Smith: Tournament dancing is extending beyond the college arenas
Fans of Philadelphia college men’s basketball were disappointed to learn that no City 6 school is going dancing this year. Drexel, La Salle, Penn, Saint Joseph’s, Temple and Villanova are going fishing instead. Well, at least ‘Nova is in the NIT Tournament. That’s better than nothing.
According to research done by the Philadelphia Inquirer, this year marks the first time since 1977 that none of those programs qualified for the NCAA Tournament. That’s both sad and embarrassing.
On the women’s side, Villanova certainly has earned its place in the spotlight. Maddy Siegrist and Co. are the No. 4 seed in the Greenville 2 regional bracket. The Wildcats (28-6) will host No. 13 Cleveland State on Saturday.
If you’re really itching for March Madness, Delco’s best high school teams have you covered. The PIAA tournaments are in full swing and the county is well-represented.
If last weekend’s opening round was any indication, the underdogs are having their moment in the sun.
The Christian Academy, a Class A girls school from Brookhaven, has won 20 games playing no more than six players. The Crusaders beat first-round opponent High Point Baptist by 22 points, advancing to the second round of the state tournament for the first time in five years. TCA’s big weapon, La Salle recruit and senior enter Amber Bullard, had 30 points, 24 rebounds and four blocked shots.
“We focus on what we do best and we continue to grow as a team,” Bullard said. “We are aggressive and we play hard, non-stop. Even though we have low numbers, we don’t stop. We play for each other. If I get tired, I just tell myself, ‘Amber, you’re not tired.’ I know the team needs me, and we all play hard no matter what because we want to give all we have for the team.”
TCA claimed its first District 1 championship with a 40-20 win over Jenkintown, which won four district titles from 2018-21.
“We had never beat them since I’ve been the coach,” said TCA coach Jason Wilt.
That’s one for the underdog.
Every Class A school can proudly call itself a long shot, even if they are a team that has proven itself one of the best in its class. Chester Charter Scholars Academy (20-5) has enjoyed a heck of a run. The team captured its first Class A title in three years and ousted Lancaster Country Day School last Friday to advance to the second round of the state tournament.
By the way, CCSA is the only school based in Chester to make the playoffs this season. The Chester High Clippers, one of the winningest boys basketball programs in Pennsylvania history, failed to crack the 24-team district tournament.
Two of Delco’s Class 6A boys teams pulled off stunning wins on the road in the first round of states. Both winning in buzzer-beater style, Garnet Valley and Upper Darby take the crown for best wins by a team not expected to get this far.
GV placed seventh in the District 1 tournament and traveled to 21-4 Cumberland Valley, the second-place finisher from District 3, in the first round last Saturday. The Jaguars shocked and awed early on by scoring the first 13 points of the game. CV battled back and overcame its dreadful start, taking a two-point lead with less than two minutes to go in regulation. But Jake Sniras and the Jags were determined to finish what they had started. Sniras buried a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer as time expired to give Garnet Valley the 46-45 victory.
If GV’s win was improbable, Upper Darby’s was flat-out impossible. The Royals, the sixth-place team from District 1, beat District 11’s second-place squad Bethlehem Liberty in two overtimes after blowing a 17-point lead. The Royals trailed by three points with two minutes left in the second OT, recovered to take a three-point lead with 1:19 to go, then found themselves tied again with 49 seconds left.
On the game’s final possession, Upper Darby’s Yassir Joyner drove to the basket but was stripped of the ball. Liberty appeared to have forced a turnover, but Joyner stole the ball back and put up a shot underneath the basket as the buzzer sounded, lifting the Royals to a 66-64 victory.
One would be hard-pressed to find more unbelievable wins. One thing’s for sure: you won’t see any of Philly’s men’s basketball teams accomplishing such otherworldly feats in the NCAA Division I Tournament this month.
Unfortunately for the Haverford girls, they were on the wrong side of an underdog’s wrath. A scrappy Lebanon High team, fifth place in District 3, managed to upset the District 1 runners-up, 48-41. While their season was a big success as a whole, the Fords’ only losses came back to back at the worst possible time.
There’s no telling what will happen this week when the second round and quarterfinals transpire. Can the Archbishop Carroll (13-13) girls team shock District 1 champ Perkiomen Valley (28-1) Tuesday? Will undefeated Radnor boys (28-0) run into a Cinderella in the Class 5A bracket? Hold on to those seats.
Contact Matt Smith at msmith@delcotimes.com.
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