BENSALEM — It was the same gym as last year. Same teams. Different jersey colors and different round of states, but the same setting.
Any sense of déjà vu, though, Thomas Sorber made sure vanished in short order.
Meeting for the second straight year in the PIAA Class 5A tournament, Archbishop Ryan made sure this year’s second round contained none of the drama of last year’s pulsating quarterfinal, a 22-0 run to end the third quarter ending Radnor’s season with a 66-46 win.
Radnor trailed by just four at half and cut within one early in the third at Bensalem High School. But the District 12 runner-up rattled off the last 22 points of the frame to romp into the quarters.
It was the same venue as last year’s finale for Radnor (22-6), albeit a round earlier. Then, the loss to Ryan was the first blemish for a team that won 29 games on the way to Central League and District 1 titles.
The difference Tuesday was in how much each team had changed since that 69-65 Ryan decision. Of Ryan’s points a year ago, the players who supplied 58 were represented. For Radnor, that number was four. All but two of Radnor’s players from last year’s game are gone. All but one of Ryan’s are back.
In itself, getting this far is a massive accomplishment for Radnor. The fifth seed from District 1 appeared to be headed for at best a rebuilding year after a coaching change and the graduation of a generational class that created the best season in program history. Instead, the team that wore “proof” on their shirts as a season-long motto proved for 27 games that the growth was not a one-year aberration.
“A lot of people doubted us,” forward Elijah Sellers said. “A lot of people didn’t think we’d get this far.”
Last year’s classic gave way to this year’s parade led by Sorber and Darren Williams.
Williams, who scored 28 points last year, tallied 21 without much action in the fourth quarter. After missing Ryan’s first-round win over Sun Valley due to illness, the Florida Gulf Coast commit hit four first-half 3-pointers and five of the nine that the teams combined for.
“If feels amazing,” Sorber said of Wiliams’ return. “Darren is one of our top scorers. It was hard playing without him for the first time, first time in a while, actually. So we had to get that win for him.”
Sorber, bound for Georgetown, was typically dominant, though not as completely as last round. Then, he had 24 points, 16 rebounds and three blocks. Tuesday, it was 24 points on 8-for-10 shooting, plus a team-high seven boards.
Sorber and Williams, Ryan’s two blue chips, carried a fairly middling supporting cast. The duo combined to shoot 15-for-21 from the field (71.4 percent). The rest of the Raiders were 5-for-26 (19.2), even if the deep reserves artificially depressed that number. Brandon Russell (six points) was the only other Ryan player with more than one made field goal.
Sorber is 17-for-22 from the field in two states games (77.3 percent). Once he catches in the post, the possession is pretty much over.
Williams and Sorber scored 29 of the team’s 31 first-half points. Radnor, which trailed 30-28 at half last year, was down 31-27 Tuesday.
“We were still in this,” Sellers said. “We wanted to keep it going, keep on the pressure. We were in the game, but that third quarter really killed us.”
Sellers was one of the big reasons why they stayed close. He led Radnor with 19 points. Early, with Sorber backing off, he punished Ryan with his 19-foot jumper. When Sorber pushed out, Sellers went off the dribble, getting to the rim for a pair of acrobatic layups and pulling Sorber, an elite rim defender, out of the paint. Sorber altered plenty of shots, but he registered a solitary block.
“When he was giving me space, I shot the ball,” Sellers said. “When he was on me, I tried to drive. I try not to play with any fear. Going forward in my basketball career, it’s going to be nothing but tall guys. So I just tried to come through this game fearless.”
Radnor twice cut the deficit to one early in the third, on a 3-pointer by Henry Pierce and a Sellers bucket. But the Raptors missed their next eight shots and didn’t hit another field goal until 5:28 left to play, by which point the Ryan edge was 20.
Pierce scored 10 points. Kessy Cox had five. The Raptors shot 16-for-44 from the field (36.4 percent) and just 2-for-12 from 3-point range.
Matt Johnson started Ryan’s run with an and-1. Sorber stroked a 3-pointer from the right wing to make it 43-32, then Williams supplied seven straight points. A Russell lay-in and a corner 3-pointer by Ryan Everett at the buzzer made it 55-32 and game over for the Raiders.
Ryan didn’t have the history weighing on it. Instead, the Raiders’ eyes are cast toward a potential semifinal with Imhotep Charter, which ended Ryan’s season last year. Tuesday was just another step on that path.
“We just came in with the mentality of, we’re going to win this game,” Sorber said. “Win this game and we’re going to the next round.”
