Sudden, second-half scoring splurge pushes Chester past Academy Park

SHARON HILL — The Chester locker room wasn’t the happiest of places at halftime Tuesday evening. But any displeasure carried a substantial caveat.

Yes, Chester had shot barely north of 30 percent in the first half. Yes, it had frittered away 11 turnovers against an Academy Park team that hadn’t even thrown its best full-court pressure the Clippers’ way. And yes, the Clippers’ three starting guards had as many points as fouls (six) in allowing the Knights to grab a four-point intermission edge.

But the Clippers have proven to themselves this season that they are capable of more than they showed in the first 16 minutes Tuesday. And in the second half, particularly one scorching stretch of it, they proved it to AP as well.

Chester unleashed a hellacious run after the break, scoring 48 points in 10 minutes, 34 seconds to turn a deficit that was as large as seven into an 82-56 victory to clinch the Del Val League title.

Chester (14-3) has won all six of its Del Val contests. With AP (12-6, 4-3) and Penn Wood carrying three losses each in the league, Chester can’t be passed, since the five-team conference plays only eight games in its first season without Glen Mills.

Theres a basket. Watkins has 15. Chester finishes on a 20-4 run. Leads 52-41 after 3 pic.twitter.com/7eisZSpFvV

— Matthew De George (@sportsdoctormd) January 29, 2020

That wasn’t the main focus, though, as a 32-28 deficit at halftime was wholly unacceptable to the Clippers, mainly for the way they got there.

“It’s easy to stay calm because that extra gear, we knew we can get to it,” forward Karell Watkins said. “So any time, we don’t panic, we stay calm and let it happen. And this is the result.”

Everything that went wrong in the first half, Chester made sure to rectify after the break. All three starting guards – Fareed Burton, Rahmee Gilbert and Akeem Taylor – were limited by foul trouble in the first. But Taylor made his presence known immediately in the second, collecting eight points and four rebounds in the third quarter alone.

With Academy Park playing a zone defense, something that a Chester team that struggles from beyond the arc has grown accustomed to seeing, Taylor’s ability to drive between the cracks of AP’s lines was vital in creating space for himself and others.

“That’s very big because Akeem, you can’t play him man(-to-man), you can’t play him zone,” Burton said. “So he’s a mismatch wherever you play him. He can play inside, he can play outside. That’s very helpful to the team.”

Fareed Burton the deuce (and the taunting tech, his 4th foul). 59-43 Chester pic.twitter.com/IwoIcWHebX

— Matthew De George (@sportsdoctormd) January 29, 2020

Eventually, Burton took the initiative, as Chester’s press created more turnovers and transition chances. Burton scored 16 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter, getting to the basket at will.

Chester turned up its defensive intensity and redoubled its edge on the boards. Watkins was the main figure in both instances. He tallied 25 points and 14 rebounds, one of three Clippers with double-doubles as Chester held a 51-31 rebounding edge. Watkins also added three assists, two blocks and five steals, the latter category particularly impressive in unhinging the AP offense.

“It’s just eye on the ball,” Watkins said. “Where the ball goes, I go.”

The decisive run started innocuously enough, as just another round of counterpunching. With 5:10 left in the third quarter, Taylor floated in the lane and hit a bucket to get Chester within 37-34. It was the start of seven straight trips down the court that ended in points for Chester, including nine points in 54 seconds, capped by a Watkins steal and slam. From down 41-38, the Clippers opened up a six-point lead in the blink of an eye.

It started with an unlikely face: Deep reserve Lenny Camacho. With AP sitting back in its zone to deal with Chester’s speed and try to entice them into long balls, Camacho hoisted a 3-pointer from the left wing to tie the game at 41 with 3:25 left.

“Lenny sparked us, being down, then he hit another one to make us go up,” Burton said. “That really got the engine going and all that.”

Camacho added his second triple to make it 50-41, and Chester exited the frame with the last 14 points and an 11-point lead. The lead would stretch to 30 points in the fourth before the Clippers subbed out their starters.

Before that Taylor jumper, the Clippers had 32 points. By the time Burton got fouled on the way to the hoop just 10½ minutes later, they had 80. And a shorthanded Knights team didn’t have enough bodies or experience to stop the torrent.

“We’re a little inexperienced in that area,” first-year coach Kevin Stewart said. “We have (Jalen) Cassidy, who’s a senior, and a lot of the core guys who handle the ball are underclassmen. It’s tough for them to stay locked in and engaged, to constantly be in your spot. You have to give Chester credit for how well they’re in shape. That’s the biggest thing I would say, is how much bigger and physically in shape they are than we are.”

AP was missing its leading scorer, Tahriq Marrero. Third-leading scorer Cassidy attempted just nine shots and fouled out (on a technical foul in the fourth quarter) with just seven points. That left Derrick Northern to do much of the heavy lifting. He scored a team-high 16 points, but it took 5-for-24 shooting and just 2-for-10 from 3-point range to get there. He added four assists.

There were positive moments early from the young players trying to fill roles. Jamese Turner was aggressive off the bounce in scoring 12 points. Barry Brown (six points, seven rebounds) and Kenny Wright (eight points, 11 boards) battled in the post.

But when Chester got into gear, there was no slowing it down. Taylor finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Zahmir Carroll provided nine of his 11 points to keep Chester afloat in the first half; he added 10 rebounds. Burton’s 22 was augmented by five assists and four boards.

The second-half burst was a reward for the team’s patience and ability to stick with the plan.

“We know sometimes the first half, we might rush our shots,” Burton said. “We know we can do what we did tonight and go up by 20 in an instant. That’s just us playing together again.”

Also in the Del Val League:

Penn Wood 66, Interboro 39 >> Shamir Baynes hit six 3-pointers to tally a game-high 24 points, and Abdullah Dublin added four triples for 12 points as the Patriots led by 12 after one quarter and cruised.

Jeremiah Butts led Interboro with nine points.