Morris puts opener in the past in Strath Haven win

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NETHER PROVIDENCE >> Ryan Morris didn’t have to put into words what he and his Strath Haven teammates were feeling before Saturday afternoon’s tilt with Academy Park.

Suffice it to say they weren’t happy, 18 hours removed from Friday’s 20-point shellacking at the hands of Avon Grove in which only one player, senior forward Cooper Driscoll, made more than one field goal. Though Morris didn’t put it into words, his actions spoke loudly enough.

Morris scored 15 points in the first quarter and 29 for the game as Strath Haven notched the first win for coach Dan Spangler in a 66-64 decision.

“I think there was a lot of nerves last night,” Morris said. “We’ve been playing together for a while, but the first game of the year, it didn’t go the way we wanted. Today, we wanted to change our energy, and it was all about energy, attitude and limiting turnovers. Those were the three pillars of our success. So we just wanted to move on from last night, (have a) fresh start and get a W.”

AP (0-2) led by five points after three quarters, but Haven surged thanks in large part to Morris. His spot-up jumper tied the game at 63 with less than a minute to play, then the teams traded free throws, with Chris Rosini’s two freebies putting the Panthers ahead for good, 65-64, with 43.3 to play.

Academy Park got a pair of late looks, one a missed lay-in by Tyriq Marrero after his steal, then a 3-pointer for the win by Naseim Harley at the buzzer. But Harley, who scored 26 points and banked home a similar shot to end the first half, saw his attempt rim out.

Morris’ control of the game will be vital for the Panthers (1-1). Where last year he had the luxury of complementing All-Delco John Harrar, no such featured scorer populates the roster this season. Driscoll shouldered the load Friday with 17 points, but that rate for any one player is unsustainable.

Morris, limited to three points Friday a Strath Haven scored just 28 total, took the early initiative. He drove to the hoop on each of Haven’s first two possessions, then came off a screen to nail a 3-pointer on the third, topping his tally from the night before in a tidy two minutes.

Morris connected on three first-quarter 3-pointers and had 17 points at the half. Most importantly, he was selective, hitting 10 of 13 looks from the field, including a perfect 6-for-6 on twos.

“It wasn’t anything that we tried to change really, it was just that we didn’t really play our game last night,” Morris said. “But today we wanted to focus on running our offense, making sure we controlled the tempo, we control what happens during the game.”

Strath Haven stayed balanced in its offensive approach. Driscoll scored 13 points, 10 in the second half after early foul difficulty. Rosini and Jeff Conner each had six points and six rebounds (Conner adding four assists). Brady Mutz contributed two first-half 3-pointers, and Jordan Graves scored four in the fourth quarter.

Harley often had an answer for Academy Park, hitting five 3-pointers. But just as important was Kamrohn Roundtree, who helped keep Driscoll in check with 19 points and 11 rebounds. His put-back bucket with five minutes to play put AP up six at 58-52.

“He’s a good guy,” Roundtree said of the matchup with Driscoll. “He played very well and he gave me a challenge. I liked the challenge, but his team got the best of ours.”

The six-point edge was erased on a 7-0 spurt by Haven, thanks to four points from Driscoll and a Morris 3-point play. Bill Martin put AP back ahead, then Harley canned a corner triple off a screen to increase the Knights’ lead to four. But Morris wasn’t done, and he had no intention of seeing Saturday’s affair end the way Friday’s did.

“It was just bear down,” Morris said. “We were with them the whole game, and at some point, we thought it looked like they were maybe going to run away with it. … But we just toughened up, played defense one stop at a time and then that converted us to offense.”

At the Fred Pickett Classic:

Lower Merion 57, Chester 52 >> Michael Smith scored 16 points, and Brian Randolph added nine, but the Clippers trailed by 15 points after three quarters and couldn’t come all the way back. Rahmaad DeJarnette added eight points for Chester. Jack Forrest led Lower Merion with 21 points.

At the Delco Christian Invitational:

Delco Christian 47, Christian Academy 33 >> Tyler Smith scored 12 points to earn tournament MVP honors, and Obinna Nwobodo joined him with 12 points. Tyler Penley added 11 points and earned a spot on the all-tournament team for DC (2-0).

Luke Sareyka and Grant Sareyka combined for 17 points for TCA (1-1), which gets a shot at redemption when the teams meet in Bicentennial League play Tuesday.

At the Vanguard Invitational:

Sun Valley 71, Motivation 53 >> Vinny DeAngelo poured in 29 points, a second straight evening with 20-plus points, and Marvin Freeman hit four 3-pointers to score 21 as the Vanguards (2-0) won the championship game.

At the Scholastic Play-by-Play:

Archbishop Carroll 69, Malvern Prep 58 >> Keyon Butler earned game MVP honors by collecting 18 points and 12 rebounds for the Patriots. All-Delco AJ Hoggard was his usual outstanding self with 23 points and 11 assists. Justin Anderson added eight points for Carroll in its opener, a back-and-forth affair where Malvern Prep got 16 points from Deuce Turner and outscored the Patriots, 19-7, in the third quarter only for Carroll to roar back.

At the Don McBride Classic:

Haverford School 56, La Salle 50 >> Christian Ray scored 16 points to earn tournament MVP honors, and Kharon Randolph poured in 20 as the Fords (4-1) roared back from a four-point deficit after three quarters in the championship game of its tip-off tournament.

At the Ghost Classic:

Chichester 72, Bartram 68 >> DaQuan Granberry scored 12 of his game-high 27 points in the third quarter, and Calvin Church added 14 points in a game where the Eagles (1-1) led by as many as 15 points and hung on for the win.

At the Quad City tournament:

Bensalem 49, Penn Wood 42 >> Chris Nash scored 12 points, and Desman Johnson and Julian Holloway chipped in eight each, but the Patriots (0-2) found offense hard to come by for a second straight outing.

In other nonleague action:

Ridley 49, Glen Mills 40 >> Enoch Clark scored 21 points, and John Mastella added 11 as the Green Raiders outscored Glen Mills, 17-8, in the final quarter.

Khelan Kirkland led Glen Mills with 14 points, and Shyheem Bacon added eight points.

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Matthew De George

Matthew De George
Matthew De George is the Asst. Sports Editor and the lead Union writer for The Daily Times.

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