City of Basketball Love

By CoBL Staff (@hooplove215)
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The District 1 playoffs get underway on Friday with elimination games in the 5A and 6A brackets. The boys’ 5A bracket has four games, all of which will see one team move into the quarterfinals and the other done for the season.

Here’s a look at Friday’s first-round matchups:

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8) Sun Valley vs. 9) Chichester (7:00 PM)
Winner plays 1) Upper Dublin

The Ches-Mont American champs, Sun Valley (18-5) arrived in districts having lost to Bishop Shanahan by two points in the Ches-Mont semifinals. The Vanguards have been playing quality hoops all season long, having won eight of their previous nine before entering the postseason, Steve Maloney’s group undersized but hard-working. Senior guards Kaiden Robinson and Aaron Freeman both return from a group that qualified for states a year ago, and junior wing Aden Bamgbose has really improved over the course of his first varsity campaign. Their best asset is their aggressive 1-3-1 zone trap defense, which Chichester will have to navigate. 

The Eagles (12-10), who finished third in the Del-Val League with a 4-4 league record, enter the playoffs on a four-game win streak. To turn it to five, they’ll have to right a wrong from earlier this season — Sun Valley beat Chichester 52-38 on Chi’s home court in the second game of the season for Chi (and the season opener for SV) on Dec. 3. Junior guard Kayron Kinney captains a Chichester offense which includes some legit size in 6-7 sophomore Sabir Lyn and 6-7 senior Antonio Posey, and you can bet Clyde Jones will do his best to figure out how to take advantage of that on Thursday.

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5) Marple Newtown vs. 12) Strath Haven (7:00 PM)
Winner plays 4) Upper Moreland

It’s a Central League rematch in the opening round, as the Tigers and Panthers meet for the third time this season, and second time in the span of two weeks. Marple’s won both matchups thus far, a 72-50 victory at Strath Haven on Jan. 3 and a 67-54 win on its home court on Feb. 4. Marple’s 17-7 record going into the district playoffs is one of the best in recent memory; the Tigers have qualified for each of the last four District 1 5A tournaments but this is the first time in that span they’ve been high enough to have a home game. Strath Haven, which was in the 6A classification for a couple years, is back in the field for the first time since 2020, the Panthers (10-12) with a nine-win improvement over last season.

The Tigers have been led all season by one of the best guards in the district in senior Matt Gardler, a 6-0 combo guard who can dribble, pass and shoot equally well. Freshman Mike Rush is next in line as he’s already proven himself a capable scorer, and they got a good presence inside from 6-5 senior Ryan Keating, who’ll play lacrosse at the next level. Strath Haven, which won three of its final four regular-season games to nap the last spot in districts, features senior guards Jacob Wenke and James Fisher, while junior guard Theo Jauregui has had some big scoring outings, and sophomores Ben Burnheter and John Reilly have given them a nice boost as well.  

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7) Holy Ghost Prep vs. 10) Springfield Twp. (Montco.) (7:00 PM)
Winner plays 2) Penncrest

The lone wolves of District 1, Holy Ghost Prep left the Bicentennial Athletic Conference in 2019 after its application to the Catholic League was denied, and has been playing a hodgepodge schedule ever since with teams from all over the area. The Firebirds (14-8) won nine of their final 11 games of the regular season, including wins over Pennsbury, Radnor, William Tennent and Council Rock South, and now play the Spartans for the first time. Head coach Tom Heston has a strong backcourt led by seniors Adrian Varella, Robbie Segarich and Zak Sharlin, with a 6-8 senior center in Tommy Nahill to give them legit size (and another floor-spacer) as well.

Making the 5A field is a big deal for Springfield Twp. (12-10), which hasn’t had a winning record of any kind in at least two decades, and now finds itself in the postseason (at least, one it didn’t automatically qualify for) for the first time in at at least that span as well. Fourth-year head coach Rob Fusaro leans on a quartet of seniors to lead the way in Bob Hartman, Branton Thompson, Aiden Hood and Will Cooney to lead the way. This would be a massive statement for Fusaro’s program if they can win this game. 

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6) Springfield (Delco.) vs. 11) Unionville (7:00 PM)
Winner plays 3) Pottsgrove

After spending a few years in the 6A classification, Springfield’s back in 5A, getting a chance to host a playoff game after finishing 10-6 in the Central League and making it to the league semifinals. Now 16-8, the Cougars have athletic sophomore TJ Valletti leading the charge with the help of 6-3 senior forward Chris Dolan and senior guard Patrick Flaherty. In much better position than a year ago, they’ll look to build off a surprise run to states as the No. 24 seed in the 2024 District 1 6A bracket.

Unionville’s the defending 5A district champs, but it’s an almost entirely new team for head coach Chris Cowles. The Longhorns (10-12) still feature junior wing James Brenner, who was the only sophomore starter on last year’s champs; senior guard Jack Robbins, a reserve guard a year ago, is their only other significant piece from that run. Senior wing Zach Dolce and a group of juniors, including Leo Lockwood and Tommy McGinnis, fill out the top part of the rotation. 

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