McCaffery: Close loss on big stage will benefit Ridley going forward
PHILADELPHIA — Nine buses rolled toward the Liacouas Center Wednesday night, each carrying a full load of Ridley fans, each stuffed with a full load of mystery.
Already having reaching the Final Four of the District One Class AAAA tournament, the Green Raiders were about to reveal whether they were there by accident, by skill, by good bracket fortune or some of each. Yet there was also the risk that as the No. 9 seed in the tournament, facing fourth-seeded and 24-2 Plymouth-Whitemarsh, that they would prove they did not belong at all.
But then Julian Wing buried a 3-pointer to force a tie at halftime, and then the Green Raiders rallied from four points down in the final minute to have two late chances to win, and then, both results were validated. Plymouth-Whitemarsh, yes, was the better team, winning, 44-41, to reach the tournament final. And Ridley, though redirected into a Friday consolation game at Pennsbury, would be a worthy, if not a dangerous state-tournament participant.
“We’d won five playoff games in a row,’ Green Raiders coach Mike Snyder said. “And we were a hair from winning a sixth one to put us in the finals. That was a great effort from our kids. They did everything they could. There are no regrets.’
There should have been no regrets, not when Ridley’s good-look three-pointer failed at the horn. At 22-5 heading into the game, the Green Raiders were about even all night with P-W. The differences, if any, were slight. The Colonials shot a bit better from distance, draining five 3-pointers to Ridley’s two. And the Green Raiders had, as Snyder pointed out, a couple of “in and out 3s’ that in a one-possession game will make the difference. Plymouth-Whitemarsh did not allow many second shots. But on another night, and in Pennsylvania high school playoffs that’s forever possible, the result could have been flipped. So Plymouth-Whitemarsh won the game. And the Green Raiders won this: The knowledge that they will be ready for whatever hits them.
They had played for the first time in a major arena, in front of a huge crowd, against a school better known for its basketball programs over the decades. Perhaps there is no Green Mystique in basketball. But, going forward, Ridley will have its opponents’ attention.
“As the season has gone on, the crowds have gotten bigger,’ Snyder said. “And we have never shown any signs of being intimidated by any of the standings or circumstances. We just come out and play. And I think that was the case tonight. I don’t think we were nervous or anything like that. The kids just came out to play.’
Ridley trailed, 42-38, with 28 seconds left, but Ryan Bollinger’s 3-pointer narrowed the difference to a point. After a missed P-W front end, a scramble and a held ball, the arrow favored Ridley. But P-W survived the final seconds, its crowd leaping into a frenzy, the Ridley fans having enjoyed a worthwhile trip.
There will be more basketball for Ridley, and more chances for a better outcome. And the next time there is one of those sign-up sheets for a ride to a game, the buses should be full again. That’s what Ridley won Wednesday, no matter what the boxscore revealed.
“Hopefully we will have them in the state games, when we start the states,’ Snyder said. “But we have to play Pennsbury first, and I am sure they are down, too. We’ve got to do the best with what we’ve got.’
The Green Raiders have 22 wins, a chance to play for third place in the district and a slot in the state tournament.
They also have the knowledge that no matter how elevated the platform, they will not be inclined to stumble.
“We were ready tonight,’ Wing said. “Now, we have to look at the films, see what we did wrong and keep on playing. We can play anybody. We can play anybody in the states. We just have to keep playing.’
A state championship?
“That,’ Wing said, “would be great.’
And the next time that convoy is formed, it will be carrying a whole lot less mystery.
