PHILADELPHIA — Lower Merion’s John Mobley didn’t have a 3-point shot in his repertoire last season. It’s one aspect of his game he continues to improve.
In the offseason, Mobley trained with professional basketball player and Philadelphia native Jared Armstrong, who has molded Mobley into a better outside shooter. They always meet local LA Fitness. Somewhere in that gym is a basketball court.
“It’s a small one,” Mobley said, “but it gets the job done.”
This time a year ago, you wouldn’t have seen Mobley hit a 3-pointer in the biggest game of his high school career. In Saturday’s District 1 Class 6A final at the Liacouras Center, Mobley pulled up and sank a triple as time expired in the third quarter, giving the Aces a 10-point advantage.
“We would go there at five in the morning, work out three or sometimes five days a week,” Mobley said of his work with Armstrong. “We worked on catch-and-shoot, pull ups and everything like that. I actually have a lot more to work on when (Armstrong) comes back.”
For now, Mobley’s range is more than good enough for the District 1 champion Aces.
Behind Mobley’s 17-point, 10-rebound effort, top-seeded Lower Merion (27-1) captured its second District 1 Class 6A title in three seasons with a 57-49 win over Central League rival and No. 19 Garnet Valley.
“My sophomore year I was on the team but sat on the bench. I always wanted to go back here and actually be able to play on the court,” Mobley said. “Being on the court in this game means so much more. This guy right here (guard Owen McCabe), I grew up with him. So to be able to win with my brothers, it means the world to me.”
After hitting the game’s first field goal – a Grayson Golek 3-pointer – the Jaguars would spend the next several minutes looking to get back on the scoreboard. Their cold streak to close the first quarter – 0-for-8 – enabled the Aces to build a nice cushion at 11-3 through eight minutes.
The poor shooting in the opening period was an issue all night for the Jags. They shot 30.4 percent (17-for-56) from the field, including a 7-for-27 effort from 3-point distance.
“Quite honestly, we had to shoot better,” said GV senior guard Quinn O’Hara, who had 12 points. “You just keep playing hard. You keep your head in the game, the shots will fall. As long as you control what you can control, how hard you’re playing, how many rebounds you’re getting, I really can’t complain. Those guys left it all out there on the floor.”
GV would close the gap in the second quarter thanks in large part to Brady Krautzel, who tallied eight points in the stanza. O’Hara made a triple to cut what had been an eight-point Lower Merion lead to three midway through the second.
And that’s as close as the Jags (19-9) would get.
“Garnet is a tough team … they are always going to stay in the game,” said McCabe, who recorded 10 points and two assists. “John’s (3-pointer) really took us to the next level going into the fourth. Mobes put it all that work and to see that take place in that moment really sparked the team.”
LM was methodical in its approach as it expanded its advantage back to eight in the waning minutes of the first half. A pair of layups from Jayden Robinson at the outset set the tone for the Aces in the third quarter, when their lead ballooned to as many as 15. But the Jaguars kept coming and trailed by six late in the quarter, thanks to a 3-ball from Brady Krautzel and a bucket from Jake Sniras.
The final sequence of the third quarter that resulted in Mobley’s buzzer beater: He hit the front end of two free-throw attempts, but the Aces were able to corral the offensive rebound on a miss and swung it to to Mobley, who calmly swished the 3 to give Lower Merion a 49-39 lead. Mobley implored the LM fan section to get louder as he walked toward the bench.
To their credit, the Jags hung around in the fourth quarter, trimming their deficit to 42-34 when Jack Krautzel sank his first 3-pointer of the night. Brady Krautzel hit from beyond the arc after LM had built its lead back to double digits. Sniras made two freebies and a trey to get GV within 51-45, then O’Hara converted a pair of foul shots to make it 52-47 with 30.7 seconds. But the Jags, in full-blown chase mode for most of the night, ran out of time and steam.
“We shot terribly,” GV coach Mike Brown said. “We’re not a really good shooting team, not from 3, so that’s part of it. I think you were seeing some nerves (early in the game). We only start two seniors, we’re young, so that’s a part of it, too.
“(Lower Merion) is very smart, very well-coached. They don’t have D-I kid, but they probably have 10 D-III kids and they all know how to play. They take good shots, they share the ball well. Some of our guys are still learning the game.”
Carson Kasmer gave the Aces a jolt off the bench, scoring 11 points. He went 4-for-4 at the foul line in the fourth quarter.
Sniras paced the Jags with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Brady Krautzel added 14 points.
“The kids are going to remember getting here and how cool it was playing here, but their season is not over,” Brown said. “I preach to them that playoffs in states are really fun. … We have a goal now. We’ve only won on state playoff game and we did it three times. We won in the first round, but never won two rounds. So that’s they’re goal now. They’ll be fine.”
