Nzeh, composure lead Upper Darby past Souderton in District 1-6A first round

FRANCONIA >> Size matters, but so does composure.

Upper Darby big man Kachi Nzeh made his presence felt in the first half, all but exiling Souderton to the 3-point line after halftime in Friday’s District 1-6A opening round playoff game. The sophomore, playing his first season of high school ball, didn’t let his focus wane even as the Indians all but stopped challenging him down low.

Likewise, his teammates stayed composed, enduring a hot streak from the hosts before putting the game away in the fourth quarter for a 52-40 win Friday night.

“It’s all about keeping your composure, because the game can flip at any time,” Nzeh said. “If just because something else is happening, you switch off your original plan, that’s when everything comes crumbling down. At the end of the day, just keep your head in the game, stay patient and everything will work out.”

The No. 19 seed Royals advance to face No. 3 Cheltenham in Tuesday’s second round while the season ends for No. 14 Souderton.

It’s been a year beset by injuries for the Indians, who lost senior leaders Andrew Vince and Dom Natale in December and essentially had to reshape their identity twice. Neither started on Friday, but Natale and Vince were able to get back on the floor one last time, giving their team a boost of morale.

“They continued to trust each other and believe in each other throughout the entirety of the game just like we have all year long,” Indians coach Tim Brown said. “No matter what we get hit with, we just play the same way and play for each other. It’s pretty typical of what we’ve done all year.”

Upper Darby, which is playing shorthanded due to leading scorer Shareef Jones Jr being sidelined for the postseason, needed a balanced effort. Nzeh, who had a nearly three-inch growth spurt between freshman and sophomore year, was asked to be mainly a defender and rebounder during the regular season, but that wouldn’t be enough for the postseason.

The 6-foot-8 sophomore, who is a standout track athlete in the 400m and has drawn interest from Temple, needed to give a little more and finished with 11 points, 12 rebound and six blocks. His late decision to play basketball this season after not playing as a freshman made his fit into the Royals offense a work in progress since November.

“It’s been a lot of practicing post entry and moving the ball enough to get it inside,” Nzeh said. “When I do get it, I’m working to get it back to them for open shots. I’m 6-8, 6-9, defense isn’t a problem for me, I’m just working to time my jumping and my blocking, even disrupting shots and not having to block them.”

Nzeh’s older brother played two years at Upper Darby and while Kachi was going to focus solely on track, his mom pushed him hard to consider hoops. He’s enjoyed it so much, he’s joined with the prestigious NY Rens AAU program for this upcoming season.

Thanks to a quick start, Upper Darby was able to hold a 13-12 lead at the end of one despite Natale giving Souderton six points off the bench. Upper Darby coach Bob Miller felt a little knot in his stomach when he saw No. 12 rise off the Indians’ bench.

“We played them last year and I loved his game,” Miller said of Natale. “When he came out, that scared me. He killed us last year but the difference this time was our big kid.”

The second quarter would prove the difference. UD switched to its 2-3 zone with Nzeh in the middle and created a roadblock that stifled Souderton. 

Nzeh finished the night with six blocks and his general presence took away much of the Indians interior offense. Souderton got a three from Natale, not usually an outside shooter, in the first quarter but went 0-of-7 from past the arc in the second as the Royals won the frame 15-3 for a 28-15 halftime lead.

“We knew we would see that zone and I thought we were a little timid with it,” Brown said. “Their length and quickness surprised us a little just with how fast they could move in that zone and take away open spaces. We had a tough time hitting shots over it, credit them, they did a really good job with it.”

Souderton flipped script in the third. Led by senior Jack Towsen, the outside shooting finally caught some fire and the Indians mounted a run.

Towsen hit three 3-pointers in the quarter, including one from the corner that ended an 11-0 spurt to close the hosts within 34-31. Brown said it wasn’t anything different, just his players continuing to trust each other and starting to take their shots with more confidence.

“In the first half, they had looks and didn’t go down so I told our guys at halftime, that’s not how basketball works,” Miller said. “We had four losses down the stretch by about eight or nine total points and everytime we were in this same position and didn’t win.”

Souderton’s shooting cooled again in the fourth and the Royals were able to get rebounds and convert free throws to rebuild their lead and finish off the win. Miller believes if his team can keep the same kind of balance it had Friday, getting 11 points from AJ Tucker and nine from Mo Kante, it will be a tough out in districts.

Nzeh is looking forward to it as well, regardless of what the next game asks of him.

“As long as I can help my team win,” Nzeh said. “I’m going to do what I have to do and if that keeps them from feeling like they want to do what they have to do, that’s even better for us.”

Souderton will have to replace a core of seniors who have been with Brown since he took over four years ago. For the guys coming back, the coach wanted them to remember everything about the past week.

“I want them to remember the feeling in the locker room after the game, the feeling of this week leading up to the game, you can’t write that or replicate that,” Brown said. “They have to want that, desire that and know that’s what we’re working for every season now.”

UPPER DARBY 13 15 8 16 – 52

SOUDERTON 12 3 19 6 – 40

UD: AJ Tucker 3 5-8 11, CJ Dabbs 0 4-8 4, Mo Kante 2 5-5 9, Iyan Joshuasville 3 2-3 9, Kachi Nzeh 4 3-4 11, Jamere Kosh 1 1-1 3, Jack Cavanaugh 1 2-2 5. Totals: 14 22-31 52

S: Dylan Hollick 0 2-2 2, Jason Price 4 1-1 9, Evan Kutzler 1 1-2 3, Matt Uhrich 1 0-0 2, Brian Reiner 1 0-0 3, Jack Towsen 3 0-0 9, Andrew Vince 0 0-2 0, Dom Natale 3 2-3 9, Tommy Doughty 1 0-0 3. Totals: 14 6-10 40

3-pointers: UD – Joshuasville, Cavanaugh; S – Towsen 3, Natale, Reiner, Doughty