City of Basketball Love

By Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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Marple Newtown’s senior class is big, but not basketball-focused. 

Sure, Sean Spratt has eight of them on his roster, a sizable group that’s been together since middle school. But they’re mostly standouts in other sports — lacrosse, baseball, football — without a single player on the roster who’s going to play college hoops. 

That doesn’t mean, though, that they can’t be plenty dangerous on the hardwood. The Marple boys celebrated Senior Day on Saturday afternoon, then had just about every one of those seniors chip in as the Tigers picked up a key win, 56-55 over Delco Christian. 

Senior wing John Matthews led the way with a career-best 20 points as Marple Newtown (8-8) snapped a five-game skid, coming up with some key defensive plays down the stretch to finish off a quality Delco Christian side that was in the game until the final seconds. 

“It feels great,” Matthews said afterwards. “We put in a lot of time to this team, and a lot goes into trying to win these games. So to do it on a night especially like today, on senior day, it was awesome.”

It was a super-sized senior day ceremony beforehand, Spratt and his coaching staff welcoming all eight seniors plus parents and other assorted family members onto the court. All the gathered friends and family made for a sizable crowd at Marple for a snowy Saturday afternoon non-league game, and they were treated to a well-played contest which came right down to the wire. 

The Marple seniors all posed together for a photo beforehand, then celebrated afterwards in the locker room with some non-basketball-playing classmates, the Tigers coaches letting them in and standing outside the door smiling as they listened to the celebration inside.

“We’ve all played with each other throughout middle school and now we’re in high school,” senior Mike Murray said. “We love each other, we spend time together. We all want to see everyone succeed, so it’s great.”

A 6-foot-2 wing who plays soccer, basketball and baseball at Marple, Matthews was outstanding in the middle of Delco Christian’s zone. The Tigers’ attack kept finding him the ball at the foul line, and the Knights’ defense kept sagging off him, daring him to rise up and fire — so he did, over and over. 

Matthews was 10-of-13 from the floor, almost all of it coming in the mid-range. He did adjust to Delco’s defense getting more aggressive on him in the second half, attacking the bucket on several occasions, but most of his production came on 13-foot jumpers, one knocked down after another.

“They were giving me space in there and I practice that shot a lot, so to get it and keep seeing it throughout the game was pretty awesome,” he said. “We knew we were going to see the 2-3 [zone], and that’s our philosophy, to find the ball in the middle and then find the open man. I didn’t expect that much space, but it was there, so I took it.”

Matthews (above, with ball) hit 10 shots and made a number of plays out of the middle of the zone. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Though it was a non-league win over a 2A school in the middle of Central League play, it was still an important one for Marple. Not only did it snap the losing streak, it also lifted the Tigers from 11th to 9th in the unofficial District 1 5A power rankings, just fractions of a point separating them from 6th. 

That’s significant in a district tournament which only takes 12 teams, with the top four seeds getting a bye to the second round and the next four hosting a first-round game. 

“It definitely helps,” Spratt said, “[but] I wouldn’t say (districts are) too much on our mind just because of how difficult the Central league itself is, we’re just trying to survive Central League play. And if you do that, usually you’re in a good position for districts. 

“It was moreso the fact that we lost five straight, five tough games, so I think this win is more important for our psyche, just getting over that winless hurdle.”

The Knights (9-5), one of the top teams in the Bicentennial Athletic League, got 15 points from junior Karter Freeman, who also added five rebounds, four blocks and three assists to his afternoon. Sophomore guard Joel Johnson (13 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists) and senior wing Laverne Sambola (12 points, 6 rebounds) joined him in double figures, while senior forward and Dickinson commit Brad Berwick added six points, 10 rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a steal.

But Marple forced 16 turnovers while giving it away just five times, the Tigers going from a man-to-man defense in the first half to a zone in the second half and having success with both. They also piled up 19 assists on 23 made baskets, getting six players dishing out multiple dimes, led by senior guard Jack Dean (7 points, 5 assists, 3 steals) and sophomore guard Mike Rush (9 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds).  

“A lot of coaches get worried with eight seniors, because it can be tough to manage, especially when only five can be on a court at a time, but it’s a very mature group overall,” said Spratt, who also graduated an eight-man class in 2022, when they made the PIAA 5A quarterfinals. “It’s a good group of eight, and from a maturity standpoint, it’s a good way for them to show the younger kids how to handle yourself as a high school athlete.”

The way Marple closed out a game that featured numerous lead changes and runs from both sides was also a good example for the youngsters on the bench and any in the stands. 

Matthews put the Tigers up two with three minutes to go on a layup off a feed from Rush, one of his few buckets around the rim. Seconds later, Murray stole the ball around midcourt and took it in for an open layup, making it 53-49 with 2:40 remaining. 

“I was nervous,” he admitted. “It felt good, though, it did feel good. I’m just happy our team gets a win in the end, so that’s all that matters.”

Marple still had to hold on. Sambola hit a 3-pointer with 2:20 remaining to pull Delco back within one point. The margin remained that way with 18 seconds left when Dean stepped to the line, making two free-throws to push it to a three-point gap. 

Guarding the inbounds, Murray deflected the pass, allowing Rush to come up with the ball and get fouled. The sophomore, Marple’s brightest young basketball talent, hit the first foul shot to seal the wing. Bradford knocked down a 3-pointer for Delco at the buzzer for the final margin.

The Tigers now turn their attention to their final six Central League games of the season, which include two very difficult games against Penncrest and Springfield (Delco.) and four more winnable contests. A 4-2 record over the closing stretch might not be enough for them to make the league playoffs, but should safely put them in the district field. 

“We all obviously want to make districts and that's a big goal of ours, but we put that off and take this game by game," Matthews said. "We’ll make the districts, hopefully, and we’ll worry about it when we’re there.” 

By Quarter
MN: 13  |  18  |  13  |  12  ||  56
DC: 17  |  13  |  11  |  14  ||  55

Shooting
MN: 23-56 FG (7-22 3PT), 3-4 FT
DC: 21-36 FG (5-10 3PT), 8-15 FT

Scoring
MN: John Matthews 20, Mike Rush 9, Jackson Burger 8, Jack Dean 7, Cole D’Ambrosio 6, Sean Grogan 2, Jackson Park 2

DC: Karter Freeman 15, Joel Johnson 13, Laverne Sambola 12, Nat Barnes 9, Brad Berwick 6