Underdog Delco Christian looks to reprise role in title game
With the benefit of hindsight, instances of promise were obvious in Delco Christian’s up-and-down season. Few shone as brightly as the Jan. 6 encounter with Phil-Mont Christian.
Shorthanded due to injuries, the Knights hung tight with the Falcons — who were then soaring toward Bicentennial League supremacy — in a 79-70 setback.
The Knights can rectify that near-miss Saturday at noon, when they play for the District One Class A title against top-seeded Phil-Mont at Council Rock South High.
Though the vagaries of the Bicentennial’s hodgepodge membership makes district seeding notoriously unreliable, there’s little doubting that Phil-Mont deserved the No. 1 ranking. The Falcons are riding a 24-game winning streak, last losing to Church Farm Dec. 10, the only blemish on a 27-1 record.
Phil-Mont trounced No. 4 Collegium Charter, 67-34, in Tuesday’s semifinal, booking passage to states.
The Falcons are a daunting matchup. They play fast with four players averaging in double-figures, led by 6-foot-8 forward Sean Griffin’s 15.5 points per game. The length of 6-foot-5 Osaze Thornton and 6-foot-4 David Giuliani create problems, while senior guard Noah Baldez helps keep all the offensive horses pulling in the same direction.
Delco Christian, however, is no stranger to the underdog drill. As the No. 4 seed last year, it upset No. 1 Christopher Dock in double-overtime in the semis to get to states before handling Jenkintown, 50-41, in the final.
This year, as the No. 6 seed off an injury-blighted campaign in a mottled Bicentennial that includes AAA and AA squads, the Knights (14-11) are peaking at the optimal time, echoing last year’s journey to the state quarterfinals. They have won six of nine and are a win away from an impressive 3-2-1 sweep of the field.
Delco Christian trampled No. 3 Calvary Baptist, 83-49, in the quarters, then overturned a 10-point December loss to No. 2 Faith Christian with a 63-54 win in the semis Tuesday.
The scoring balance against Faith Christian was striking. Four players scored in double-figures, only the third time that’s happened this season, a feat made more remarkable by the absence of second- and third-leading scorers Devin Hill and Grant Fischer for off-court issues.
Wyatt Harkins was typically dominant with 19 points, a far cry from the 40 he poured in against Calvary but still accounting for 10 of DC’s final 15 points. Big man Bryce Shook, who’ll be in the spotlight against Griffin, scored a career-high 16 points.
Jordan Parks tied a season-best with 16, and T.J. Tann supplied only his second double-figures game of the year with 10.
In the Class AAAA tournament:
No. 11 Lower Merion at No. 4 Ridley
For the third time this season and fifth time in the last two years, the Central League rivals meet, deciding District One’s third-place game Saturday afternoon at 1. The winner gets the fourth-placed team from District 3, while the loser faces the survivor of District 12’s third-place game between Archbishop Ryan and Simon Gratz late Thursday.
More pertinent than seeding, though, is momentum, which Ridley knows well. The Green Raiders lost in the District One semis last year to Plymouth Whitemarsh, then dropped the third-place game to Pennsbury. They ended with a four-point loss to La Salle in the first round of states, a three-game losing streak that marred an otherwise prosperous season.
This year’s team can learn from last year’s mistakes.
“The next few days, we’re going to relax, get over the loss like we did last year,” forward Julian Wing said Tuesday after the 74-62 defeat to Chester. “We know Lower Merion, we know what they do. We played them two times. We’re going to play them a third time, we’re going to come out and try to win.”
Familiarity isn’t in short supply. Lower Merion (18-8) — which fell to PW, 53-42, Tuesday — played Ridley to within 53-47 in their last meeting Feb. 2. Ridley torched the Aces, 61-40, at Ridley Jan. 5. The Green Raiders have won four of the last five meetings.
No. 25 Hatboro-Horsham at No. 18 Academy Park
The Knights sealed their first trip to the PIAA tournament since 1999 with a 61-54 upset over No. 3 Downingtown West Tuesday, and their reward is a triumphant homecoming for the ninth-place game Friday at 7.
The Knights’ road has been remarkable, playing at No. 15 Upper Merion, No. 2 Plymouth Whitemarsh, No. 10 Phoenixville and the No. 3 Whippets. Last year, they hosted two playback games, the No. 17 seed losing to No. 28 Penncrest in a states play-in.
This time, their first instance wearing home whites in the postseason is merely for seeding. Both teams are consigned to tough draws, the winner getting the District 12 champ (Roman Catholic or Martin Luther King) and the loser awaiting the District 3 winner (Central York or Reading). With a win, though, AP would enter the state tournament on a hot streak, having won three straight and 16 of 19.
