City of Basketball Love

Tyler Sandora (@tyler_sandora)

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If you were to look at the Inter-Ac standings over the last few years, you’d notice that while most of the six-team league shuffled its order, there was one program that was always at the bottom.

From the start of 2013-14 through the beginning of this year, Springside-Chestnut Hill Academy had won just eight out of 50 league contests, a lovely .160 clip.

In the past two years, SCH didn’t win a single game in the Inter-Ac. The Blue Devils’ last win came on January 9, 2015 on a buzzer-beater over Penn Charter.

“In recent years,” senior guard C.J. Sweitzer said, “we were the team that sucks.”

Last year, SCH was blown out in the majority of its losses. Germantown Academy beat them by 27 points, then 36. Malvern Prep beat them by 25 and 16, Episcopal by 23 and 22. The Devils only came within a margin of 10 points once the whole league season.

Sweitzer, who’s committed to Bryant University for lacrosse, had only experienced one Inter-Ac win prior to this season. Even though he didn’t find himself on the winning end of games for two years straight, he learned to live with it, and hoped to try find optimism in the struggle.

“Truly, it was a huge struggle going winless for multiple years, for me especially,” Sweitzer admitted. “But I always applied it to real life. You’re not going to win every game you’re in, and not everything is going to go your way, but you have to learn to deal with it and learn to love it. I have really taken that to fruition.”

This year, things have been different. Very, very different.

Through seven games in the Inter-Ac, SCH already has three wins: two over GA, and one over Episcopal, which have SCH tied for third in the league. No longer a doormat, the Devils are a problem. And with a young coach leading a young roster, the future only looks bright.

In a loss Tuesday night at Malvern Prep, SCH put up a fight before ultimately falling 67-55.

Sophomore guard Ke’Shawn Williams led the way with 17 points. Joining Williams in the backcourt is his classmate, 6-2 guard Delonce Hines (13 points), and junior Zyon Grant (12 points), a 6-4 wing and Roman Catholic transfer.

Sweitzer (6-2) and junior Jack McDonald (6-4) are the two “forwards”, even though they can also step out and play the guard position.

One of the other contributors for this SCH squad is 6-1 sophomore guard/forward Jared Sprague-Lott, who starred on the Taney (Philadelphia) Dragons team that made it to the Little League World Series in 2014.

Even though the majority of the Devils’ roster features sophomores and juniors -- Sweitzer is the only senior on the roster -- and Julian McFadden is only in his second year as head coach, the Devils have found a good measure of success this year.

“They sort of just clicked,” said McFadden, an ‘06 Chestnut Hill grad who played at D-II Chestnut Hill College and then spent six years there as an assistant coach before returning to his alma mater. “A little later than I wanted, but they turned it on. Getting that first Inter-Ac win [Germantown Academy] was huge.”

Even though he doesn’t lead the Devils in any statistical categories, Sweitzer, who has been on varsity since freshman year, has leadership qualities that make him invaluable on a young roster.

“He is a great kid. He was my senior leader last year as a junior,” McFadden said. “He’s the perfect kid to have in the first couple years. It’s hard to find a kid that is transparent and understands, ‘it’s not all about me and my years here.’ It's about continuing the tradition here at SCH.

Four of the Devils’ top seven players are sophomores, and two others are juniors.

The Devils’ most productive offensive player this year has been Williams. Through seven league games, Williams is averaging 19.8 points per game. A quick 5-9 guard, Williams can get past his defenders with his quick change of speed, and ability to finish high at the rim.

“Going winless in the league for the long time and then coming in here and getting a lot of wins is good because it’s not something we’re used to,” Williams said. “It’s a great feeling.”

Malvern was without four key players Tuesday due to injury/illness. Senior big men Billy Corcoran and Brady Devereaux were both nursing foot injuries; freshman guard Rahdir Hicks and sophomore guard Spencer Cochran, two usual starters, were both sick. In their absence, 6-5 freshman Fran Oschell stepped up and recorded 13 points and 15 rebounds. Sophomore guard Deuce Turner led the Friars with 24 points.

“We have the depth,” Malvern head coach John Harmatuk said. “I knew we’ve had depth. Depth is our strength. We’ve had guys all year who can step up and play at this level.”

The Friars are now 6-1 in league play entering a big matchup against the first place Haverford School (7-0) on Friday. This will be the eighth game in the six-team league for both teams, and if Malvern doesn’t beat Haverford, Haverford has an easy path to the league title. If Malvern does win, the teams would be tied at 7-1 on the season with two games left to be played; they’ll split the league title if that happens and they finish the season with the same record.

SCH will round out the regular season by taking on Penn Charter, Episcopal Academy, and the Haverford School.  The Devils could potentially finish the year with a record of 6-4; which would be their best finish since 2010, though it would take beating the powerhouse Fords in the finale.

Either way, the culture is changing at SCH, and it’s changing for the better.

“The way we see it, against us, it’s our losing reputation over the last few years,” Sweitzer said. “It’s always been, ‘these guys are young, let’s run the ball on them.’ I’ve seen it gradually change to, ‘these kids are out for blood, and it’s going to be a good game.’”