Lower Merion dunks Radnor for Central League boys basketball title

MARPLE — There was no question who the defending champs were after
Radnor bounced out to a 10-point lead in the first quarter of the boys
Central League title game Thursday at Marple Newtown High.

The Raptors had no intention of letting go.

But Lower Merion dug down deep with a couple of those explosive runs
that make you wonder if the scoreboard is malfunctioning, including a
decisive third quarter to earn a 17th Central League championship with
a 68-54 win over the Raptors.

“They all taste good,” Aces coach Gregg Downer said. “But this has
been a lot of fun. Good environment, beat a good Radnor team and this
is the third year in a row it’s come down to us or them. It’s nice to
get the trophy back to Bryant Gym.”

Senior Adam Herron Kohl scored 16 points to lead the Aces (23-1), who
have won 14 in a row since a 65-62 defeat to Stow-Munro (Ohio) on Dec.
28. Owen McCabe and Carson Kasmer scored 14 points each, and Jayden
Robinson added 13 points. Robinson also provided a defensive effort
that unraveled the Raptors (18-4) in the third quarter, the 6-5
transfer from Overbrook almost single-handedly blowing up the rhythm
of the Raptors.

“He’s really long and he’s very athletic,” Downer said. “We think
putting him at the front of the press is really effective because he
does a lot of good trapping and it’s hard to get around that length.”

With Robinson clogging the floor, the Aces scored the first 17 points
of the third quarter to turn a tight contest into a near runaway
decision.

In addition to steals, Robinson was getting easy transition layups.

When the dust settled, the Aces had outscored the Raptors, 20-4, to
take a 47-30 advantage into the final frame.

Robinson did an about face after learning the Aces outscored the
Raptors, 20-4, in the third quarter.

“It was the pressure and the intensity,” Robinson said. “They had a
good first half and we had a decent first half, but we had to step it
up. And it starts on defense. That’s how we play. We just never let
up.

Play by play, possession by possession, the hole became deeper for the
Raptors, who got 16 points from senior Kessy Cox and 10 from Michael
Savalove.

“He’s got really long arms, and it definitely threw us off a little,”
Cox said. “I think there were more self-inflicted errors than anything
but he’s a good player and they played well. We just came into the
game knowing that they’re a superfast-paced team and they can jump on
you early. If you go down, you may never come back. I think we came
out with a lot of energy. We were really pumped up for the game. We
were just ready to go from the tip.”

The Aces led by as many as 18 points in the game, and the advantage
hovered around 17 for a chunk of the final frame. But there was no
quit in the Raptors, who lost a chunk of scorers from the title team
of last year yet not the will to win.

The Raptors cut the deficit to 10 points before running out of time.

“They’re resilient as heck,” Raptors coach Tim Smallwood said. “They
left everything out there. All credit to Lower Merion. They played
really hard as well. But I couldn’t be more proud of the guys in our
locker room. I told them to hold their heads high because they should
be proud of themselves. Again, I’m really proud of my guys. If we’re
going to lose to anybody I’d rather lose to a really good team.”