked about when we first met at the beginning of the year," Dolan said. 
 
"Let's get another one."  

By Quarter

Lincoln: 2 | 6 | 15 | 20 || 43

Springfield (Delco):19 | 10 | 13 | 17 || 59 

Scoring

Lincoln: Aldonis Martin 22, Malachi Montgomery 12, Chamar Logan-Tull 7, Javere Russell 2

Springfield (Delco): Patrick Flaherty 15, Chris Dolan 13, Colin Treude 11, Jake Adams 9, Ryan Johnston 9, Peter Altes 2

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PIAA 6A Boys (local games)

First Round (Sat., March 9)
12-3 Archbishop Wood 81, 1-5 Methacton 73
1-1 Lower Merion 85, 3-6 Cedar Crest 55
1-3 West Chester Henderson 80, 2-2 Hazleton Area 73
3-4 Reading 65, 1-4 Chester 63
3-5 Central York 69, 1-2 Garnet Valley 60
12-1 Roman Catholic 63, 1-11 Downingtown West 37
1-6 Coatesville 57, 11-2 Liberty 46 (2OT)
1-8 Springfield (Delco) 59, 12-2 Lincoln 43
11-1 Parkland 65, 1-10 Plymouth Whitemarsh 35
3-1 Cumberland Valley 84, 1-12 Bensalem 59
1-9 Spring-Ford 55, 2-1 Scranton 52
3-2 Chambersburg 72, 1-7 Central Bucks East 41

Second Round (Wed., March 13)
1-1 Lower Merion vs. 12-3 Archbishop Wood
1-8 Springfield (Delco) vs. 1-9 Spring-Ford
1-3 West Chester Henderson vs. 12-1 Roman Catholic
3-1 Cumberland Valley vs. 1-6 Coatesville