City of Basketball Love

By CoBL Staff (@hooplove215)
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There’s nine high school quarterfinals taking place Saturday featuring local boys and girls’ teams, spread over various venues around the eastern half of the state.

Here’s a look at four of those games — a doubleheader at Garden Spot High School as well as two others held around the state; CLICK HERE to read about the other five:

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Girls 4A: 12-1 Audenried Charter vs. 3-2 Delone Catholic (1:00 PM, Garden Spot HS)

After breaking through for its first state playoff win last season, Audenried entered this season eyeing a state crown and the Rockets have looked the part through their first two PIAA games — wins over Eastern York (75-34) and Valley View (64-46). Delone’s handled business as well with wins over Pope John Paul II (53-19) and a strong Allentown Central Catholic team (64-56). 

Junior 5-10 guard Shayla Smith (24.7 ppg) is Audenried’s star, stuffing the statsheet every night and bringing a skillset that’s attracted a number of Division I programs. However, the Rockets showed their balance in the second round with junior guard Senaya Parker (15 points), senior wing/forward Aniyah Howard (12 points) and sophomore guard Heaven Reese (11 points) joining Smith (12 points) in double figures and sophomore guard Aniyah Cheesboro adding eight points. Senior guard Sakina Nelson is another important piece.

Delone Catholic has been very good for a long time, so it’s not a surprise Gerry Eckenrode has the Squirettes playing deep into March again. Defensively, they like to play the game full-court with an emphasis on the press and senior Ella Hughes as their keystone defender. Delone has a balanced and experienced squad, junior Megan Jacoby (11.8 ppg) and senior Brielle Baughman (10.3 ppg) are in double digits while sophomore Reece Meckely (8.2 ppg) and senior Kaitlyn Schwartz (8.7 ppg) are close behind.

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Boys 3A: 12-3 Devon Prep vs. 11-1 Executive Education (2:30 PM, Garden Spot HS)
Devon Prep’s in the state quarterfinals for the third straight season, winning the 3A title in 2022 before losing in this round a year ago in a thrilling overtime game against District 3 champ Trinity. Now playing out of the 12-1 seed for the first time, Jason Fisher’s Tide are playing against an Executive Education Charter program that’s quickly become one of the best in the Lehigh Valley under Ray Barbosa despite only playing its first season in 2018-19. Devon Prep got here thanks to two big wins, 73-32 over Delone Catholic and 75-46 over Riverside; Executive took down String Theory 76-42, and then robbed Devon of a Trinity rematch by taking down the Shamrocks 73-61 on Saturday.

Barbosa, who’s led Executive to six consecutive District 11 titles, has another quality group with size, talent, and a good amount of depth as the program seeks its first-ever state semifinal berth. He’s got size in the middle in 6-10 senior Lamine Sanoh, a lanky shot-blocker who could present an issue for a Devon Prep squad without anybody above 6-5. On the perimeter, much of the focus will be on 5-11 junior point guard Rylan Muniz and 6-4 wing guard Gabe Hornberger, who scored 25 and 18 points, respectively, in the win over Trinity. 

Devon Prep’s strength lies in its junior class, and specifically its junior wings: Zane Conlon (6-5) and Reece Craft (6-6) are both versatile athletes who can play inside and out, while 6-3 classmate Shane Doyle had an impressive 19-point, stat-sheet-stuffing outing in the win over Delone Catholic. Reserve guard Ayinde McClendon has stepped up this postseason with juniors Mason Thear and Calvin Smith ineligible due to transfer rules. Fisher has more size to work with too in 6-4 senior Ben Costello and 6-3 junior Mike Pergolis, who both come off the bench and can knock down shots. 

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Boys 6A: 1-6 Coatesville vs. 3-4 Reading (1:00 PM, Pottsville HS)
These two squads are no stranger to the state stage as Coatesville made a run to the PIAA quarters last season, while Reading went all the way to Hershey to grab a state title. The Raiders have most of the pieces back from that squad, while the Red Knights have a new-look group trying to repeat, including first-year head coach Francis Camara.

Coatesvile, the Ches-Mont League champion, is led by the backcourt duo of Dior Kennedy (6-3) and Zuri Harris (6-1). Senior Marquis Peoples Jr. (6-2) has emerged as a lethal shooter this season with senior William Fowlkes (6-0) and junior Amon Fowlkes (6-0) adding even more backcourt depth for coach John Allen. Up front, the Raiders have 6-foot-6 forward Larry Brown, a lanky Division I prospect who can impact the game on both ends with his length and size.

Reading survived a comeback from Chester in its opener before escaping District 10 champion McDowell in overtime for a second round win. Senior guard Yadiel Cruz had 19 in the first win and 21 in the second. Senior 6-5 forward Malik Osumanu provides some size for the Red Knights, while sophomore guard/wing Weshly Rosario has a game changing skillset. Senior guard Nick Chapman is a really good defender who can swing the game at that end and also shined on the state championships stage a season ago.

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Boys 3A: 12-2 Math, Civics & Sciences vs. 4-1 Loyalsock Twp. (Hazleton HS, 4:00 PM)
The Mighty Elephants (19-10) have continued to march on in what could be their final season even with two key pieces out for the postseason due to PIAA transfer rules in leading scorer Sair Alsbrook and Maki Hill. They’re just three years removed from the program’s last semifinal run in 2021, though they face the team that knocked them out that season in Loyalsock Twp., which won the state title that year.

There’s no real star for MCS, but senior 6-4 wing Aiden Brown has been huge in states with a combined 31 points in wins over Saucon Valley and Columbia. Senior point guard Kevin Carter gets them going on both ends, and senior forward Azeem Murphy sparked MCS in the fourth quarter against Columbia. Sophomore guard Milak Myatt is always a threat and sophomore guard Zion Robinson and freshman guard Rahkiy Mason can get the team going as well.

Loyalsock Twp. (28-1) has won 25 games in a row, most recently a 62-56 win over Notre Dame-Green Pond, led by 18 points from senior Ethan Nagy.. The Lancers have a veteran group with three 1,000-point scorers in seniors Jaylen Andrews (6-3), Nathan Bauman (6-0) and Gage Patterson (6-1). Classmate Tylee Gee (6-0) was also around for the state title run, though none of them starred back then as freshmen. They are guided by a coach with a lot of experience in Ron Insigner, who’s in his 50th season and has more than 1,000 wins.