By Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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WEST CHESTER — After two years of individual success at Germantown Academy but without a shot at a league championship, Bryce Rollerson went to Academy New Church with one thing on his mind: winning some hardware.
Now the 6-foot-tall junior guard is one win away.
Bryce Rollerson (above) will get his championship shot on Friday. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)
Rollerson and his Lions teammates, the reigning Friends’ Schools League champions, moved that much closer to defending their crown after an exciting 64-62 win at Westtown on Tuesday afternoon in the league semifinals. They’ll play the George School at La Salle University’s John Glaser Arena on Friday at 8 PM.
“It’s an amazing feeling, man,” Rollerson said after scoring 20 points with six rebounds and five assists in the win. “This is what I came to ANC for, is to win, compete for championships. I saw what they did last year and I wanted to be part of it. That’s been a goal of mine since before the season even started. I’m just blessed.”
It was a measure of revenge for Academy New Church, the No. 3 seed, which lost by 16 at No. 2 seed Westtown on Jan. 17 after falling behind 12-0, forced to play catchup. They made sure that wouldn’t happen this time around, jumping out to a 16-6 first-quarter lead and holding multiple double-digit edges into the third quarter.
Rollerson did plenty of that early lifting, coming up with a second-quarter and-one to keep the momentum on his team’s side. After a summertime shoulder injury slowed him down at the beginning of the season, he’s gotten up to speed with his new team, and the results speak for themselves.
“I started feeling my shot and my legs, the pace of the game in the middle of the season and I thank the coaches for keeping trust in me,” he said. “It’s hard at times going from system to system, it’s different, it’s a lot different here, but I’m loving it.”
Westtown, with its quartet of Division I committed seniors, came out hot in the third quarter. The Moose made all 10 of their shots from the field in a 25-point third, taking the lead on a 3-ball by Xavier commit Jayden Forsythe with 1:40 left in the period and owning a 50-48 edge going into the fourth. Temple commit Cam Wallace was especially strong then, scoring 10 of his game-high 25 points in the third.
Dior Carter (above) got downhill in the fourth quarter. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)
But ANC didn’t fold. Junior wing Dior Carter, who matched Rollerson with 20 points of his own, scored on three consecutive possessions in the game’s final two minutes, a spinning bucket putting ANC up 62-58 with 1:20 remaining.
“At that point, as a leader, I’ve got to take over at some point,” said Carter, who also grabbed nine rebounds and blocked three shots. “Got to keep my team together, keep the energy going and that’s what I had, had the adrenaline going, felt like I had the green light. Being a leader, that’s what you’ve got to do at some point.”
La Salle commit Jahmare Memphis (19 points) connected on a 3-pointer with 1:03 left, cutting that edge to one. That was the last bucket for either team; each had an empty possession before ANC reserve Ryan Torres put the Lions up 63-61 with 18.7 seconds left. Kelsey had a chance to tie it for Westtown with seven seconds left, but the first of his two foul shots hit front iron.
Rollerson closed out the scoring with one free throw, also with seven seconds left. Westtown turned it over on the ensuing possession with less than seconds left, and ANC ran out the clock on the inbounds play.
“We knew that run was coming, just had to stay poised, keep playing our game, and keep playing together.,” Rollerson said. “We’ve been through this a lot throughout the season, ups and downs. We’re really hitting our stride now, persevered through the comeback and I’m really proud of our team.”
Joining Rollerson and Carter in double figures was junior forward Cameron Smith, who scored 14 points and grabbed three rebounds. Sophomore Marquis Newson, a high-major target, scored nine points with six rebounds and three assists.
To defend its title, Academy New Church will have to be the first FSL team to dispatch George School all year. The Cougars, who went 8-0 in the league for the first time in program history, have a terrific backcourt led by senior Luke Melniczak and juniors Kasey Fleming and Peyton Miller, the trio combining for 62 of George’s 74 points in the teams’ first meeting, which took place on ANC’s home court.
“They’re a great team, they came in our house and they got us,” Rollerson said. “So we owe ‘em one. At the end of the day, no matter who we play, we’ve got to stick to our identity, play hard, play great defense, and play tough.”
By Quarter
WT: 6 | 19 | 25 | 12 || 62
ANC: 16 | 20 | 12 | 16 || 64
Shooting
WT: 24-46 FG (7-20 3PT), 7-13 FT
ANC: 23-42 FG (5-12 3PT), 13-17 FT
Scoring
WT: Cam Wallace 25, Jahmare Memphis 19, Jayden Forsythe 9, Adam Walker 4, Wilson Udo 2, Eb Ehigie 2, Jayden Kelsey 1
ANC: Dior Carter 20, Bryce Rollerson 20, Cameron Smith 14, Marquis Newson 9, Ryan Torres 1
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Jones returns as Westtown girls cruise into championship game
Olivia Jones didn’t score a point in Westtown’s 68-48 semifinal win over Shipley. She only played about eight minutes, took just one shot, grabbed two rebounds.
Olivia Jones (above) made her return to the court after a Nov. 9 injury. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)
But the senior wing got one of the biggest rounds of applause in the Westtown gym all afternoon when she checked in just before the end of the first quarter in the Moose’s 68-48 semifinal win over Shipley. It was her first game action since Nov. 9, when she went down with a leg injury in the first minute of the Moose’s season opener.
“(It felt) amazing to be back out there playing with my team,” she said afterwards. “My teammates have my back coming into it so I knew I didn’t have to be nervous, I didn’t have to be scared or anything, because I knew they were going to help me through it.”
A 5-foot-10 wing with a standout ability to rebound and score in the paint, Jones came to Westtown as a junior after helping Cedar Cliff to a 29-1 record and runner-up finish in the PIAA 6A bracket. She picked Harvard out of four Ivy League finalists from a long lists of Division I offers, and was all set to help the Moose defend their Friends’ Schools League and PAISAA titles when the injury happened, her knee hyper-extending when she went to plant on a drive to the basket..
Originally, Jones said, doctors thought she’d torn her ACL. But an X-ray showed that instead, it was actually a small fracture in her tibia, the recovery shortened from almost a year to 10-to-12 weeks. Jones said from the beginning, Feb. 4 was the targeted return date, just in time for the playoffs.
The round of applause Jones got when she took to the floor did not go unnoticed.
“I’m just grateful for this community,” she said. “They supported me this whole way through after transferring from Cedar Cliff, everybody’s been so supportive so it’s just been great to be here.”
Atlee Vanesko (above) stuffed the stat sheet in Westtown's win. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)
Sophomores Jordyn Palmer (21 points, nine rebounds, three blocks, three steals) and Jessie Moses (19 points, 4 assists) led the way in the win for the Moose, who’ve captured the last four FSL championships and who haven’t lost a league game since the 2019-20 season. Junior guard Atlee Vanesko added 12 points, six rebounds, five assists and five steals for Westtown, which led 26-11 after one quarter and 38-18 at halftime, expanding the edge to 32 late in the third quarter.
A strong effort from Shipley freshman Cidney Stanfield (25 points, 11 rebounds) helped the Moose close the gap somewhat in the fourth quarter.
Westtown will play No. 2 seed Friends’ Central in the championship. The Phoenix have the only roster in the league that can hang with Westtown’s, led by Colorado commit Logyn Greer and top-25 sophomore Zya Small. The two teams are also the favorites to meet again in the PAISAA championship next month.
“Obviously we want to win all the way through,” Jones said. “But honestly [I] just [want to] create memories with my teammates because it’s my last go-around. Creating memories with my best friends and just going and winning and doing it at the same time.”
By Quarter
Westtown: 26 | 12 | 18 | 12 || 68
Shipley: 11 | 7 | 10 | 20 || 48
Shooting
Westtown: 27-67 FG (10-27 3PT), 4-6 FT
Shipley: 19-54 FG (5-22 3PT), 5-9 FT
Scoring
Westtown: Jordyn Palmer 21, Jessie Moses 19, Atlee Vanesko 12, Isahanna Sundararajan 8, Vianna Kanyamiheto-Watson 6, Kennedy Henry 2
Shipley: Cidney Stanfield 25, Melody Vaughn 7, Rikai Williford 4, Taylor Lasky 4, Anna Pascale 3, Givanna Cosby 3, Gabby Vaughn 2
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