EAST WHITELAND >> It was Senior Night at Great Valley High School Tuesday, and a pair of senior basketball players did the job for the host Patriots.
Great Valley seniors Connor Gal and Max DiMedio combined for 47 points, as the Patriots got out to a big early lead and defeated Kennett, 69-47, in Ches-Mont American Division action.
The win keeps Great Valley perfect (6-0 Ches-Mont, 11-2 overall) in Ches-Mont American play. The Patriots jumped out to a 15-2 lead and turned that into a 20-8 advantage at the end of the first period.
Gal drilled three long treys in the period and he led all scorers with 28 points to go along with 10 rebounds. DiMedio chipped in with 19 points and freshman Cam Wallace added 14 points to go along with his 13 boards.
“We got down 19 points at halftime last game against West Chester East,” Gal said. “And we have gotten off slowly in all but a couple of our games, but we really talked about coming out fast tonight. We got out to that big lead and then they closed the gap a little in the second and third periods before we blew it open in the fourth period. We knew Kennett would be tough because they play hard and it is a division game.”
Gal had 16 points at halftime while DiMedio had 10 of his 19 at the break and the Patriots had a 44-35 lead on Kennett (2-3, 4-9). Great Valley shot a torrid 12-for-25 from the field in the first half and only turned the ball over once in the first half.
Kennett mounted a charge in the third period behind the shooting of Zach Lower, who led the Blue Demons with 14 points. Mason Langley put back a Lower miss to cut Great Valley’s lead to 36-33. But, Great Valley got baskets from Gal and DiMedio late in the third period and the Patriots led 44-35 after three periods.
“We really wanted to get out fast and that was so you don’t have to work so hard to come back,” Di Medio said. “Kennett made a run at us but that big lead we got out to was the key tonight. It felt awesome to get a win on Senior Night. A lot of guys had good games for us.”
Great Valley came alive in the fourth period, going on a 12-0 run to blow the Blue Demons off the floor. Gal started the run with a three-ball from the top of the key. Wallace then scored in tight off an inbounds pass. After a Kennett miss, Gal drove the lane and got fouled and he hit both free throws.
Wallace then took a nice feed from DiMedio to score inside for a 53-37 Great Valley lead. Wallace excited the home crowd with a steal and a monster slam dunk to to make it a 62-41 Patriots lead. Great Valley outscored Kennett 25-12 in the fourth period.
“We talked about starting fast because you cannot depend on 30 point periods,” Great Valley coach CJ Savage said. “We knew Kennett was tough and that they would play extremely hard, so we knew we were in for a fight and the kids really responded well tonight.”
Great Valley 69, Kennett 47
KENNETT (47) Pelletier 2 0-0 4, Prestige 1 0-0 2, Frazier 0 0-0 0, Rivera 1 0-0 2, Brunson 1 0-0 2, Good 4 1-3 9, Mullen 1 0-0 2, Lower 3 6-6 14, Frebery 1 2-3 4, Langley 1 0-0 2,
Augustine 3 2-6 8. Totals 18 11-18 47.
GREAT VALLEY (69) Mashett 1 1-2 3, Woodard 0 0-0 0,Di medio 6 5-6 19, Gal 9 6-6 28, Hegde 0 0-0 0, Otterbein 00-0 0, Peduto 0 0-0 0, Wallace 6 6-12 14, Markowski 1 3-3 5, McDaniel 0 0-0 0, Metrick 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 21-29 69.
Kennett 8 14 13 12-47
Great Valley 20 14 10 25-69
3-point goals; Lower 2, Gal 4.
