City of Basketball Love

Eugene Rapay (@erapay5)
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Not a single seat was left open on Tuesday night at Harriton High School’s gymnasium. It wasn’t just any other basketball game for the Rams (5-9, 2-6 Central League), as they hosted neighboring Lower Merion High School (10-3, 6-2 Central League).

The gymnasium was flooded with fans in red or black, there to support their teams. Raucous chants and jeers echoed vibrantly before tip-off, setting the stage for a rivalry showdown for the two high school schools in Lower Merion School District.

Aside from the annual contest on the court, players on both sides of the game have known each other all too well.

Most of them have grown up together, going through elementary and middle school side-by-side as classmates and friends. Their allegiances to one another became skewed once they reached high school, going to either one of the two high schools that comprise the Lower Merion School District.

This division bolsters the rivalry even further. It’s comparable to sibling rivalry--you never want to lose.

“It always feels great, especially when we get the win,” Lower Merion center Jeremy Horn said after Tuesday night’s 53-34 win.

The senior center has had lots of experience with the Lower Merion-Harriton rivalry, and is very familiar with those who stand in his way in a Rams’ jersey.

Last summer, he saw a lot of them on the basketball courts of nearby Narberth Park and in the Maccabi games.

Going back even further, he’s been a part of the school district his whole life and played with Harriton’s Spencer Henry and Will Esposto during his younger years in Penn Valley Junior Sports Association (PVJSA) leagues and camps.

Even back then, the 6-foot-8 center has always had the size to be a basketball player.

“I’ve always been extremely tall,” Horn said. “Back then I was more skinny and more uncoordinated, I wasn’t able to use my size like I can now.”

Over time as he grew, even reaching 6-4 as a freshman in high school, his basketball skills also sharpened.

The Lower Merion basketball staff has helped him harness his size and refine his play so that he can utilize his size to make him an even greater threat inside.

While he’s still working on his craft, he was able to show off his progress in front of Lower Merion fans and his former peers over at Harriton. As the tallest player on the court, he was able to use his size to bully the Rams inside. The three, possibly four-inch difference in height over Harriton’s tallest player gave the Rams some issues.

“He’s pretty much the tallest player in the Central League, we use him in our offense a lot,” Aces guard K.J. Helton said. “We just try to give him the ball and let the offense run through him because of his size, and also because he can score the ball too.”

Horn played a key role in the 53-34 win over the Rams, scoring 11 points and grabbing a team-high 10 rebounds.

While the Aces got off to a quick start to the game, Horn was lagging behind. He missed a couple of his shots around the rim and almost lost the ball in the post once they started double teaming him.

He kept a strong presence on the glass and once his scoring caught up, he became a formidable go-to option down low. His teammates started to feed him inside as his confidence grew.

“We want him to attempt a double-double every time, that’s his checkpoint,” Lower Merion head coach Gregg Downer said. “Tonight, ironically, was his first double-double of the season.”

With Harriton forced to account for Horn inside, it allowed Lower Merion to spread the ball around.

Helton and Terrell Jones each contributed a game-high 12 points to the winning effort.

Once the Aces grabbed the lead from the start, they never looked back. A pristine defensive effort and a smooth offensive game plan on the other end allowed them to build a big lead very quickly.

“We got off to a good start, which is something we haven’t done all season,” Downer said. “We created a cushion and we were able to keep that cushion and keep them at bay the entire game.”

Lower Merion held a 28-14 lead at the half.

The Rams were held to seven or less points in each of the first three quarters of the game. They were able to find a scoring rhythm in the fourth quarter, but by then it was far too late.

Esposto led the Rams with eight points, while Idris Ransom added another seven.