Late three-pointer puts Garnet Valley into district final

WEST CHESTER >> The Garnet Valley boys basketball team’s magical run through the District 1 Class 6A playoffs continued Tuesday night at Richert Gymnasium. The 14th-seeded Jaguars roared back from a third-period deficit to stun West Chester Henderson, 50-46.

The win puts Garnet into Saturday night’s 6A final against top-seeded Lower Merion at Temple University at 7 p.m. The Warriors will host Chester on Friday in the third-place game at 7 p.m.
The Jaguars (19-8) got a huge three-pointer from the left corner from Brady Krautzel with 29 seconds left in the contest for a 48-46 lead. Krautzel then drained two free throws with 13.5 seconds to play to seal the thrilling win.

“Quinn O’Hara did a fantastic job of getting me wide open,” Krautzel said. “He beat his man then found me in the corner. I knew I had to take the shot and it went in. We have been a second-half team all season. We did not panic when we were down at halftime. We talked to each other and decided we would make a run. This is such an awesome feeling going to play at Temple for the district title.”

The Warriors (22-5) received 43 of their 46 total points from two players. Nyle Ralph-Beyer had a game-high 22 points, while Connor Fleet added 21. The pair led Henderson to a 10-point halftime lead (27-17) and an 11-point bulge early in the third.

But, Garnet Valley shot a torrid seven-for-12 from the field in the frame to outscore the Warriors 19-9 to forge a 36-36 tie at the end of three. The Warriors only made three field goals in 12 attempts in the period.

The overflow crowd was roaring the entire game and reached a fever pitch when Grayson Golek scored inside to give the Jags a 42-39 lead with 4:43 to play in the fourth. Fleet then drove hard to the basket seconds later to cut it to 42-41.

The game slowed down and Fleet brought the Warriors to within 45-44 with a basket with 2:37 left. The Jags then milked the clock until the ball bounced off a GV player out of bounds with 1:07 to play.

After a timeout, Fleet was fouled on a drive to the basket. He drained both free throws to put the Warriors up 46-45 with under a minute to go. O’Hara then found Krautzel, who buried the three, bringing the crowd to its feet and the Jags had a 48-46 lead with 29 seconds to play.

“I had no problem with Brady taking that shot,” Garnet Valley coach Mike Brown said. “He has been shooting very well lately. These kids don’t panic when they are behind in a game. We did not have a bye, so we had to win four games to get to Temple and we did that. It is a great group.”

Henderson had one last chance. Fleet drove hard to the basket, but the ball rimmed out. Jake Sniras, who led the Jags with 13 points, boxed out well and Krautzel rebounded the ball and was fouled immediately. He made both free throws and they were headed to Temple for a date with Lower Merion while the Warriors left the court stunned.

“Nobody expected us to be in this position,” Sniras said. “They think we are just a football school. We wanted to come back tonight because nobody wants to play in playback games. I want to say that Connor and Nyle are great players and it is an honor to share the court with them. but we really wanted this game to get to Temple.”

After the stunning loss, Warriors coach Jason Ritter summed up the outcome.

“We depend a whole lot on Connor and Nyle and tonight, our role players did not step up when we needed them to and that was the story of the game.”

Garnet Valley 50, WC Henderson 46

GARNET VALLEY: O’Hara 3 1-2 9, B. Krautzel 3 2-2 9, J. Krautzel 3 3-4 9, Boruk 3 3-5 10, Sniras 6 0-0 13. Totals 18 9-13 50.
WC HENDERSON: Ralph-Beyer 8 2-2 22, Fleet 7 5-5 21, Smith 1 0-0 3, McFadden 0 0-0 0, Nelson 0 0-0 0, Delucia 0 0-0 0, Ranalli 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 7-7 46.
Garnet Valley    12 5 19 14-50
WC Henderson 16 11 9 10-46
3-point goals: B. Krautzel, J. Krautzel, O’Hara 2, Sniras, Ralph-Beyer 4, Fleet 2, Smith.