Keating steps up as Marple cools Haverford
MARPLE » The attention of Haverford’s defense Thursday night, Ryan Keating knew, was always going to be tuned primarily to the threat of Matt Gardler.
While Gardler is uniquely capable of persevering with multiple hands in his face, the challenge on the night and on the season for his Marple Newtown teammates has been to punish opponents that fixate on Gardler.
Keating stepped to the fore in the second half of a tight affair Thursday, saving 15 of his gamehigh 22 points for the second half as Marple Newtown pulled away from Haverford, 55-38.
“Matt’s a great player and obviously he’s been doing great this season,” Keating said. “At halftime, they were playing Matt really well, and coach (Sean) Spratt told us, someone else has to step up. I think as a team, we did a really good job of that.”
Haverford did an outstanding job on Gardler. The high-powered guard scored 12 points in the first half. But the Fords (29, 0-6 Central) still led 28-26 at the break. With Keith Heinerichs as the primary defender shadowing Gardler from just about the instant the layup lines concluded, Gardler didn’t have a basket in the second half. He only attempted two shots, both forced 3-pointers, and none in the first seven minutes of the third, with the game up for grabs.
Gardler hit four free throws in the fourth to finish with 16 points, but there was no question that Heinerichs and Haverford won the matchup.
“He’s a really good player,” Heinerichs said. “He’s always moving. You’ve got to be hungry. You’ve got to want it. You’ve got to know he’s going to score sometimes but you’ve got to keep your head up and keep playing, even when he gets his.”
The quieting of Gardler came at a price, in this case the space that Keating exploited.
The junior forward was 6-for-6
from the field in the second half and 9-for-13 on the night, as Marple Newtown (6-5, 4-2) shot better than 50 percent from the field (19-for-35).
“I just take what’s available for me,” Keating said. “We needed someone to step up. I got a couple of points and I got going, and that’s really all I needed.”
It was particularly needed given the way Haverford started the game from the field. The Fords connected on eight of nine firstquarter attempts for a 19-15 edge. They were 15-for-20 from the field when Andrew Steigleman pulled up for a jumper midway through the third to break a 36-all tie.
But after that, they cooled and never warmed back up. Fourteen turnovers didn’t help, as Haverford misfired on its last 11 tries from the field.
“I thought we missed a bunch of good looks in the fourth quarter,” Heinerichs said. “Maybe we could’ve run offense better, but I just thought we missed shots. Sometimes that happens. They fell in the first half, but they didn’t in the second half.”
Steigleman scored 16 points, starting 7-for-9 from the field. Jack Raech added nine points and Reese Fitzgibbons six.
The Fords extended their lead to 33-26 early in the third, then had an answer to Marple’s initial push, with a Heinerichs 3-pointer and Steigleman’s jumper.
But that would be it, Marple
clamping down to finish the game on a 19-0 run.
“It was just sticking with the defensive principles that we’ve been practicing all year,” Keating said. “We stuck with them. I think we played a lot harder as a team in the second half.”
Keating got it started with his mid-range game. He rolled to the glass off a Steven Tansey feed to tie it at 36, then hit a jumper to put Marple up for good. He got to the line twice for a mini 7-0 run to end the third.
Tansey added seven points and four assists. PJ Esposito had eight points, he and Tansey providing crucial three-point plays in the third quarter when Marple’s shots weren’t falling.
The win at home is big for the Tigers. It gets them over .500, starts the new year with a win and opens the six-game crossover stretch in league play against the bigger schools. But more important was the how, as Keating,
wearing the Scrappy Doo chain around his neck earned as the player who most exemplified the team’s scrappy motto on the night, knew well.
“We’ve got all the big schools coming up,” Keating said. “So we’re just looking to get all the wins we can.”
PENNCREST 40, RIDLEY 37 » Mikey Mita posted a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds, and the Lions prevailed in overtime after two late 3-pointers from Theo Gladue pushed it to the extra session.
Gladue scored eight points. Connor Cahill added seven.
Austin McCaughan led Ridley with 10 points. Luke Showalter supplied eight.
RADNOR 52, GARNET VALLEY 45 » Kessy Cox supplied five of his game-high 19 points in a 10-3 finish for the Raptors to break a late tie.
Elijah Sellers added 15 points and 11 rebounds. Michael Savadove
chipped in 12 points and five assists.
LOWER MERION 55, SPRINGFIELD 43 »
Owen McCabe hit four 3-pointers and scored a game-high 22 points to lead the Aces.
Jake Adams led Springfield with 17 points. Patrick Flaherty added 14 points, and Ryan Johnston had eight.
In the Del Val League:
CHICHESTER 47, INTERBORO 45 »
Carlton Gordy scored 13 of his 17 points in the second half, but the Eagles had to withstand a 3-point attempt at the buzzer to escape with a win over the Bucs.
Antonio Posey added 10 points for the Eagles.
Jayden Diawara led Interboro with 15 points, and Brandon Thomas had 13.
In nonleague action: CHRISTIAN ACADEMY 58, CHESTER CHARTER SCHOLARS ACADEMY 56 » Brean Rudd-Cook scored 14 points and E’Mohj Barrett added 13, but the Sabers fell.