City of Basketball Love

Eugene Rapay (@erapay5)
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After receiving back-to-back losses this past week, Conestoga was in dire need to turn things around.

The Pioneers lost to Reading last weekend and Central League’s first-place Ridley on Wednesday, and barely had a chance to catch their breath before heading into Lower Merion on Friday afternoon. Conestoga needed to put the disappointing losses aside, as even a mediocre showing against the rival Aces could easily extend its losing streak to three.

Conestoga had beaten Lower Merion earlier in the season in the comfort of its home gymnasium. However, this time, the Pioneers had to go into enemy territory, where the Aces were a perfect 6-0 in the Kobe Bryant Gymnasium on the year.

“Anytime you can beat one of the top teams in the league, that’s big,” Conestoga head coach Mike Troy said after his team walked away with a 63-57 victory. “We had a tough loss against Ridley, and it was nice to see my team bounce back and re-cement themselves for who they are.”

Troy’s calm, collected approach to Friday’s game was in stark contrast to the nature of the game. While the Pioneers (12-6, 9-4 Central) led for most of the game, the Aces (13-5, 9-3) refused to go away quietly.

The Pioneers built a 34-24 lead at the half after senior point guard Darryl Caldwell drained a contested 3-pointer just before the buzzer.

“I know for the past four years whenever we play L.M., I just get up,” Caldwell said, smiling.

Caldwell was an integral part to Conestoga’s game plan. He served as the facilitator on offense, running the floor. Smooth ball movement resulted in a balanced offense with six different players providing at least six points each.

When he wasn’t distributing, the small-college recruit was able to score from almost anywhere on the floor.

Although he’s not the biggest at 5-foot-9, he didn’t shy away from driving inside and finishing through contact. He was also able to knock down his shots from beyond the arc. Caldwell led the scoring effort with 18 points.

On the other end of the court, he was also a catalyst on defense. Caldwell notched a couple of steals that led a few scoring opportunities, and he disrupted passing lanes.

As a whole, the Pioneers showed off their quick hands. They kept the pressure on the Aces and made it hard for them to even inbounds the ball. Deflections and picked off passes made it difficult for Lower Merion to settle in on offense.

Regardless, there were spurts of momentum where the Aces were able to come back and threaten the Pioneer lead.

“I thought we came out hard, and we played with a lot of poise in the second half,” Troy said. “Lower Merion kept trying to come back and come back and come back. We were able to answer the call every time.”

Lower Merion came storming back into the game to begin the third quarter. Noah Fennell (13 points) topped off a 9-0 run with a 3-pointer to pull the Aces to within three coming out of the half.

Caldwell put an end to the run with a jumper. From there, Conestoga was able to rebuild its lead. Each time Lower Merion looked like it was coming back into the game, the Pioneers quelled each and every spurt.

The Aces were able to get a few steals that translated into scoring plays in the closing moments of the game, but by then, it was too late.

Jeremy Horn led Lower Merion with 17 points and eight rebounds. Terrell Jones added 12 points, while K.J. Helton had 11.

“I thought we had a very good team win, this one was really important because we just lost to Ridley,” Caldwell said. “We want to make the Central League playoffs, so we really needed this win. I just thought we came out with great intensity.”