District 1 Class 5A Boys Basketball: Hicke, Radnor keep flowing into district final
RADNOR — Jackson Hicke was still on the floor in the fourth quarter, emptying the tank, even though his team was comfortably ahead on the scoreboard.
The athletically gifted, 6-4 junior forward made everything look cool. With the game well in hand, Hicke delivered a behind the shoulder pass to Eric Vollmer, who converted for an easy layup. That’s the way things are going for the Raptors this season.
Top-seeded Radnor had plenty of fun trouncing No. 4 Upper Moreland in Saturday’s District 1 Class 5A semifinal, 63-35. The victory puts the Raptors in a district championship game for what is believed to be the first time since 1960, when they won the title and finished runners-up in states. Radnor plays No. 2 Chester in the final next Saturday at Temple University’s Liacouras Center.
“We love playing with each other and all we want to do is win,” said Hicke, who poured in a game-high 18 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the floor. He went 7 of 9 from the free-throw line and grabbed nine rebounds. “It translates on the floor and it’s why we are doing so well this year. Our chemistry, I think, is really unmatched.”
Radnor scored the game’s first 10 points, causing Upper Moreland to fight an uphill battle from the start. Radnor’s superb defensive led to all sorts of trouble for UM’s ball handlers. Guards were easily rattled and turned the ball over several times in the opening period.
“We were trying to disrupt their offense right away and if we got good ball pressure, they can’t get into their sets like they want to. That’s what we focused on,” said point guard Danny Rosenblum, who provided nine points, two assists and one steal. “We were able to go out there and get it done.”
Radnor’s offense was at times lethal, as the combination of Hicke and Charlie Thornton dominated early. Thornton canned a 3-ball to open the scoring and netted six of his 11 points in the second quarter. The rangy junior seemingly came from nowhere to block a Matt Tiernan shot in the third, which energized an already boisterous home crowd.
Radnor was effective in transition, too. Cooper Mueller’s dish to Cliff Smith for a slam dunk was the top highlight. Consider the breakaway a present of sorts for Smith, who was celebrating his birthday Saturday.
Mueller supplied 10 points for the Raptors (22-3). Pierce Justice drilled a pair of treys for six points, while Vollmer hopped off the bench to score seven points. Saturday was another balanced offensive showing for coach Jamie Chadwin’s group.
“In the past two weeks, starting with the Central League playoffs, they’ve just been so good at bringing that winning mindset and putting it on display,” Chadwin said. “The Central League championship (loss to Lower Merion) didn’t go our way, but it still kind of captivated the community and that was pretty cool. The kids are going out there and playing really well and having fun.”
Radnor led 25-7 in the second quarter and UM needed all 16 minutes of the first half to crack double digits. By then, the game was over. UM shot a paltry 30.7 percent (12-for-39) from the field and committed 15 turnovers. Meanwhile, Radnor shot a crisp 52.3 percent (23-for-44) and went 12-for-15 at the charity stripe.
Point guard Byron Hopkins was the only UM player to reach double figures with 10 points. Tiernan hauled in eight rebounds to go with five points for the Bears (15-9), who meet No. 6 Bishop Shanahan in the third-place game Wednesday.
