Harriton sweeps LM in boys-girls basketball doubleheader

Rosemont >> When Harriton senior Khayri Ransom turned an apparent turnover into a lay-up thanks to a fortuitous bounce to give Harriton a 31-23 lead to start the third quarter he began to think this might be the night Harriton finally defeats Lower Merion.
“I thought the basketball gods just blessed me with a bucket,” said Ransom, who finished with 14 points. “That was a bad possession, but I knew we had something in our favor today.”
While Ransom could not have imagined the climatic finish, the host Rams stuck to their game plan and overcome Lower Merion’s best punch to earn a 51-49 win Jan. 18, thanks to Markus Bradley-Lowry’s lay-up at the buzzer in front of a packed house on a less-than-desirable night to leave the house.
“We knew this was our last year and we wanted to make it count,” said Harriton senior Michael Tabasso, who finished with eight points, and, more importantly, took six charges. “Our game plan was to double down on defense and that’s what we did. We doubled down on defense and Markus made that great shot at the end to save us.”
“Even though the play was designed for me, I knew Lower Merion would come up pressuring the ball,” said Bradley-Lowry, who finished with 18 points. “Once they pressured the ball, I was determined to get the ball to the basket and put a shot up. Fortunately, I was able to get to the basket and finish. I had hit a game-winner earlier this week, so my confidence was high.”
With 32.4 seconds remaining in regulation and the score tied 49-49, the Rams inbounded the ball at midcourt and started moving the ball around, holding for the final shot. With 10.4 seconds left, Bradley-Lowry took the ball near half court. Under heavy pressure, Bradley-Lowry drove the lane, where he briefly got the ball knocked out of his hand before regaining possession and putting the shot up right before buzzer. The ball hit the back rim before falling through the net as the buzzer sounded, setting off the Rams’ celebration.
“We designed the play for Markus (Bradley-Lowry),” said Harriton boys’ basketball coach Kyle Sample. “He is our leading scorer and he has been with this program the longest. The whole team has confidence in Markus and he is coming off a game earlier this week (against Haverford High) in which he hit the game winner. If the play broke down, then Michael (Tabasso) was our other option. Fortunately, things worked out.”
Lower Merion senior James Samples, who finished with 12 points said, “Our coaches do a great job preparing us for every game, so I don’t think anything changes. I think this game can help remind us that teams are going to give us their best shot every game. That’s the reality of wearing an LM jersey. So mentally we just can’t ever be passive.”
Harriton held the lead through nearly the entire first half, taking a 27-18 lead into the locker room, thanks to hot shooting from the outside (seven treys) – two each from Ransom, Bradley-Lowry and Alex Torbeck, and one from Daniel Katz.
In the second half the Aces, led by Samples, the Aces went on a 16-4 run and took a 39-33 lead heading into the final quarter.
During LM’s run, the defense clamped down limiting Harriton to one shot each possession, while Samples led the way offensively, getting help from Phil Cook and Lance Chestnut. After Chestnut’s basket sliced Harriton’s lead to 31-30, Samples took the outlet pass from Cook and drove the rest of the way for the lay-up, giving the Aces their first lead since early in the first quarter.
“We had a great comeback,” said Samples, who scored seven of his 12 points in the third quarter. “Coach [Gregg] Downer just gave us our assignments and told us to keep doing what we’re doing.”
The final quarter began with Harriton moving the ball around before Torbeck knocked down a three-ball from the wing to slice Lower Merion’s lead to 39-36
Lower Merion freshman Sam Brown came right back for the Aces, hitting a big three to push LM’s lead back to 42-36. A Samples jumper extended the lead to 44-36. The Rams remained tough, outscoring LM 10-4 over the next two minutes to knot the contest at 46-46 to help set up the climactic finish.
Prior to the boys taking the court, the Harriton–LM girls team took center stage. Coming off a lackluster performance two days earlier against Conestoga, the Rams came out on fire, jumping out to a 14-0 lead en route to the 56-38 win.
“Tonight, felt great,” said Harriton senior co-captain Ava Paternoster. “Sometimes we tend to have a lapse in the second half, and we did not have that tonight. It was nice to see everyone play hard until the final horn and keep our foot on the gas.”
Leading the way for Harriton’s hot start was the duo of Annie Aspesi and Maretta Smith, who combined for 10 of the first 14 points.
“Annie and Maretta were huge tonight,” said Paternoster. ”As players we know their strength – which is shooting three pointers and ball handling. We work as a team to set them up for success.”
While it seemed like Harriton was well on its way to a convincing victory, the Aces, under the direction of first-year head coach Erin Laney, refused to go quietly. While Harriton was able to maintain a double-digit lead, the Aces refused to quit playing hard until the end.
“When we got down early, I just told the team that we just have to play hard, take good shots and play good defense and we can hang in this game,” said Lower Merion junior co-captain Bridget McCann. “Although it was another tough loss, I was proud of the team for the way they did not give up. That is what this team is all about.”