City of Basketball Love

By Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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BERWYN — Tygee Clark used one word over and over when discussing his change of scenery this year: welcoming. 

“When I came here, everyone was welcoming,” the Conestoga senior said. “Coaching staff, players, it just feels like family over here, feels like no one is bigger than no other. Real welcoming.”

A 5-foot-11 guard, Clark had spent the first three years of his high school career at Cardinal O’Hara, close to his Delaware County home. But when his family moved in the summer up to eastern Chester County, putting him in the Tredyffrin/Easttown school district, he had a choice to make: undergo a significant longer commute to finish out at O’Hara, or make the move to public school and spend his senior year at Conestoga. 

He reached out to ‘Stoga standout Rowan Miller, his potential future classmate and teammate, on Instagram. The reaction from Miller and Co. was immediate, and positive. 

“He was just ready to come work,” Miller said, “and we welcomed him with open arms.”

Which is why, just four games into his time in a Pioneer uniform, Clark is already thriving. 

Tygee Clark (above) had a season-high 18 points Thursday night against Lower Merion. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

The Clark-Miller backcourt was strong on Thursday night, combining for 33 points as ‘Stoga picked up a big-early season Central League, holding off defending champ Lower Merion in a 50-45 home win. 

Clark’s 18 points were his season high, Miller adding 15 as the two skilled combo guards made one play after another at the hoop. Their combined effort was crucial to help the Pioneers overcome a slow start and hold the lead for the entire second half after a big second quarter.

“Ty’s been an awesome addition to our team,” Conestoga coach Sean Forcine said. “Not just in terms of his skill — he comes to us with a maturity, he totally has bought into our system and our philosophy, has just been a great complement to all of the other guys on the court. Second to that, he’s a helluva player.”

Clark’s arrival this offseason couldn’t have come at a better time. Last year, ‘Stoga had a two-point-guard backcourt in Miller and Ben Robinson, now at Scranton; with Robinson graduating, Miller would have had to shoulder a large major of the ball-handling, surrounded by wings and forwards on the Pioneers’ roster. 

Instead, Forcine now has two veterans out on the floor once again, both calm under pressure against Lower Merion’s defense the vast majority of the game. Miller is one of the best guards in District 1, averaging 13 points, five rebounds and five assists as a junior; Clark averaged 9.1 ppg for O’Hara a year ago as the Lions’ second-leading scorer in the Catholic League. 

“It’s nice for (Miller), it’s really nice for me,” said Forcine, now in his third year as Conestoga’s head coach after a long run as Mike Troy’s top assistant. “When they have the ball in the backcourt, I feel really good about it.”

Rowan Miller (2) puts up a shot during the first half of Conestoga's 50-45 win. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Clark scored nine of his game-high scoring total in the second quarter, which saw the Pioneers (3-1, 2-0 Central League) go on a 17-4 run after falling behind by eight, taking a 27-25 lead into the break. They increased that lead to seven by the end of the third, getting nine from Miller in that period, and opened up a 47-34 lead with less than four minutes left in the fourth.

But Lower Merion — which had a balanced offense paced by junior guard Kyle Parrish (11 points) and sophomore guard Israel Ingram (10 points) — didn’t go away quietly. 

With Conestoga rushing a few offensive possessions and missing a few layups, the Aces (1-3, 0-2) knocked down three straight 3-pointers to get the gap to four with under two minutes to play, then Will Yard forced a tie-up before coming up with a layup at the other end to make it a two-point game. The defending Central League champs got the ball back again with 20 seconds left after another Pioneers turnover, but a 3-pointer was off the mark, the rebound going to Conestoga. 

Miller made 1-of-2 from the line with 7.7 seconds left to get the margin back to three; Lower Merion missed one final 3-pointer, then Clark added a pair with less than two seconds on the clock for the final tally.

“I was proud of how we broke the press but once we got into a half-court set, I think we did a few things that we’re not accustomed to,” Forcine said. “Tried to do a little too much instead of being strong with the ball, moving with the pass, but that’s what happens in the beginning of the season, we’ll learn from it and it’ll make us better at the end.”

While the two guards shined, 'Stoga also got five points during its second-quarter run from freshman guard Sol Onwubuariri, who also grabbed six rebounds. That was the same amount of scoring as senior wing Adhvik Mani and senior forward Cory Hogan contributed; senior wing Shane O'Brien remains sidelined for the near future with a sprained right ankle. 

Conestoga coach Sean Forcine gestures during Thursday's win. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

In a wide-open Central League that includes numerous strong programs (‘Stoga, LM, Penncrest, Garnet Valley and more) but not one obvious preseason favorite, Conestoga is very much in the running to lift some hardware in the spring. 

That’s a new situation for Clark, who was a freshman in 2022-23 when O’Hara went 18-8 (8-5 PCL) but has otherwise been on solid-but-not-spectacular Lions teams that finished in the bottom half of the brutal PCL. A strong season from him this year, and there’s a real chance he’s got something to celebrate in February or March. 

“That’s my family over there, I was there for three years,” Clark said of O’Hara, “but it feels good to know that we’ve got a lot of potential in this league, and potential is nothing just to talk about it, we’ve got to go out there and go get what we can do.”

By Quarter
Lower Merion:  13  |  12  |   9   |  11  ||  45
Conestoga:       6   |  21  |  14  |   9   ||  50

Shooting
Lower Merion: 17-48 FG (8-32 3PT), 3-5 FT
Conestoga: 16-33 FG (3-7 3PT), 15-20 FT

Scoring
Lower Merion: Kyle Parrish 11, Israel Ingram 10, Bereket Darsenie 9, Arjay Miller 6, Charlie Kocudak 4, Davion Smith 3, Will Yard 2

Conestoga: Tygee Clark 18, Rowan Miller 15, Sol Onwuburariri 5, Adhvik Mani 5, Cory Hogan 5, Logan Straub 2