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Haverford School ends Inter-Ac drought after 19 years

02/03/2018, 12:00am EST
By Josh Verlin

Kharon Randolph (above) and the Haverford School clinched at least a share of the Inter-Ac championship Friday night. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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In his first three years at the Haverford School, Kharon “Bonk” Randolph had witnessed two separate court stormings on his home floor. Neither of them were by the Fords’ faithful; in fact, both were by Episcopal Academy students.

Three years ago, the Churchmen faithful celebrated a game-winning 3-pointer to knock off the Fords, who at the time featured current Temple star Levan Alston Jr. and Penn State wing Lamar Stevens. Last season, EA once again found itself celebrating on McBride Court, after gaining revenge on the Haverford School for an earlier defeat, a win that was a big reason the Churchmen were able to clinch a share of the Inter-Academic League championship a year ago.

Finally, on an evening where a packed house honored his and his classmates’ achievements during a pre-game Senior Night ceremony, Randolph got to experience a court-storming from his own classmates, after The Haverford School knocked off Malvern Prep 83-58 on Friday night to clinch at least a share of the league title for the first time since any of the Fords had been born.

As the final buzzer rang, securing the Fords’ first title in nearly 20 years, over 100 toga-clad Haverford Students poured onto the floor, lifting one or two of the players up onto their shoulders as the rest hugged and high-fived.

Randolph, a 5-foot-11 guard who will continue his academic and hoops career at Philly’s own University of the Sciences, was on fire from start to finish, pouring in a game-high 26 points on 8-of-14 shooting, before being removed to hug after hug from the Fords’ bench with under three minutes to play.

“It was unbelievable,” Randolph said. “Just to play the way I did, have the game I did, to share it with my teammates, share with my fellow seniors, it meant a lot. For us to get this win and get this championship feels good.”

The Haverford School (17-5, 8-0) put on an impressive performance in locking up at least a share of the Inter-Ac title for the first time since 1999, when a group led by future Fords coach Henry “Doug” Fairfax went 9-1 in the league to win it outright.

If the Fords can win either of their last two games they’ll guarantee an outright championship of their own, now that they have a two-game lead over the Friars (14-7, 6-2). Win both, and it’ll guarantee Haverford’s first unbeaten run through the six-team conference of elite private schools since 1927.

“Ever since coach [Bernie] Rogers got here, it’s always been we’re trying to do something here, trying to make history,” Randolph said. “That’s always been the goal for me and my teammates, that’s what we’ve wanted to do since we got here. To see that it’s finally happening, feels great.”

Rogers, who arrived in the 2015 offseason after 15 years at Archbishop Ryan, took what had become a strong Fords program under Fairfax’s guidance -- but one that had been unable to get over the hump -- and continued its momentum, adding pieces like Octorara transfer Christian Ray in 2016 and bringing in talented freshmen like Christian Clover and Jaylen Stinson, both of whom contributed significantly to the win.


Christian Ray had 24 points and 11 rebounds, plus four assists, in the Fords' win. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Ray, a 6-6 junior wing, finished with 24 points, 11 rebounds and four assists, hitting one catch-and-shoot triple and otherwise doing his usual damage in the paint and around the rim. But even he was impressed by the performance put on by Randolph, who was near-unguardable for most of the night.

After briefly hitting the bench late in the first quarter with two fouls -- both teams had numerous players in foul trouble in a whistle-heavy contest  -- Randolph came back in after the Fords took possession out of a timeout, and promptly delivered a 3-point play to put his team up seven early.

Randolph didn’t hit the bench again until the final few minutes, by which point the Fords’ victory was well in hand.

“He’s unbelievable...the kid was just unguardable,” said Ray, a Division I recruit with multiple mid-major offers. “I love playing with him.”

Clover, a 6-2 guard and the younger brother of St. Joe’s junior Chris Clover, scored 12 points to round out three Haverford School players in double figures. But plenty more contributed -- like junior forward Asim Richards, who included a flying tip-in amongst nine points and five rebounds, or junior guard Gavin Burke, who battled through foul issues to chip in six points. Stinson, another freshman, had two points, four boards, an assist and two steals. Junior forward Bobby Stratts provided two energy-boosting blocks off the bench, both of which ignited the crowd.

Malvern Prep sophomore Kieves “Deuce” Turner finished with 19 points, 17 of which came in the first half, along with five rebounds; Friars freshman Fran Oshell added 14 points and five boards.

The Fords led 23-12 after one and 39-30 at the half, but really blew it open in the third quarter, which it dominated 25-11 to go up by 64-41 heading into the fourth. There was undoubtedly pressure on The Haverford School, which opened up 5-0 in Inter-Ac play last year only to lose three of its final five, but it never showed.

“I think they’ve had a focus from Day One, they’ve had a pretty good focus as a team, offensively and defensively,” Rogers said. “And I thought they played well together and it builds confidence when you play together like that.”

Even though it was senior night, Haverford School does get one more home game, next Tuesday afternoon against Springside-Chestnut Hill. The Inter-Ac finale comes next Friday night against Penn Charter, before the Pennsylvania Independent School (PAISAA) tournament begins the following week.

No matter what, the Fords’ open-ended gap on its Inter-Ac basketball banner can finally be closed. But this group won’t be happy with a split title; they want it all to themselves.

“The same way we approached this one and the last seven, the same way we want to approach the last two,” Randolph said. “We still have that mindset, the season’s nowhere near over, and we still have work to do.”


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