Seniors keep Downingtown West alive with 63-59 playback win over Upper Dublin

DOWNINGTOWN >> Starting Tuesday night after a loss to Conestoga, and multiple times in Friday night’s game, Downingtown West had its chance to hang its head and quit.

West’s brilliant trio of seniors simply wouldn’t let that happen.

Playing in a win-or-go-home Class AAAA playback game against No. 27 Upper Dublin, the No. 3 Whippets shrugged off multiple runs by Ryan Stover and the Cardinals to win on their home court, 63-59.

Days after dropping a disappointing second-round game against No. 14 Conestoga, the trio of Ryan Betley, Dom Guerrera and Josh Warren combined for 53 of West’s 63 points to set up another home game against No. 18 Academy Park, Tuesday, with a trip to states on the line.

“We had three kids who didn’t want to go home,” West coach Jason Ritter said. “Three proud seniors that weren’t ready to go home yet.”

Stover, who sat out of Upper Dublin’s second round loss to Lower Merion, did not start, but made an immediate impact when he entered early in the first. West led 7-0, but Stover’s presence was a calming one and his four first quarter points and smooth handling of the offense turned a 10-2 deficit into a 15-14 deficit after the first quarter.

The teams swapped the lead in the second, but the Cardinals went into halftime with a two-point lead after a Stover block led to an outlet pass by Ben Abel to John Barrett, who laid it in as time expired.

“He’s a heck of an athlete and he makes everyone on that team better,” Ritter said of Stover.

Barrett scored 16 points in the first half, but missed his first five shots from the field in the second and didn’t score until the final minute.

West, on the other hand, came out blazing in the third quarter, scoring the first six points to reclaim the lead it would never surrender. Warren got the Whippets going early in the quarter, scoring eight of his 16 in the frame. Guerrera added eight in the quarter, as well, as the Whippets led by nine after three.

“They started to attack with Warren down low and got him going, and he was able to finish and get to

the foul line,” Upper Dublin coach Josh Adelman said. “He’s a heck of a player and they built a cushion, but as we always do, we found ways to come back. They didn’t have an answer for Stover and it was a battle between two good teams.”

The nine-point margin didn’t last three minutes, as Stover used the glass to bank in three jumpers,

making it 47-46, West. Warren was the momentum killer once again, scoring a three-point play on a layup and a foul.

“Our coach definitely motivated us a little bit (at halftime), but between us players, as seniors we didn’t want this to be our last game,” Warren said. “We were playing for our lives.”

It appeared Upper Dublin’s chances were gone as West led by eight with under two minutes left. But Barrett was fouled after a rebound, and Warren was given a technical foul for his disagreement with the call. So Barrett, who hadn’t scored all half, hit three of four foul shots and then banked in a three with 27 seconds to cut West’s lead to two.

Betley made a pair of foul shots before Stover answered with a layup, but West’s George Gordon got behind the defense and slammed in a dunk that iced the game.

“(Barrett) had 16 of their 27 first half points, so we knew we had to stop him,” said Warren, who blocked Barrett twice in the fourth. “That was the main focus coming out of halftime.”
Stover ended with 20 as the Cardinals’ season came to an end.

“Nothing is ever easy and I’m proud of my guys’ effort,” Adelman said. “When we entered the tournament we didn’t look at the other teams’ ranking. They just wanted to play basketball and they left everything on the court. It’s the old cliche, but they really did and I’m really proud of my guys.”

West will face Academy Park for the second time this season, having beaten the Knights 67-66 on the road in December.

The Whippets are trying to work their way into the state playoffs, and as the No. 9 seed they’d get the District 12 champ, or No. 10, they’d get the District 3 champ.