Pioneers come out flat in loss

LOWERMERION>> After defeating Lower Merion twice this season (66-55 on Dec. 18 and 63-57 on Feb. 2), Conestoga had reason to feel confident against the Aces in the PIAA Class AAAA District One quarterfinals Friday night.

But falling behind 16-0 midway through the first period in Lower Merion’s Bryant Gymnasium isn’t the recipe for victory.

“We just didn’t come out ready to play,” said Conestoga head coach Mike Troy, whose Pioneers never got closer than seven points in a 68-45 defeat to LM. “We didn’t pay attention to the due details early, we didn’t come out with energy, and [both of these are] my responsibility. And credit Lower Merion for doing a very good job.”

In Conestoga’s first two games, the Pioneers got off to an early lead, but Friday night the Aces turned the tables.

Lower Merion junior guard Noah Fennell, who knocked down three treys during the 16-0 run, said, “The first two games against Conestoga we got off to a really slow start; tonight, we came out of the gates with a lot of intensity. We studied a lot of film of those first two [losses to Conestoga], and we found we weren’t getting to the midline [defensively] in time. Conestoga runs a really good offense, and we have to have all five of our guys working together to stop it, and we did tonight.”

Conestoga came back to cut the Aces’ lead to single digits in the second period, as senior guard Darryl Campbell (23 points) hit several shots fromthe outside, but the Pioneers could not get any closer than seven points the rest of the night. Meanwhile, Lower Merion shot 27-for-43 from the field.

“Once we got Lower Merion’s lead down to single digits, we didn’t have good defensive possessions,” said Troy. “Our defense picked up in the second half, but then we didn’t get good offensive possessions. Our