City of Basketball Love

Owen McCue (@owen.mccue)
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Before Colson Campbell arrived at Upper Moreland High School, the Golden Bears boys basketball program had only been to the state playoffs three times.

Campbell was part of a team in 2022 that broke a nine-year state playoff drought. On Wednesday night, he and his senior teammates became the only group to be a part of two state playoff teams. 

Senior Jadon Cybok caught fire and Campbell celebrated a milestone night as No. 4 Upper Moreland pulled away from No. 5 Marple Newtown for a 67-49 District 1 5A quarterfinal win.

The victory secures the fifth state playoff berth in program history for the Golden Bears (1983, 2006, 2013, 2022, 2025) and advances them to Saturday’s district semifinal against top seed Upper Dublin. The Tigers will host No. 9 Chichester in a state playback game.

“They showed me freshman year, I saw from those seniors how to lead the team,” Campbell said. “Upper Moreland doesn’t really go to states that often, so I knew it was special. And sophomore, junior year it was harder to get there, but this year it feels like it came all the way back around and all the hard work I put in finally paid off. For this team to make it to states is just incredible.”

To make the night more special, Campbell scored 14 points and his basket in the final minute put him over 1,000 for his career, an even rarer occurrence in the Golden Bears boys basketball program.

He’s the sixth Upper Moreland boys player all-time to accomplish the feat and the first to achieve the milestone since Keith Kochersperger in 1995.

“It’s a really cool experience, and I don’t think a lot of kids get to experience it like he did and I think he’s very appreciative of that,” sixth-year coach Dan Heiland said. “He’s very grateful for that, and it couldn’t have happened to a better kid. He’s just the ultimate team player.”

“He’s the first player I’ve ever coached to achieve that. That’s an honor for me as well.”

While Campbell's star shined bright after the game, Cybok stole the show early for Upper Moreland (21-5). He splashed in four 3-pointers as part of a 14-point first quarter that spotted the Golden Bears a 20-12 lead.

Senior guard Matt Gardler led Marple Newtown (18-8) with 24 points. A pull-up Gardler jumper with about three minutes left in the second quarter momentarily put the Tigers ahead before Cybok began an 8-0 run to close the first half, capped by a Colson buzzer beater that made it 32-24 Upper Moreland at the break.

“I felt confident,” Cybok said. “The last few games I wasn’t shooting that well, but this game I was shooting well and getting my teammates open. We were playing as a team. They were getting me open. It was working out well.”

Marple Newtown made another run in the third quarter to close the gap to 36-33 with 3:11 left in the period. As it did all night, Upper Moreland answered. The Golden Bears ripped off a 10-0 run to extend its lead to 46-33 on Cybok’s sixth triple of the game. Marple didn’t get closer than eight the rest of the way.

Unlike Campbell, Cybok has waited his turn for the Golden Bears. He got his first real taste of varsity action as a junior and broke into the starting lineup during his senior campaign. 

Shooting performances like Wednesday’s have turned into the norm, particularly in front of the student section at home games, where Upper Moreland hasn’t lost a game this season.

“He is shooting the ball, some of the best shooting performances I’ve seen in a very long time,” Heiland said. “He might be the best shooter I’ve ever coached that’s ever come through this program. When he’s feeling it, he’s feeling it. The ball barely touches the rim.

“He's a kid that’s put a ton of work in. … He’s come such a long way. Not only scoring the basketball, but his defense has gotten so much better. He buys into it, he has the right attitude when he shows up everyday. It makes it fun to coach kids like that.”

Junior 6-4 forward Larry Hughes had a big night for Upper Moreland with 12 points and 10 rebounds, scoring eight in the fourth quarter to help finish off the win. Heiland also lauded the play of junior point guard Nate Best, who tallied eight points and a couple of assists while trying to slow Central League MVP Gardler on the defensive end.

The playing style and abilities of this year’s team don’t mirror the 2022 group, but Campbell said there are definitely some key traits both state playoff teams share in common.

“It’s kind of different from a player standpoint and athletic abilities, but from a family standpoint we’re all really close,” Campbell said. “We have a good group of seniors like we did my freshman year.”

Campbell and company can try to make some more history on Saturday. Upper Moreland has only reached a District 1 championship game once, when it won the title in 2013.

In the Golden Bears’ path it is an Upper Dublin team that’s won 25 games in a row, including two against Upper Moreland. The Cardinals came from behind for a 55-53 win in the SOL championship game on Feb. 10.

“We’re pumped to be able to see them again,” Campbell said. “They’re a really talented team, and so are we. We’re going to give them our best shot and whatever happens, happens. We’re excited to see them again.”

“It’s hard to beat a team three times,” Cybok added.

Upper Moreland 67, Marple Newtown 49

Marple Newtown 12 | 13 | 13 | 11 || 49

Upper Moreland 20 | 12 | 14 | 21 || 67

Marple Newtown: Matt Gardler 24, Jack Dean 9, Ryan Keating 6, Mike Rush 6, John Matthews 2, Jackson Park 2.

Upper Moreland: Jadon Cybok 26, Colson Campbell 14, Larry Hughes 12, Nate Best 8, Luke Roussel 5, Anthony Carson 2.