Berry’s bombs help Chester stop streaking Haverford in its tracks

CHESTER — Faheem Berry knew pretty early Tuesday night that it could be a good night for him and his team.

As in so many games Chester has played, Haverford’s scouting report was to first hit the Clippers with a zone defense. It’s fundamental basketball: Compress the space, divert the drivers, deny post entry, force Chester to prove it can shoot over you, instead of what it wants to do, which is drive right by you.

That would leave opportunities on the perimeter, the poison most opponents pick against a team averaging just three made 3-pointers per game this season.

So up stepped Berry, in the lineup because of an injury to point guard Fareed Burton. And down went five 3-pointers and Haverford’s 11-game winning streak.

That’s 1,000 career points for Karell Watkins.
Chester up 35-21 at half. pic.twitter.com/cCyj0YEqLI

— Matthew De George (@sportsdoctormd) February 19, 2020

Berry scored a career-high 16 points, going 5-for-9 from 3-point range, to lead fourth-seeded Chester to a 64-44 win in the second round of the District 1 Class 6A tournament.

“I feel like (Steph) Curry, you know how Curry gets open?,” Berry said. “That’s how I was feeling today. I just was shooting and I was like, ‘I’m hot, keep getting me the ball.’ I was feeding them, they were feeding me, and we played as a team.”

The win clinches a states berth for the Clippers (20-3) and books them a quarterfinal date at the Fred Pickett Gymnasium Friday night against No. 5 Lower Merion. The Aces handled Central Bucks East, 63-48.

The opportunities have been there for players like Berry all season, not just because of the Clippers’ weaknesses but because of their strengths. With guys one through five who can take the ball off the dribble and excellent passers, the ball movement is often crisp and the drive threat creates space to spot up.

Taylor up to 9 points including this sweet move. Chester up 31-20, 1:30 to half. Pace is definitely favoring the Clippers pic.twitter.com/bM1Yrv9LmZ

— Matthew De George (@sportsdoctormd) February 19, 2020

But someone doesn’t always oblige by knocking them down. Berry entered Tuesday with a team-high 15 3-pointers. But with Burton missing his third straight game due to injury, Berry stepped up with four first-half triples, enough to change the complexion of the game.

“When he caught fire and he shot the first couple, I knew it was on from there,” Karell Watkins said. “Because when he’s hitting, he’s hitting.”

“Coach all season has been telling me to shoot the ball,” Berry said. “And today, I shot it and at first, it was confidence. My confidence got there. I’m a shooter, though. So that’s why they tell me to shoot it. I was feeling it and I was shooting it and it was going in so I just kept shooting.”

By halftime, Chester led by 14. Berry’s shooting forced Haverford (18-8) out of its zone and into the personnel mismatches that the zone sought to remedy. And with the Clippers holding a big edge after a 23-point second quarter, they were content to trade baskets after the break.

Watkins also had his moment, not just tallying his compulsory double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds. With 17 seconds left in the first half, he absorbed pressure and hit a leaner in the lane to join Chester’s vaunted 1,000-point club. He’s the first junior to hit the milestone since 2011 grad Maurice Nelson.

“It feels great,” Watkins said. “It’s an honor to be able to play in a Chester High jersey, and it’s an honor to be up there on the banner with the older folks.”

To its credit, Haverford didn’t cower to the intimidating confines of the Clip Joint. They trailed by three in the second quarter before Berry opened up his barrage and controlled the pace early. But they couldn’t keep up offensively, with merely Chester’s stock defense forcing eight first-half turnovers while Chester committed only one in the first three quarters.

Once John Seidman came up lame in the third quarter, that was that. Seidman scored eight first-half points and dished four assists. But he was limited in the second half, and once the deficit stretched to the high teens – on a Berry four-point play – coach Keith Heinerichs subbed the laboring Seidman out, with the possibility of a states berth via playbacks still on the horizon.

Adam Stuck came off the bench to shoot 4-for-4 for eight points. Will Higson added eight in the post.

Akeem Taylor, who is 32 points shy of 1,000 in his career, scored 11. Zahmir Carroll added nine points and five rebounds.

But it was Berry, filling in for Burton, who set the Clipper ship’s bearings toward states.

“They told me, I’m holding it down,” Berry said. “That’s his spot, so I’m picking up for him. We play as a team, so we’ve got one goal: Make it to the state championship.”