City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin) &
Jeff Griffith (@Jeff_Griffith21)
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There are a few teams in District 1 AAAA for whom the state playoffs are a common occurrence.

Sure, making it all the way into Pennsylvania’s final 32 teams in the state’s largest bracket is a goal for every program every year, but there are some--Chester, Lower Merion, Plymouth Whitemarsh and others come to mind--where it can be surprising to not see that team qualify for the state tournament.

Central Bucks East is not one of those programs.

Prior to this year, when C.B. East upset Pennsbury and then Coatesville to qualify for the state bracket, the Patriots’ last trip to the state tournament came in 1983--at which point Ronald Reagan was still president and Jim Valvano’s NC State Wolfpack were about to take the NCAA by storm.

None of the current Patriots, this year’s No. 17 seed in District 1, would be born for another 15 years.

“My kids weren’t born,” said Patriots head coach Erik Henrysen, in his sixth year with the program. “It is special but it’s just the guys embracing one game to the next, and simplifying things. We’re not looking to win a game on one shot, we’re looking to just the next play and if you can build on each play, good things can happen.”

The team C.B. East took out in order to clinch a spot in this year’s state tournament is one of those teams who commonly finds itself playing into March, the district’s top-seed, Coatesville, who they took down 59-53 Tuesday night.

The Red Raiders most recently made states in 2014, having also reached the PIAA quarterfinals in 2013 and 2012.

“They’re tough, they have everything, athleticism, they have size, they have shooters, they can defend,” Henrysen remarked. “We just went in there and really looked to play the way we practice, we didn’t look to change much, we want to control the game on the offensive end and on the defensive end.

"If you want to pinpoint one or two things, it was that we handled their pressure while we had the ball and we defended. We made sure that assignments that were given were followed through on and just conceptually playing against a team like that, we were looking to make sure the ball didn’t get into the lane.”

Their quarterfinal opponent has an even more illustrious resume. Having most recently won back-to-back state titles in 2011 and 2012, the ninth-seeded Chester Clippers have qualified for states in every year but last since the 1980s, and have compiled eight state trophies in 18 state championship game appearances.

It’s safe to say the Patriots will yet again play the role of David against Goliath.

“They’re big, they’re athletic, there’s all that tradition, the majority of the games that they didn’t win were from out-of-district powers and that’s going to be a tough game,” Henrysen said.

According to Henrysen, the key for CB East’s success has been senior guard and Lafayette football commit Tommy Strasburger--who was described as the Patriots’ “heart and soul” by his head coach--as well as key efforts from other important players.

Fellow seniors Justin O’Neill and Blake Peterson have also been critical specifically under the basket. While the 6-foot-7 Peterson recently earned the title of all-time leading shot-blocker at Central Bucks East with 140 swats, O’Neill--who checks in at just 6-1--has been finding ways to make physical plays around the rim.

Those three players will each have to play huge roles against Chester if they’re going to see the bright lights of the Liacouras Center for the district final four.

Chester boasts an intimidating lineup, keyed by a prolific guard in Khaleeq Campbell, a versatile wing in 6-7 Marquis Collins, and a bulky big man in 6-8 Maurice Henry; both Collins and Henry are committed to Delaware State. A case could potentially be made that the Clippers are the deepest and most diversely talented team CB East has faced to date.

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Breakdown (all games 2/19 @ 7 PM, higher seeds host)
9) Chester vs. 17) Central Bucks East
The Clippers have gotten good luck with some upsets in their section of the bracket, getting No. 25 Hatboro at home in the second round instead of traveling to No. 8 Strath Haven, and now they get CB East at the Clip Joint instead of having to go to No. 1 Coatesville. Point guard Khaleeq Campbell, out last year with a torn ACL, is determined to bring Chester back to its district and state-championship ways, and he’s got the cast to do it with an imposing front line led by 6-8 senior Maurice Henry, 6-7 junior Jordan Camper, 6-7 senior Marquis Collins and 6-6 junior Jamar Sudan.

4) Ridley vs. 12) Spring-Ford
The Green Raiders and Rams each boast one of the District 1’s most exciting senior guards, as Ridley’s Brett Foster and Spring-Ford’s Matt Gnias both drive their team’s respective engines. Foster, a 6-0 combo guard bound for East Stroudsburg, only needed to score eight points in Ridley’s second-round win over Perk Valley, as 6-2 senior Julian Wing scored 15 of his 21 in the fourth quarter and 6-1 senior Ryan Bollinger added four 3-pointers in his 14 points. Spring-Ford has a little more size, in the form of 6-5 senior Cameron Reid and 6-3 wing Nigel Cooke, but that shouldn't be anything Ridley is unable to deal with. This one could ultimately come down to who between Foster or Gnias has the ball in his hands last.

2) Plymouth-Whitemarsh vs. 7) Central Bucks West
The only “chalk” matchup in the whole bracket is this Suburban One League semifinal rematch, though now with much more at stake. After a fairly early 49-36 win over No. 31 Radnor in the opening round, Jim Donofrio’s Colonials faced a much tougher challenge from No. 18 Academy Park in the second round before surviving a 60-56 decision behind 26 points from Rider-bound guard Xzavier Malone. Malone managed just 10 points the last time the two teams met, a 53-46 Bucks win on Feb. 6. Look for Donofrio to utilize sophomores Ahmin and Ahmad Williams to speed up CB West’s patient attack, led by senior guards Cal Reichwein, Billy Power, Luke Irons and Connor Lynch.

11) Lower Merion vs 14) Conestoga
It’s a Central League grudge match for the rights to go to Temple, as the Pioneers travel to face an Aces program they're incredibly familiar with. Conestoga's got wins in both earlier matchups this season, 67-55 on its home court in December and 63-57 at LM on Jan. 22, but you know what they say about a good team beating another good team three times in the same season. Gregg Downer will have his Aces exploiting every possible weakness on the Pioneers, not that they're too apparent; Conestoga senior guard Daryl Caldwell knows how to run his team, and he gets great help from fellow senior guard M.J. Lezanic and forward Andrew Larkin and Angus Mayock. Mayock and Jack Baker will have to do a good job inside against LM's 6-8 senior Jeremy Horn and 6-6 junior Dion Harris to stay even on the glass and prevent the Aces from getting easy buckets and put-backs.

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Play-Back Round Breakdown
1) Coatesville vs. 25) Hatboro-Horsham
The top-seeded Raiders suddenly find themselves needing two wins just to qualify for the state bracket, starting with a visit from the Hatters. Hatboro’s been a two-man show all season, with guard Jay Davis and big man Clifton Moore powering the way for Ed Enoch’s squad, which went 7-7 in SOL Continental play. Moore, a 6-8 forward, had 28 in the first round against Strath Haven but was held two just two in the second-round loss to Twitter; his matchup against Coatesville’s 6-5 senior Justus Martinez will go a long way towards deciding who survives. The Ches-Mont champion Raiders are deeper in the backcourt, with Rome Boyer, Kamau Brickus, Jon Thompson and Dalton Donovan all capable shot-creators, though it’s Boyer who has the chance to go for 20-plus on any given night.

5) Pennridge vs. 20) Perkiomen Valley
Those in attendance should be in for a treat between two of the better scoring guards around, as Pennridge’s Danny Long and Perkiomen Valley’s Justin Jaworski lead their teams against each other in a Suburban One League/Pioneer Athletic Conference clash. The Rams, who only lost one game during the SOL regular season, fell victim in the second round to the same Spring-Ford team that the Vikings lost to in the PAC-10 finals; Perk Valley, meanwhile, lost to Central League champs Ridley to end up in play-back bracket. Pennridge senior Max Wagner, a 6-8 stretch forward who can score inside as well as out, should have a big advantage against a Perk Valley squad that starts no one taller than 6-2 senior Cullen O’Connor.

10) Phoenixville vs. 18) Academy Park
To show how little the seedings mean this time of year, look at the last time Phoenixville and Academy Park met this season: the lower-seeded Knights dominated the Phantoms, 90-63. To be fair, that was one of the few games Phoenixville was without leading scorer Christian Kelly, a versatile 6-4 guard with numerous D-II offers; Academy Park took advantage to knock down 18 3-pointers, including eight in a 30-point outing by Jawan Collins. But the Knights have added a key player to the rotation since then as well, with freshman forward Khyree Temple joining mid-year as a transfer from Neumann-Goretti. Allen Brydges has a physical, uptempo AP squad in as good a shape from a conditioning standpoint as any around, but Phoenixville is no stranger to pushing the tempo and getting out on the run.

3) Downingtown West vs. 27) Upper Dublin
Another surprise in the play-back bracket is the only District 1 team with two Division I commits, shooting guard Ryan Betley (Penn) and Josh Warren (Cornell). The Cardinals were without two-sport star Ryan Stover in their second-round loss to Lower Merion, and if he’s not back again, it’ll be a long road uphill against a Whippets group that in addition to the 6-4 Betley and 6-8 Warren also boasts 6-6 Dom Guerrera and 6-7 George Gordon in the starting lineup.