City of Basketball Love

Jeff Griffith
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Haverford School was afforded a marquee opportunity Saturday — a neutral-site contest contest with the defending PIAA 5A state champions and one of the area’s perennial standout programs, Neumann-Goretti.

Haverford has plenty of its own pedigree, fresh off of a 20-plus-win season and PAISAA quarterfinal appearance last season. But Saturday, the Fords made a statement — and Silas Graham wrote his portion of that statement in bold. 

Behind Graham’s breakout 38-point performance, Haverford dominated a talented Neumann-Goretti squad, 77-55 at Penn Charter.

“It was cool,” Graham said. “It shows us how good we can be moving forward, and what we need to do to maintain that going into our league and other tough non-conference games.”

For Graham — the son of Cornell associate head coach and Penn alum Nat Graham — Saturday was just the continuation of what’s been an accomplished winter so far. Graham is fresh off of a 42-point outing in a win over Friends Central, and has recently begun to build a Division I offer sheet.

According to Graham, he’s picked up five offers — Belmont, Drexel, St. Joe’s, Richmond and Iona — with most interest from Belmont and Richmond.

“A lot of what we do comes back to me, so that helps,” Graham said. “My finishing around the rim has gotten a lot better, and then me shooting more threes, even if they don’t go in all the time, it’s opening more lanes, and I’m getting mid-ranges more, post-ups more. “

Graham, of course, was the catalyst for the Fords from the jump, helping Haverford jump out to a 22-12 lead. By halftime, the Fords held a 39-23 advantage, well on their way to a wire-to-wire win. 

While Graham was the Fords’ frontrunner, Junior Conor Morsell added 12 points, while senior Dillon Gamble chipped in 10. For the Saints, senior DeShawn Yates led the way with 13 while junior Landon Collins had 11.

“I think this was the best we’ve played this year so far,” Graham said. “This is the standard for us to be as good as we can be.”

Here’s a look at a few more of Saturday’s results from around the region: 

HS BOYS: Westtown School 84, Compass Academy (N.J.) 67

Westtown rolled behind 12 made three-pointers — and 38 total points — from junior Marshall Bailey, who broke a school record previously held by 2020 graduate TJ Berger. With the win, though, TJ's father, Seth Berger, earned the 400th of his career.

HS BOYS: Spring-Ford 56, Constitution 54

An out-of-conference thriller saw Spring-Ford (6-0) maintain its perfect start to the season, handing Constitution its first loss of the year. In a game that was close throughout — Constitution led by one at halftime — a breakout fourth quarter from Spring-Ford senior Syaire Barnes made a major difference; Barnes had 13 of his game-high 24 in the last frame. Constitution had a team-high 19 apiece from senior guards Nick Young and Jacob Mitchell.

HS BOYS: Conestoga 63, Pennsbury 60

Conestoga continued a strong start to the season Saturday, knocking off Pennsbury in a tight game that was close throughout. The Falcons led by one at the half, behind a combined 21 points from sophomores Brayden Clark and Patrick Jajua — the latter ended the game with 27. The Pioneers got a team-high 23 points out of Tygee Clark — including 13 in the second half — while Cory Hogan added 15.

HS GIRLS: Pottsgrove 56, Pottstown 51

Pottsgrove rallied from an early deficit and withstood a foul-plagued fourth quarter to earn a hard-fought home win over Pottstown. Sophomore Layla Jelbaoui powered the Falcons with 19 points and 11 rebounds, while junior Vivian Kyler added 11 points and 14 boards and point guard Theila Delaquilla chipped in 11, including key free throws late. Pottstown’s Jyanna Hill led all scorers with 31 points in defeat.

HS BOYS: Haverford High 68, West Chester Rustin 35

The Fords picked up a dominant win Saturday, beating Rustin by more than 30 thanks especially to 23 points from senior Andrew Brown — one of 11 unique scorers for Haverford. By halftime, Haverford led by 13, but a 19-10 third quarter blew things open for good. Senior Timmy Batchelor led the Knights with 17.

HS BOYS: Penn Charter 63, Perkiomen School 51

Penn Charter came away with a nice win in its home event Saturday, taking down The Perkiomen School by double digits. The Quakers, now 6-1 — their only loss came out of state — own a quality stable of wins, including Archbishop Ryan and George School. Penn Charter got a game-high 19 points from senior Kasey Fleming. Perkiomen dropped to 2-2 with the loss, and got a balanced scoring output, including 14 from Alec Roumph. 

HS GIRLS: Owen J. Roberts 59, Pope John Paul II 46

The OJR girls have officially matched last year’s win total, continuing a 4-1 start with another double-digit victory. Freshman Maggie Thompson capped a historic week with 32 points — two shy of the school record she set Tuesday against Methacton — while Kira Sorzano added 21. For the Panthers, senior Saydi Daye led the way with 18. 

HS BOYS: Chester 61, Muhlenberg 41

In just its second game of the young season, Chester handed Muhlenberg (5-1) its first loss, largely behind a stalwart defensive performance in its second and third quarters; in those two frames combined, the Clippers outscored Muhlenberg 25-8. Chester had a pair of players — senior Paul Lindsay II and sophomore Jasiyn Mallory-Granberry — lead the way with a dozen points. 

HS GIRLS: Monsignor Scanlan (N.Y.) 56, Archbishop Carroll 54

Carroll went toe to toe with one of the nation’s best — Scanlan ranks No. 11 in MaxPreps’ national rankings and fell just short, losing by two despite a nine-point advantage entering the fourth quarter. Kayla Eberz had a standout performance, tallying 28 points and 11 boards in the loss. 

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Kaylah Turner filled the stat sheet in a win over VCU (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL).

D-I WOMEN: Temple 88, VCU 63

A Temple team that had lost four of five after a 3-1 start got a much-needed resounding win Saturday, crushing VCU (3-7) by 25. The second quarter saw the Owls really break the game open, turning a three-point lead after one into a 42-26 halftime advantage behind Kaylah Turner’s 17 first-half points; she led the way with 29 total points, shooting an impressive 9-of-13 from the field and 6-of-8 from deep while adding six rebounds.

Jaleesa Molina posted an impressive line as well, contributing 11 points, 10 rebounds and six dimes. Sophomore Brianna Mead had her most productive this season off the bench, connecting on three of five triples and finishing with 11 points.

D-I MEN: Villanova 79, Pittsburgh 61

Villanova (8-2) took care of business against a struggling Pittsburgh team — the Panthers have lost five of six, including home losses to Quinnipiac and Hofstra — running away in the second half.

The Wildcats, who were led by Bryce Lindsey and Duke Brennan with 24 apiece — Brennan was a perfect 8-for-8 from the field and added nine boards — led by six with eight minutes to go, but ripped off a quick 10-0 run to break it open. ‘Nova wraps up non-conference play Friday against Wisconsin.

D-I MEN: Long Island 70, La Salle 60

La Salle took a tough 10-point road loss Saturday, falling to an LIU team that has now won three of the last four. The Explorers impressed on the boards, outrebounding the Sharks 40-29, but turned the ball over 18 times and sent LIU to the line 24 times, while making just five of their 10 free throw attempts. A Justin Archer bucket tied the game with under five minutes left, but LIU scored 10 of the game’s 11 points to wrap it up. 

Archer had 11 points and nine rebounds for La Salle, while Jaeden Marshall led the way off the bench with 13.