City of Basketball Love

By CoBL Staff (@hooplove215)
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The District 1 5A boys’ bracket continues Wednesday night with the quarterfinals, four games that also serve as PIAA state qualifiers. Six of the eight remaining teams will end up in the PIAA tournament: the four who win tomorrow night and two of the four who end up in the playback brackets. That means everybody left in the field has at least two games remaining in the season, and a win in one of those two games guarantees a state berth.

With last year’s winner, Unionville, out of the picture, there’s going to be a new champion this year, and while there’s certainly one favorite of the eight, it’s still anybody’s trophy to win.

Here’s a look at all four games:

1) Upper Dublin vs. 9) Chichester (7:30 PM)

The Cardinals (24-1) are looking to follow in the steps of Radnor and Unionville in going from District 1 5A runner-ups one year to champions the next. They’ve been the front-runners all season long, losing to Lower Merion in their season opener and going unbeaten ever since, running over just about everybody’s come their way, with a few close calls in between. Seniors Ryan Mulroy (6-4) and Idris Rines (6-4) pace the back-to-back SOL champs. Junior Kobe Bazemore steadies them at point with a host of others finding a way to contribute, including 6-6 sophomore Justin Ragsdale.

The Eagles (13-10) squeaked past No. 8 seed Sun Valley by a point in the opening round, certainly a good result after missing out on the district tournament a year ago and making it to the district semifinals the year before. Junior guard Kayron Kinney has turned into Chi’s go-to scorer, the second-year starter and 6-0 combo guard unshakeable on the court, while 5-9 senior guard Dilyn Butler is a returning starter. Up front, 6-8 sophomore Sabir Lyn gives them real size in the frontcourt, which should mean a good paint battle in this one. 

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4) Upper Moreland vs. 5) Marple Newtown (7:00 PM)

The best Upper Moreland boys basketball season in more than 40 years continues with its district opener. It’s been four decades since the Golden Bears (20-5) captured the SOL Freedom title — they split this year with Cheltenham — and they had Upper Dublin on the ropes in the SOL championship game before giving up the lead in the final 15 seconds of a two-point loss. Senior guard Colson Campbell has been one of the best in District 1, as he’s right on the verge of scoring his 1,000th point. But Dan Heiland has quality depth along with him, including a strong senior point guard in Nate Best, a strong 6-4 forward in Larry Hughes, and support from seniors Jadon Cybok, Anthony Carson, Aidan Tuffy and Luke Roussell.

Marple Newtown (18-7), which beat Strath Haven 64-40 in the opening round, has its own standout senior guard in Matt Gardler, a 6-0 scoring lead guard who’s an exceptional ball-handler and outside shooter with some nifty finishing moves. He has an heir apparent in freshman guard Mike Rush, who’s been in the starting lineup all season and well on his way to his own eventual 1,000th point. Up front, 6-5 senior Ryan Keating gives them a good paint presence and on the glass, while Jack Dean, John Matthews, Sean Grogan and others fill in around that trio with defense, passing and shooting. Marple’s beaten the likes of Conestoga, Garnet Valley and Episcopal Academy this season, so they’re not afraid of a challenge.

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2) Penncrest vs. 7) Holy Ghost Prep (6:30 PM)

It certainly looked this offseason like Penncrest was ready to take a step forward after a 14-win season and district appearance a year ago. The Lions ended up taking a giant leap making it to the Central League championship and rolling into districts with a 20-3 record, very much a contender to make it to West Chester next week. Head coach Mike Doyle has one senior in 6-3 wing Theo Gladue, a D-III recruit who’s had a strong year, but it’s the junior class that provides the majority of Penncrest’s production: wing forward Mikey Mita (6-7) and guards Sean Benson (6-1), Connor Cahill (6-0) and Will Stanton (5-10), who form the rest of Penncrest’s starting lineup, which plays the vast majority of Penncrest’s minutes and is looking to make a run to the program’s first title since 2018. 

Holy Ghost Prep meanwhile, puts its depth to use, as Tom Heston isn’t afraid to go well into his bench, for good reason. The Firebirds (15-8) have nine seniors on the roster and will use almost all of them plus a couple juniors, with a lot of different shot-makers who can pop in, knock down a couple 3s and rotate out. Senior wing Adrien Varella and forward Tommy Nahill are the two main pieces, the 6-2 Varell and 6-8 Nahill giving them a great inside-out come to build around. Senior guards Robbie Segarich and Zak Sharlin are both multi-year starters, and junior guard Adam McDonald is a name to know as well.

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3) Pottsgrove vs. 6) Springfield (Delco.) (7:00 PM)

Pottsgrove’s a win away from its first state playoff appearance since 2019 and has already surpassed its most wins in the last two decades (19 wins in 2015, when the Falcons fell in the district semis). Coach Scott Palladino’s group is marked by its length, athleticism and balance. Seniors Kamal Curry (6-3) and Julius Marshall (6-0) and juniors Deymein Doctor (6-5), Cameron Waller (6-4) and Bryce Phillips (6-1) can all attack the basket and lead the offensive charge on any given night for the Falcons (20-3). They were bounced by PJP in the Pioneer Athletic Conference semifinals back on Feb. 6, so they’ll go 11 days in between games.

This one matches a contrast of styles as the Cougars like to slow the pace down and run meticulous sets. Springfield (17-8) took out reigning 5A champion Unionville, 37-28, to begin its district quest. Sophomore 6-1 TJ Valletti has played both inside and outside this season. Senior 6-3 forward Chris Dolan is a vet and the Cougars hope to get senior guard Patrick Flaherty back from injury. Juniors Peter Altes and Tom Toomey are among the others the Cougars will lean on as they try to pull of an upset.

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