City of Basketball Love

Tyler Sandora (@tyler_sandora)
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For Seth Berger and Westtown, winning is a typical occurrence. For the second straight year, the Moose will be playing in the PAISAA state championship, after defeating Germantown Academy 71-53 in the semifinals on Friday night at Malvern Prep.

Berger gives credit to his seniors for the recent success.

Brandon Randolph, an Arizona commit, led the way for the Moose with a game high 34 points including 4-of-6 from long range.

Randolph wasn’t the only upperclassman with a big contribution. Mo Bamba, a top-five player in the class of 2017, posted a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds.

“The seniors led us tonight,” Berger said. “They kept us together, and were amazing leaders on the floor.”

GA had cut the lead to six in the fourth quarter, but Randolph had something to say about that.

After rattling off two NBA-range 3’s, Randolph drove baseline for a rim rattling dunk that sent that Malvern Prep gym into chaos.

“We really needed an energy guy, and I wanted to step up to the plate and be that guy,” Randolph said.

Junior point guard Cameron Reddish posted 13 points, to go along with some key assists to his teammates down low.

Westtown was happy with the win, but certainly not satisfied.

“I told them not to take tonight for granted,” Berger said. “I told them to savor this one for now but know that we have an even bigger one tomorrow."

Win or lose, tomorrow's state championship game will be the last for Westtown this season.

“We have an amazingly talented group of seniors, we want them to go out on top tomorrow,” Berger said.

For Germantown Academy, senior Evan-Eric Longino led the way with 26 points. The do-it-all guard was certainly not intimidated by the length of Westtown, scoring most of his points in and around the paint.

Fellow senior and Villanova football commit Kyle McCloskey had 13, including three 3’s for the southpaw.

Westtown jumped out to an 17-8 start, but saw glimpses of a GA comeback during the second half.

GA hit numerous big shots down the stretch, but Westtown was prepared.

“I expected a very close game. They are extremely well coached,” Berger said. “I feel that I prepared myself well for when the game got close, and our guys executed.”

Late in the third quarter, Bamba got tangled up with a fan under the basket, spraining his ankle.

“I really can’t believe we let the crowd get that close. If he has a sprained ankle for tomorrow night, that is really unfortunate,” Berger said.

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Game Two: Episcopal Academy vs. Hill School

Conner Delaney lives for the big moments. The Episcopal Academy senior took matters into his own hands, propelling his team to a 59-58 overtime victory over the Hill School to clinch a berth in the PAISAA championship.

The Johns Hopkins signee accounted for 24 of his teams points, including a clutch free throw with four seconds left in overtime to take the lead.

“I know I needed to get going for us to keep the lead, I had to flip the switch,” Delaney said.

After scoring just seven points in the first three quarters, Delaney took over the game. Whether it was attacking the rim, hitting pull-up jumpers, or beating the other team down the court, Delaney was unstoppable, going on a personal 13-0 run to start the fourth.’

Fellow senior and Navy commit Nick Alikakos added 11 for the churchmen, while avoiding foul trouble late in the contest.

“Nick was out for a little in the fourth, so I got the ball, and shooters shoot,” Delaney said.

Playing against the No. 2 team in the tournament, No. 3 Episcopal was not fazed.

“We did come in as the lower seed, but we also know the toughness and the grit that we posses as a team,” said head coach  Craig Conlin.

“[Kyle] Virbitsky and Alikakos both had foul trouble, so Delaney just took over. He did a tremendous job managing the game.”

Before fouling out in the overtime period, Chase Audige posted 21 points for the Hill School. Audige, a 6-4 junior guard from New York, NY, boasts numerous D-I offers.

Also for The Hill, Ethan Norton, a 6-2 senior, contributed only five points, including a slam off the opening tip, but played a major role on the defensive end.

Hill sophomore Xavier Mayo was able to get his game going down low, taking advantage of the foul trouble Episcopal’s big men were dealing with. The New York native finished with 10 points, and some big rebounds down the stretch.

In the overtime period, Episcopal had complete control. Whether it was Matt Dade hitting big free-throws, or Delaney weaving his way through the defense, the Hill School looked all out of sorts.

While Delaney and coach Conlin were excited about tonight’s victory, they realize the challenge they will be facing, in The Westtown School.

Westtown plays a very different style than the Hill, attacking down low, or kicking it out for 3’s, but Delaney knows what his team needs to do to compete in the game.

“We can’t turn the ball over, we need to rebound and play to our strengths,” Delaney said. “Sometimes when we play good teams we try to do to much. We need to knock down 3’s and get back on defense.”

“Our guys make good decisions on the court, we stick to the guys who have gotten us here."

Conlin trusts in his players, and wants to bring the same mindset into tomorrow’s game.

“We can’t do things we aren’t comfortable doing,” he said. “In the end, just playing smart, playing hard, and playing together. That is who we are."

The PAISAA championship game is Saturday, Feb. 25 at Malvern Prep at 8 PM.