Williams comes to rescue for Ridley, twice, in OT win over Upper Darby

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RIDLEY — Down three points with 14.4 seconds left in regulation Tuesday night, there was no doubt as to whose hands Ridley would find with the ball on the inbounds pass.

Trailing by one with 13.1 seconds left in overtime — then again after an offensive rebound with 3.2 seconds left — the intended destination for Upper Darby was far less certain.

That difference, in the hot hand Ridley could rely on and the absence of one for Upper Darby, spelled the difference.

Malachi Williams, who tied the game late in regulation with a left-handed runner off glass, won it in overtime by banking home a 3-pointer as Ridley topped the Royals, 64-62, in a wild Central League opener for both teams.

There was no question that Williams would find the ball when Ridley inbounded it late in regulation, trailing 54-52. He came off a screen behind the arc and made a bee line for the hoop, getting his lay-in to go behind the outstretched arms of two help defenders.

“Our game plan was to just get it in and for me to read something,” Williams said. “I didn’t see it there, and I came through an elevator screen and nothing was there. And I saw them pressing up trying to deny the ball, so I cut back door and had the layup there.”

In a back-and-forth OT session, Williams had the final say. Down two with less than a minute left, forward Ryan Cantwell turned from the free throw line and shoveled a pass to Williams, who banked home his left-handed shot for a 60-59 lead.

It capped a magnificent individual day for Williams, the senior point guard pairing 22 points with 12 rebounds, three steals and three assists. He dragged the Green Raiders (2-0, 1-0) back into contention with 10 points in the third quarter.

“It’s different because I’ve never been a leading scorer on a team,” Williams said. “But I’m starting to get used to it. I think I’ll be able to do it well.”

Upper Darby (2-1, 0-1) had plenty of chances to win the game, beyond the two inbounds chances late in overtime and a Shareef Jones 3-point try at the end of regulation that missed the rim entirely. The Royals were 10-for-20 from the line — including two misses from AJ Tucker in the final minute of regulation that would’ve put them up five, and two off and-1s in OT, one by Walker and one by CJ Dabbs, after he’d hit a runner to get within 62-61 with 13 ticks left.

Or then there was the fact that Ridley spotted the Royals 13 points to start the game. Both teams played to type: Upper Darby as the team that won two games last weekend at the William Tennent Tip-Off; Ridley as the one who’d earned a forfeit win when Esperanza didn’t show.

Ridley didn’t get on the board until Josh Hagan’s put-back with 2:32 left in the first. Before that, their offense didn’t look likely to ever put a point on the board.

Howard led the way with four first-half 3-pointers. He drained five looks from deep and hit 5 of 6 free throws when the Royals fouled him beyond the arc, tallying 20 points.

“I’ve got to take the shots that I see,” said Howard, a senior Howard. “I saw they were playing off of me, and I shot and I made my shots.”


Upper Darby pressed its edge down low, with sophomore Onyekachi Nzeh dominating. He had only eight points, but he supplied 19 rebounds and four blocks.

“He’s like family because we’ve been playing with him for a long time,” senior guard Iyan Joshuasville said. “This is just the first time he’s an addition to the team. So it’s easy to transition.”

It was a good thing, since the Royals’ shooting was hit or miss. Jones was just 2-for-13 from the field. Jamere Kosh had eight points in the first quarter … then didn’t take another shot. Tucker scored 12 points, and Joshuasville added 15.

Joshuasville missed a 3-pointer on the first inbounds after Dabbs’ miss at the line, and Dabbs was the intended target of the next inbounds toss, stolen by Ridley’s Kahil Hanson.

For the slow start, the Green Raiders stepped up when it mattered. They didn’t miss in OT, including a 7-for-7 performance at the line, the type of finish you’d hope for from a team starting four seniors.

“It was really tough for me not to get panicked” at the beginning of the game, Williams said. “But as a senior, I had to get my guys together and tell them, ‘we’re going to win this game, we’ve got to stay together and have heart.’ And that’s what we did at the end.”

Also in the Central League:

Radnor 47, Springfield 42 >> Freshman Daniel Rosenblum tallied 14 points, Jack D’Entremont added 12 and the Raiders were 21-for-29 from the line to get to 3-0. Lew Robinson added 11 points.

Cole Rhoades scored 15 points in the second half, and Brian Ward added nine for the Cougars (0-1, 0-1).

Garnet Valley 64, Conestoga 43 >> Carl Schaller scored 12 of his game-high 18 points in the second half, and Neel Beniwal added 17 points in the Jaguars’ opener. Max Jackowsky chipped in 10 points.

Haverford 50, Lower Merion 43 >> John Seidman scored 11 of his game-high 18 points in the second half, and John Schievert’s two late layups sealed the game for the Fords (3-0, 1-0).

Penncrest 49, Marple Newtown 39 >> Aidan Carroll hit three 3-pointers for 14 points, Marquis Tomlin scored seven of his 13 in the second half and the Lions (3-0, 1-0) were 10-for-14 from the line.

Joey Pettinelli led Marple (1-1, 0-1) with 12 points, and Eric McKee had 11 points.

Strath Haven 41, Harriton 40 >> Luke Edwards scored 20 points, and Ibo Pio added 10, including the free throw with 2.5 seconds left that made the difference for the Panthers (3-0, 1-0).

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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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