Boys Basketball: Kwaidah, Sun Valley showing growth with win over Upper Merion
ASTON – A year ago, Chris Kwaidah was one of Delco’s most prolific 3-point shooters as a junior at Sun Valley.
A year older and stronger, Kwaidah’s shooting touch remains. But the skillet surrounding his long-range ability is so much more complete. So in games like Saturday’s 66-59 win over Upper Merion, you might have expected the back-to-back 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to stem the tide of a Vikings’ rally – one a catch-and-shoot on the wing; one an in-your-face transition triple.
But the other plays that made a difference, like Kwaidah swooping in for a put-back and-1 in a rampant first half for the Vanguards, are newer aspects to his game. With it comes hope that the Vanguards can reach a new level this postseason.
Kwaidah led all scorers with 22 points. Sixteen came in a first half when Sun Valley led by as many as 25 and built a 40-20 lead over the sleep-walking visiting Vikings, in a nonleague clash of teams sitting ninth and 12th in the District 1 Class 5A power rankings. He then added a pair of triples just when Upper Merion had charged back to within 55-52, putting the game away in the final three minutes.
“It’s just experience,” Kwaidah said. “It’s all experience. We know from last year the pains from all the losses, so we use that to fuel us now. We have a whole bunch of experience now.”
Kwaidah shot 8-for-14 from the field and 5-for-7 from 3-point range. Like last year, the lanky senior guard can achieve separation off the dribble or be a potent off-ball option. (That latter aspect is aided by guards Todd Harper and Noah Griffin being much improved at getting to the rim off the bounce.)
But he’s added to his repertoire. Saturday brought a game-high eight rebounds, part of a 32-23 edge on the glass for Sun Valley (11-6). He added three blocks.
Some of those tendencies are carried over from last year. (Of the 3-pointer that made it 61-52: “That pull-up transition 3, I would’ve done the same exact thing last year.”) But some are new, like a team-whid confidence in the face of the late run by Upper Merion (9-9).
“There’s definitely no worries,” Kwaidah said. “Me, Todd and Noah, we’re the captains. We have to bring up the team. Bucky (Grayston) is always talking. We just have to bring up the energy. We know we can’t lose; we just have to fight hard.”
The Vikings couldn’t have started much worse. It was 20-6 after one quarter. From a 3-3 tie, Sun Valley went on a 32-7 run, Harper hitting a bucket to make it 35-10 midway through the second.
Upper Merion trimmed the spread to 20 at the break, then chipped away. They stopped giving the ball away – after nine first-half turnovers, they limited it to six in the second half while turning Sun Valley over 11 times after the break. And they started pressuring in a trapping half-court zone.
It turned into easy buckets to get within seven by the start of the fourth. Upper Merion made seven of its first nine shots of the fourth quarter to get within three.
“It gets us going pretty good,” guard Devon Nelson said. “As soon as we start trapping up top near half-court, that’s when everything started getting easier for us. The other team was shriveling up, they didn’t know what to do. It just made our offense easier.”
Nelson scored 19 of his 21 points in the second half, including three 3-poiners to push Sun Valley out of its zone. Josh Zimmerman also played a role, he and fellow big Devin Swayze exploiting the soft middle with nine points each. Nic Smiley added six points and six assists. Nelson’s putback with 4:09 left got UM as close as it would get.
Kwaidah had the answer. Harper, who had a team-high four steals, scored four of his eight points in the fourth. At 55-52, Kwaidah kept a possession alive with an offensive board, then headed to the wing to receive a pass from a jump-stopping Kaiden Robinson, one of three helpers to go with 12 points.
Griffin, who scored 16 of his 20 points in the first half, jumped into a passing lane on the next possession to set up Kwaidah’s transition 3 for a 61-52 lead, enough to break Upper Merion’s resolve.
In the Central League:
Radnor 56, Penncrest 27 >> That’s 19 straight wins for the Raptors to start the season, with 10 players contributing points Saturday. Jackson Hicke led the way with 11 points, Charlie Thornton had 10, Jackson Gaffney nine and Alex McFadden a career-best eight.
Marple Newtown 74, Strath Haven 64 >> The Tigers made 14 3-pointers, led by six from Matt Gardler, who led all scorers with 32 points.
Daron Pfitzinger-Miller added 13 points, Steve Hamson had 11 points and Steen Tansey added 10.
Jaden Jauregui kept Strath Haven in touch, scoring 26 points in the second half and 33 for the game. Jack Edwards and Matt Jones added 11 each.
Haverford 50, Conestoga 35 >> Googie Seidman scored all 11 of the Fords’ third-quarter points, and Haverford (9-9, 5-8) held the Pioneers to three points in that frame to end a two-game skid.
Seidman led all scorers with 32 points. Tommy Wright added eight points.
Springfield 45, Harriton 37 >> Mike O’Donnell and Colin Treude scored 15 points each as the Cougars (8-11, 7-6) picked up a massive win for their playoff aspirations. Mike Hoey added six points.
Lower Merion 71, Upper Darby 56 >> Niymire Brown scored 23 points, and Nadir Myers added 22 points, but the Royals (12-6, 8-5) couldn’t top the Aces.
In the Bicentennial League:
Delco Christian 68, Morrisville 52 >> Beau Lyren hit four 3-pointers for a game-high 20 points as the Knights (10-8, 8-2) won late Friday.
Josiah Gaines added 14 points, Khamai Orange chipped in 13 points and Caleb Jameson had 10 points. The Knights shot 26-for-33 from the free-throw line.
