PIAA Class 5A Boys Basketball: Radnor survives speedy test from West Philly to set wins record

BENSALEM – If you sleep on Cooper Mueller, the 6-3 senior from Radnor will make you pay. West Philadelphia Speedboys found that out the hard way Tuesday night at Bensalem High School.

Mueller scored six of his game-high 18 points in a two-minute span to give the Raptors some breathing room and pull away for a 75-61 victory over the Speedboys in the second round of the PIAA Class 5A tournament and make program history in the process.

With the win, Radnor improved to 29-0, breaking the program record for wins in a season set by the 1945-46 squad that went 28-2 and lost to Allentown in the Eastern Regional final.

“We just found out about that (the record) after the game,” Mueller said. “Some guys knew before, but I didn’t. It’s really special. I’m sure that was a great team that set that record but we’re proud of what we’ve done.”

The victory also sends the Raptors into the quarterfinals for the first time since 1961, where they will face the winner of the game between District 12 runnerup Archbishop Ryan (15-10) and West Chester East (18-8), the No. 5 team out of District 1, Friday at a site and time to be determined.

“At the beginning of the year we set four goals and nowhere in there was breaking the record for wins in a season,” Radnor coach Jamie Chadwin said. “But it certainly is nice to achieve that and they deserve it. They’ve worked their rear ends off and they have fun playing with each other. That’s all you can ask for as a coach.”

Radnor has already accomplished three of the goals it set at the beginning of the season. The Raptors wanted to beat arch-rival Lower Merion and did that, and then win the Central League and District 1 championships. They’ve checked both those boxes. The only thing left is the state title.

Mueller helped keep that goal a reality. It was a sloppy going, as each team turned the ball over 18 times, which led to roller-coaster ride of a game. Radnor jumped out to a 13-2 lead. West Philly fought back and got within 30-22 before the Raptors rattled off the last five points of the half to take a 35-22 lead into the locker room.

“I think it was a different zone than what we were used to, the 1-3-1 with the traps,” senior guard Danny Rosenblum said of the excessive turnovers. “I think we got a little careless but I think we did a good job of staying poised under the pressure.”

The Speedboys (16-12), who were led by Elijah Hester with 17 points and John Fields with 16, continued to press on and got within 41-34 midway through the third period, and appeared to have momentum on their side. That’s where the poise really showed and when Mueller went to work. He scored six points in a 10-0 run over a 2:02 span that put Radnor up 51-34, with 2:07 to play in the third.

“They switched into a 1-2-2 zone and I thought we could attack the baseline drives,” Mueller said. “We made that adjustment and were able to get buckets.”

West Philly’s defense was focused on Jackson Hicke (17 points), Danny Rosenblum (13) and Charlie Thornton (12), and that opened the door for Mueller.

“They open up the court for me,” said Mueller, who will play lacrosse at Princeton. “If they’re not on the floor, I’m not scoring. They’re getting the attention and they know how to dump it off. They’re great passers.”

Chadwin wasn’t surprised Mueller know just when to take over. He’s been doing it all season.

“One of the best things about Cooper Mueller is that he makes timely plays,” Chadwin said. “He has such an athletic, competitive knack for the game. He doesn’t have to command the ball. He has that ability to score in bunches but off of a few touches. For him to have some timely plays on the baseline there when we were trying to get our offense organized really helped us.”

The fans who made the more than 40-minute trek on the Blue Route and the turnpike recognized Mueller’s effort and gave him a rousing ovation when he came off the floor with 1:07 to play and the Raptors firmly in control.

“It’s good getting that support, getting recognized a little bit,” Mueller said. “All the other guys who came out got applause, too.”