Upper Darby drops Perk Valley, 55-45
No. 7 Vikings drop to playbacks with must-win for states on Friday
GRATERFORD >> Upper Darby coach Bob Miller had already turned his back in frustration.
Locked in a tight battle at No. 7 Perkiomen Valley, the Royals were about to see their nine-point fourth quarter lead whittled to a single point after a mid-court turnover became a breakaway layup opportunity for PV.
No one — not Miller, not the PV offense — ever saw Crishaun Cain closing on the play.
But Cain’s resounding rejection ignited a 10-1 run in the fourth quarter as Upper Darby regained control and advanced to the District 1 6A quarterfinals with a 5545 victory at PV Tuesday night.
Niymire Brown was the main story, leading the way with 28 points and 17 rebounds on a night when Upper Darby’s outside shots weren’t falling.
“We’re always looking for the best shot on every possession — pretty simple,” said Brown. “Thanks to my teammates, I got a lot of open looks tonight.”
“That’s the hard part — our perimeter guys are usually on point from the outside,” added longtime Upper Darby coach Miller. “As a coach, I can’t tell them to stop doing what’s worked all year.
“But there comes a point where you say, ‘OK, it’s not our night on the outside — let’s get it in to Niymire.”
Cain’s block was the most prominent example of Upper Darby’s formula for clinching their first berth in PIAA 6A states since 2018 with Tuesday night’s win. Forced out of their offensive comfort zone by PV’s dogged defense, the Royals replied with a gritty effort of their own, holding explosive PV junior Julian Sadler to 12 points.
“It’s the first trip [to states] for this group,” said Miller. “And it’s a great feeling because they’re all such good friends. This [making states] was a major goal, and to win this game tonight the way we did is special.”
“You’ve just got to think about how much you practice, how work you put into it,” Krautzel said. “Even if you’re making mistakes, that hard work will come through when it matters.”
The win sends the Jags (17-7) to the quarterfinals to meet top-seeded Spring-Ford on Friday. They also advance to the state tournament.
All of which seemed perfectly obvious with 3:59 left when Jake Sniras hit a shot in the lane to make it 55-43 Garnet Valley. The Jags had been outstanding to that point. Coming off a loss in which they had scored just 29 points in the Central League playoffs against Springfield, they had 33 by halftime. They assisted on their first nine baskets and 12 of 14 in the first half, a pristine display of ball movement.
“You can see when we move the ball, how much easier and flowing our offense
is,” Koehler said. “It’s awesome to see.”
But turnovers crept in in the third. And the ninthseeded Warriors (16-9), who struggled to hit 3-pointers all night, suddenly hit them when they needed them.
The Jags’ free-throw shooting didn’t help. They shot 6-for-13 from the line in the fourth, allowing the Warriors to crawl back in the game. Sam Iemmello hit a 3-pointer with 1:56 to make it interesting at 55-48. Cam Chilson knocked one down from the wing after a good close out by Koehler with 1:12 left to make it 58-53.
With 33 seconds left, Iemmello connected from the corner, cutting the lead to 5956. Christian hit a 32-footer with 12 seconds left to make it 60-59, then after a scramble where Garnet Valley looked to have it under control, Christian canned one from two steps inside halfcourt at the buzzer to send the game to overtime. It was his seventh 3-pointer of the day on 14 attempts.
“I think it’s just a sense of urgency, knowing we’re battling from behind,” Christian said. “We’ve really got nothing to lose. We got off to a slow start, so that kind of hurt us, a big hole.”
Methacton spotted Garnet Valley the first 13 points of the game. They only got within three at 15-12 after one quarter because Christian hit four first-quarter triples, the last to beat the horn from the logo in a poignant bit of foreshadowing.
Neither team scored in the first OT, as the offenses pulled the handbrake and slowed to a glacial pace. Both had to reset after the end-of-regulation chaos.
“I hit that shot, everyone is going crazy and next thing you know, we’re out there and there’s three minutes left, and the whole place is calm again,” Christian said.
“It’s tough to get right back into it after you thought you had the game and someone hit a huge shot,” Krautzel said. “But you’ve got to reset and get back in and, it’s game
time, let’s go win this. It’s 0-0.
Krautzel hit a 3-pointer when left all alone to put Garnet Valley up 67-64, but Methacton scored four straight, two free throws from Alex Hermann giving the visitors their first lead at 68-67.
Ryan Faccenda led Garnet Valley with 19 points, including 9-for-11 from the line. Max Koehler had 16 points and six of the Jaguars’ 17 assists, on 26 made baskets. Sniras added 15 points, and Krautzel had 14 points and six boards.
Christian led Methacton with 21 points, Iemmello with 20. Herman, whose ability to drive off the dribble in the third quarter started to turn the tide, added 13 and nine rebounds, and Chilson had 11 points and seven assists. The Warriors shot 13-for-32 from 3-point range.
Down for the first time, Sniras answered with a jumper from the elbow, his specialty. When Iemmello couldn’t hit in traffic, Krautzel grabbed the rebound and hit two at the line. The Jags fouled up their end-of-game plan to foul before a Methacton shot, but they got away with it, Chilson missing the first of three down 71-68, then missing the last on purpose. Krautzel enveloped that rebound, then with a grin if not overwhelming conviction, sank two more to make sure he wasn’t the only one in home colors heading home smiling.