UPPER DUBLIN — Like Marty McFly, the Upper Dublin Cardinals were just trying to get back to the year 1985.
The last time the Upper Dublin boys’ basketball program reached the district championship game, Michael Jordan was an NBA rookie. “Careless Whisper” by Wham! was the No. 1 pop single. And, well, “Back to the Future” hadn’t quite arrived in theaters yet (until that summer).
But no flux capacitor was necessary for this year’s Cardinals to become the first group to reach the district championship game since the 1984-85 team, which won the district title that season.
No plutonium was needed either, unless you count a barrage of 3-pointers, as second-seeded Upper Dublin buried No. 6 Sun Valley 55-25 in Saturday’s District 1 Class 5A semifinals in an historic victory at The Nest.
Other UD squads have reached states, which these Cardinals had already clinched, but this accomplishment stands on its own.
“It’s really cool,” said Upper Dublin coach Derek Brooks, who’s in his second year at the helm. “All the credit to the kids, who have put in so much work to get here. To have the opportunity to win a district championship for the first time in 39 years, it’s special. We’re looking forward to it.”
The game was knotted at 10 after the first quarter and UD held a 22-18 lead at the half. Tries from downtown over Sun Valley’s zone weren’t falling. But Upper Dublin opened the second half by draining six consecutive 3s.
Bombs away!
The Cardinals (24-3), who haven’t lost Jan. 3, outscored the Vanguards 20-2 in the third period en route to their 15th straight victory. They’ll face top-seeded Unionville for the district crown on Thursday at West Chester University.
Sun Valley is still alive for states.
“This is awesome, it’s a great feeling,” said Upper Dublin junior Ryan Mulroy, who finished with a game-high 16 points. “Last year, I went down to Temple to see the district championship games, and I was so jealous to see all those teams there. Now, this year, we’re able to do it at West Chester. I’m so proud of everyone. We’re excited.”
The fast-paced Cardinals, who went nine players deep, were just 4-of-14 from beyond the arc in the first half before exploding in the third quarter
“They ran a really good 1-3-1 zone, so we knew we had to pick it apart by shooting rather than dribble penetration,” said UD senior Brady Fogle, who scored 12 points on four 3s. “We shot a lot in the first half and they didn’t fall, but we kept trusting ourselves, and eventually they started going in.”
Idris Rines had nine points for Upper Dublin, and Kobe Bazemore added 7.
“When a team plays a zone, you know you’re probably going to take about 25-percent more 3s than you normally do, so we worked on it each day in practice against a 1-3-1,” Brooks said. “We made some adjustments in the second half. We put our bigger guys up top so we could pass over (their zone). And we hit shots.
“Also, sometimes in the first half, the game is so fast that when you get your shot, it feels a little rushed,” he said. “The second half, everyone’s a little more settled in. Kudos to our guys for knocking them down.”
Noah Griffin scored nine for Sun Valley, which was 9-for-38 from the field. Kaiden Robinson finished with eight points.
Since June, including exhibition games, the Cardinals are 46-6 with a healthy starting five. Now, the team is clicking as well as ever.
“We’ve had guys here all spring and summer, playing together, shooting around in open gyms, and I think that helps so much,” Mulroy said. “It’s a big boost.”
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Upper Dublin 55, Sun Valley 25
Sun Valley 10 8 2 5 — 25Upper Dublin 10 12 26 7 — 55
SV: Noah Griffin 2 1 2-2 9, Kaiden Robinson 2 1 1-4 8, Blaise Eldridge 2 0 0-0 4, Justin Hickman 1 0 0-0 2, Aaron Freeman 0 0 2-2 2, Dino Diemidio 0 0 0-2 0. Totals — 7 2 5-10 25.
UD: Ryan Mulroy 5 2 0-0 16, Brady Fogle 0 4 0-0 12, Idris Rines 0 3 0-0 9, Kobe Bazemore 1 1 202 7, Noah Cohen 2 0 0-0 4, Brandon Altman 2 0 0-0 4, 2 0 0-0 4, James Castronuovo 0 1 0-0 3. Totals — 10 11 2-2 55.
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Follow Christiaan DeFranco on X at @the_defranc.
