City of Basketball Love

By Jeff Griffith
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January 13, 2026 has been circled on West Chester East’s calendar for exactly five weeks. 

Images of Downingtown East’s postgame celebration, in the Vikings’ home gym, after a 31-point Cougars win in early December, stuck with Erin Listrani.

“They had a party in our gym,” she said. “And we said in the locker room that we were going to remember that day. As much respect as I have for Downingtown East, they’re a great team, but we knew we would give them a better game the next time.”

Halfway through Tuesday’s contest, with the Vikings down by 14, it wasn’t looking like that was the case. Two quarters and a furious comeback later, though, the Vikings had put Abby Drucis — who entered the fourth with just three points — in position to punctuate the Vikings’ statement.

A late steal off an inbounds pass, nabbed away by Carly Bickle, set up Drucis for a go-ahead corner three that lifted West Chester East to a 41-40 road win over Downingtown East, and one game closer to the top of the Ches-Mont National leaderboard. 

“What I said to the kids in the locker room after was, that’s the kind of stuff that we practice every day,” Listrani said. “Everybody has each other’s back all the time.”

For the past two seasons, the Ches-Mont National has, by and large, been Downingtown East’s; the Cougars won it last year with an 11-1 record, and entered Tuesday having won their first six division games this season. On the flip side, West Chester East opened this season 0-4 overall, and a 72-41 loss to the Cougars served as their league opener.

(Video courtesy West Chester East)

Since then, though, the Vikings are winners of nine of their last 11, and now sit at 5-2 in the Ches-Mont National, just one game behind Downingtown East and half a game behind Downingtown West, the only other team in the division that’s beaten the Vikings this season.

So, in terms of the Ches-Mont National standings, the division still shows Downingtown East in first, and rightfully so, but Tuesday night’s result sets it up to be a significantly closer race down the stretch. 

“I say all the time how much respect I have for the Ches-Mont league and every team in it,” Listrani said. “Every night is a battle. It definitely shakes things up in the standings, but we have Bishop Shanahan on Thursday, and we’re not taking them lightly or anyone in the rest of our schedule.”

While Drucis was the hero, she ended the night with just six points. Freshman Kayla Holman led the way with 18, including 14 in the last quarter. 

“Kayla had a huge fourth quarter,” she said. “Her teammates kept finding her. She really shows a lot of poise as a freshman.”

“It was really a collective battle, though,” she added, “to even get in a position to have the chance to win it at the end.”

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HS Boys: Methacton 76, Phoenixville 62

A pair of teams that currently lead their respective PAC divisions went head-to-head Tuesday night, with Methacton winning in resounding fashion despite trailing 10-0 out of the gate. The Warriors have now won 12 in a row since falling to 1-3 after a December 9 loss to Perkiomen Valley.

“We were playing from behind early, but our guys really responded at halftime,” Methacton coach Pat Lockard said. “I think our guys are understanding the intensity and the focus that you need on a daily basis to be successful in district one. Tonight they didn’t come out with that, but they understood it’s a four-quarter game and they brought enough to be able to finish it out.” 

In Tuesday’s contest, Methacton trailed by two at the half, and led by just two after three, but dominated the last quarter. Wes Robinson served as the Warriors’ leading scorer with 21 points, while John Leet added 16. Keron Booth Jr. went off for a game-high 28 for Phoenixville. 

HS Girls: Notre Dame 56, SCH Academy 28

In a dominant league win over SCH, Notre Dame senior Riley Davis picked up her 1,000th point — and it was a close call; Davis needed 20 points Tuesday in order to reach the coveted milestone, and dropped 21. After going 12-0 and winning the Inter-Ac last season, Notre Dame improved to 4-0 in league play with the win. 

HS Boys: Penncrest 62, Upper Darby 43

Penncrest continued its undefeated run in conference play, improving to 9-0 with a commanding victory over a strong Upper Darby squad. The Royals, who entered Tuesday’s contest with a 5-2 conference mark — good for fourth place — hung around early, entering halftime within single digits, but the Lions steadily pulled away, leading by 16 after three quarters. 

For Penncrest, Mikey Mita led the charge with 18 points and 10 rebounds, while Connor Cahil chipped in 16 points on 4-of-5 three-point shooting. In defeat, Tahli Murray led a balanced Royals team with 9 points. 

HS Boys: Garnet Valley 69, Strath Haven 46

While Penncrest may be undefeated atop the Central League, Garnet Valley has kept close pace, and improved to 8-1 in conference after dominating Strath Haven behind Grayson Golek’s 19 points. The Jaguars will face Penncrest Thursday.

HS Boys: Germantown Academy 75, Episcopal Academy 69

36 points from senior Timmy Dennis weren’t enough for EA Tuesday night, as Germantown picked up a key win in a battle of teams that had started Inter-Ac play 0-1. Dennis was a jaw-dropping 17-of-20 from the free throw line in the loss. For Germantown, though, a 25-17 first frame helped set the tone, and a team-high 21 points from James Brenner, as well as 16 from Mick McKee were key contributions. 

HS Boys: Penn Charter 56, SCH Academy 49

The Quakers took care of business to improve to 2-0 on the Inter-Ac title defense, while handing the Blue Devils their second straight loss to start conference play. Carter Smith led the way with  21 points, while Jackson Boyd added 12.

HS Boys: Pope John Paul II 58, Pottsgrove 56

Pope John Paul II picked up a road win in close finish, fending off Pottsgrove 58-56 to earn its 11th-straight victory. Three double-digit scorers led the way for the Golden Panthers; Ayden Wise had 15 points, while Zahaid Edwards-Boone added 12 and Jason Green scored 11. PJP entered the final frame down 42-40, but a combined 13 fourth-quarter points from Green and Edwards-Boone helped seal the deal. 

HS Girls: Lower Merion 47, Radnor 44

As Central League teams jostle for positioning, Lower Merion (9-5, 6-3 Central) picked up a key win over Radnor (10-3, 6-3 Central) to help slide up the upper half of the conference standings. 

HS Boys: Souderton 70, Upper Moreland 33 

In a matchup of teams that entered Tuesday night’s Suburban One crossover game at 4-1 in their respective divisions, Souderton made a statement, winning by nearly 40. Soudy’s win marked its first time winning back-to-back games since an eight-game win streak to start the year that ended in mid-December. By halftime, Souderton led 45-21, but a 15-3 third quarter really helped break things all the way open. Five Souderton players — led by Chanse Salone’s 18 — scored 13 or more points, while Cannon Campbell led Upper Moreland with 19. 

HS Boys: Dock Mennonite 61, Collegium Charter 49

Dock Mennonite’s double-digit win marked a key milestone moment for the program; head coach Mike Fergus secured his 207th career victory at Dock, tying former coach Tim Ehst for the most wins in Dock Mennonite boys basketball history. 

HS Girls: Phoenixville 45, Upper Merion 38

Phoenixville used a dominant second quarter to its advantage in PAC crossover win over Upper Merion; the Phantoms outscored UM by 16-4 in the second frame after a tied first quarter. Phoenixville only put up 15 second-half points, but the halftime advantage was enough to reach the finish line. Kayden Baratta led the Phantoms with 18 points, while Kennedy Coles had 20 for the Vikings. 

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D-I Men: Villanova 88, Providence 82

Villanova picked up a much-needed road win Tuesday night, fending off a second-half push from a pesky Providence team to improve to 14-3, 5-1 in Big East play. The Wildcats led by 12 at the break, and by 13 with 13 minutes to go, but the Friars cut the lead to as few as five in the game’s waning minutes. Devin Askew was crucial off the bench for ‘Nova, with 20 points and seven assists, while Tyler Perkins and Duke Brennan combined for 29 points and 16 boards. 

D-I Women: Tulane 71, Temple 58

A slow start ultimately doomed Temple in a loss to Tulane at home, in a matchup of teams that both entered the game sub-.500 overall and in conference. After the first quarter, Temple (7-9, 1-3 American) was down 24-15; the Owls fought back to momentarily take the lead in the third quarter, but the Green Wave finished that frame on a quick 5-0 spurt to help shift momentum. The Owls — who got a team-high 20 points and 10 rebounds from Jaleesa Molina — have now lost four of their last five. 

D-II Women: Kutztown 49, West Chester 46

In a matchup of two teams hovering around .500 and looking for footing in the PSAC, Kutztown earned a close win on the road, despite not having a single double-digit scorer. Leila Hurley and Olivia Smelas each had nine points to lead the way for the Bears; Smelas also had a team-high 11 rebounds. The Bears didn’t score a field goal in the final five minutes of the game, but a quintet of clutch Kutztown free throws made the difference. For West Chester, Marianna Papazoglou led the way with 12 points and nine boards.

D-II Men: West Chester 93 Kutztown 68

West Chester rolled at home for its fourth win in a row, riding a near 50-point first half to a 25-point win over Kutztown. The Rams shot just 34 percent from three-point range, but outrebounded Kutztown by 12, forced 17 turnovers, and held the Bears to 22 percent three-point shooting. Anthony McCall led WCU with 22 point while shooting a perfect 10-of-10 from the free throw line.