Even through injuries, Chester rides wave into districts

Separated by about as far geographically as you can be in District One, devotees of Chester basketball are no stranger to Council Rock North.

The last time they met in the playoffs was 2011, in a district final won by the Clippers. That was a rematch of the 2003 final claimed the Chester, and the squads also met in the second round of 2010.

The stakes will be a little different Friday night, when No. 9 seed Chester (16-6) hosts the No. 24 Indians.

Don’t let the seed fool you: Chester is one of the hottest teams in the field, having won 13 of 14. It hardly resembles the squad that stumbled through December at 2-5.

Lately, that’s included weathering the loss of Marquis Collins with a shoulder injury and Jordan Camper with a hand issue. The absence of those two starters has elicited the best from the supporting cast.

That begins with Khaleeq Campbell, who has assumed a larger scoring role with the former leading scorer Collins out. For the season, the pass-first point guard is averaging 10.9 points per game, but he’s upped that to 19.8 in the four contests Collins has missed.

There are ups and downs to manage on Larry Yarbray’s roster, but the coach’s willingness to let 12 to 14 guys see time nightly means those issues work themselves out.

For instance, forward Jamar Sudan was shouldering the load for a while, but he’s had just one double-figures outing in his last seven. Enter DeShawn Hinson, who’s stepped directly into Collins’ starting role and has provide 36 points in the last four games after scoring just 27 in his first 13 contests.

Maurice Henry has flourished in the space vacated by Camper, supplying both of his double-figures games this season in the last six. And since a two-game absence due to illness (which coincided with Chester’s last loss to Aquinas Institute Jan. 16), Stanley Davis has averaged 11.9 points per game.

There’s a reason why Yarbray stretches his bench with such regularity, and at junctures like this, it pays off.

The first postseason test isn’t an easy out. Council Rock North (13-9) finished second in Suburban One National and won seven of its last nine, though it fell in the regular-season finale to No. 6 Abington, 47-31.

The Indians are coached by Derek Wright, the brother of Villanova’s Jay Wright. They have a couple of dangerous, high-scoring seniors in 6-foot-3 forward Will Desautelle and guard Riley Thompson. That’s the kind of driven duo you don’t want to face in a postseason setting. Whether they can absorb the waves of pressure offered by the Clippers in a hostile environment remains to be seen.

Chester’s key to victory: Get to 61 points. This one isn’t a brain-bender. Chester is averaging 64.9 points per game. The Clippers are 13-1 when they hit 60, the only loss a 74-70 setback to J.P. McCaskey Dec. 19. Council Rock North has exceeded 60 points just once. The lower-scoring the game, the better for the Indians. Chester’s comfort playing at frenetic paces and causing turnovers to create extra possessions is a marked edge.