Cold second half proves costly for Chester against hot Forrest, Lower Merion

LOWER MERION — On the long walk from the Chester bench to its locker room, up a flight of stairs and around two corners far from the Kobe Bryant Gymnasium, the Clippers had plenty of time to ponder Friday night.

One was the gamesmanship at Lower Merion’s fortress of a gym, long trek included. There were calls Chester felt it didn’t get, including the image of Aces coach Gregg Downer sprinting out of his coaching box and into Keith Taylor’s to call a timeout on the eighth second of a would-be backcourt in the final minute.

But after watching the Aces exult en masse on the court after a 67-59 win in the District 1 Class 6A quarterfinals, the reality had time to crystallize for the Clippers. They simply didn’t make enough shots. And Lower Merion’s Jack Forrest simply didn’t miss enough.

“It was very upsetting,” Chester senior forward Rahmaad DeJarnette said. “We usually make those types of shots, and when it comes down to that, we have a lot of clutch players that make that shot. It just didn’t fall, so it was very upsetting.”

Following a first half of stellar offensive execution that yielded 37 points, the Clippers (18-5) went cold. They scored just 22 in the second, shooting 9-for-30 from the field. For the game, they shot below 50 percent (18-for-41) on 2-point baskets and settled for low-percentage shots too often as the Aces slowed the pace while nursing a lead.

The Aces (23-2) offered chances to get back in the game via seven second-half turnovers. But Chester couldn’t oblige.

Early the fourth, instead of cutting the deficit to one, Rahmee Gilbert bricked two free throws, and Forrest drove to the basket for a lay-in that restored a five-point edge. A 7-0 run midway through the fourth, kicked off by a DeJarnette 3-pointer followed by two Karell Watkins buckets, got Chester within one at 60-59 with 2:05 left. But they came up empty on their final five possessions, the first the most devastating when Michael Smith punched away a steal from Steve Payne but in his haste to capitalize, dribbled the ball upcourt and into the waiting hands of senior Theo Henry.

“Smith’s a great player. Chester, we’ve got a great respect for that team, a lot of history,” Henry said. “I’m just thinking, ‘get back, get in the paint, stop the transition.’ They’re a really dangerous team in transition, and we got there.”

“You can hear the crowd, and it was an amazing atmosphere tonight. And they went crazy,” Forrest said. “We knew we had to be smart with the ball and hit some free throws to end it, but we knew that was a turning point.”

Jack Forrest, early onions. Aces up 8. 5 to play. pic.twitter.com/81kuu05Z3G

— Matthew De George (@sportsdoctormd) February 23, 2019

From there, it was a matter of execution at the line for the third-seeded Aces to book a spot in Tuesday’s semifinal at Temple against No. 2 Coatesville.

Henry’s contribution was emblematic in a game when all 14 players to touch the floor on both sides scored. Lower Merion was 9-for-11 from the line in the fourth to ice the game. Two free throws from Payne represented the senior point guard’s only offensive contribution of the second half, but that did little to slow the Aces. Payne finished with 15 points and a team-high five assists and 10 rebounds.

“Steve and I always trust our other guys,” Forrest said. “It’s not just me and him. And it’s really a team effort. Steve and I always are aggressive offensively because we’ve put in a lot of work and we’ve been playing for four years, but it’s a team effort.”

PHOTO GALLERY: Chester at Lower Merion

Forrest also had plenty of faith in his shot. He scored a game-high 31 points, knocking down seven 3-pointers. He needed just 20 field-goal attempts and added seven rebounds. Few of the baskets were easy, with several twisting drives through the trees in the lane and 3-pointers over closing-out Clippers.

“It’s very hard because they set a lot of good screens,” DeJarnette said. “And if even if we get through the screens, they can still hit the shot.

Watkins a turnaround jumper. Chester within 1. 2:05 left. pic.twitter.com/uKpwzlqV5B

— Matthew De George (@sportsdoctormd) February 23, 2019

“Jack’s a great player,” Henry said. “He’s going to make a lot of shots, so we’re trying to find him the ball. And at the same time, we want to run our stuff and settle down, control the game and Jack was able to hit some huge shots today.”

Josh Martin added seven points and 10 rebounds for the Aces, while Matt O’Connor and Henry tossed in five points apiece.

Watkins led Chester with 17 points, including six in the fourth quarter, plus 10 boards. DeJarnette hit three 3-pointers to tally 16 points. Smith added 10 points, six rebounds and three steals, and Akeem Taylor paired seven points with six boards and three assists. But the shot selection late left much to be desired. And as a result, the Clippers absorb their first loss of 2019, ending a 14-game winning streak.

“It was tough,” Akeem Taylor said. “They were playing good defense, but we missed a lot of layups that we could’ve had.”

In the clutch moments, though, Lower Merion just had more players make more plays. And no matter how hot Forrest’s hand, that spelled the difference.

“We have an amazing team,” Forrest said. “We work so hard, and these guys, they’re so invested in our team that they’re going to make big plays when they need to, and Steve and I can score offensively, but everyone does everything on the floor.”