Downingtown West’s season ends at the hands of Roman Catholic

Philadelphia — After a hard-fought year, the ninth-place team from District 1, Downingtown West’s season came to an end, falling to District 12 champion Roman Catholic in the first round of the PIAA Class AAAA playoffs, 68-52 on Saturday afternoon at St. Joseph’s Prep.

Roman Catholic will now move on to play the second-place team from District 3, Cedar Crest on Wednesday in the second round.

The Whippets (24-6) only lead came in the opening moments of the game when Josh Warren won the tip and Ryan Betley finished the play with a right-handed layup.

From there on out, it was an absolute dogfight to score, and get stops on the Catholic League champions.

“We had to work for everything today,’ West’s coach Jason Ritter said. “Rebounding, crossing half court with the ball, defense, everything. That’s a credit to Roman, they are great team.’

The Cahillites (24-2) used their size and athleticism to score seven second-chance points, and held a 19-11 lead after one period.

Betley kept his team in the game, scoring seven of his 16 points in the first eight minutes.

“I was shooting well the past few games. Our team needed it today and I just did my best to help out,’ Betley said.

After a 5-0 run to open up the second quarter, Roman Catholic grabbed an 11 point advantage. Things seemed to look bleak for the Ches-Mont Champions. Then Dom Guerrera (15 points) sparked some life in his team. The junior knocked down a jumper and helped cut the Cahillites lead to five.