Haverford picks up win over Sun Valley
ASTON » For three quarters Saturday, Sun Valley executed its defensive game plan mostly to perfection.
The Vanguards’ gadget defenses bottled up Haverford leading scorer John Seidman. Their conscientious close-outs of shooters limited the Fords to three makes on 21 attempts beyond the arc. It was exactly what coach Steve Maloney drew up.
So when a different Seidman stepped up to torch the Vanguards in the fourth, there was little Maloney could do but tip his cap.
Younger brother Googie Seidman, a freshman, buried three 3-pointers in the final quarter as the Fords rallied to a 52-43 win in the final of the Vanguard Tip-Off Tournament.
The younger Seidman fueled a 19-2 run for the Fords, who trailed 28-23 midway through the third. His first two triples came off feeds from John, designed plays for the freshman to pop behind the arc opposite the ball screen John dribbled through.
“It’s awesome to see him do that,” John Seidman said. “And it’s awesome to see everyone else see him help out and contribute and to win as a team.”
The contributions by Googie – and yes, that’s the name he, John and the Fords stand by – are part and parcel of a
10-man rotation. The Fords (20) lumped a variety of full- and half-court presses at Sun Valley, subbing freely. Both Googie Seidman and Adam Stuck, who scored 15 points, came off the bench.
“We’ve got a pretty cohesive group that has played together coming up through the levels of high school basketball,” Stuck said. “So we’ve been able to build connections in that way, and it’s been able to translate on the court.”
Part of the resilience was inspired by John Seidman. He endured a dreadful offensive day, limited to three points a night after scoring 25 to beat Interboro. He averaged 14.6 points per game last year.
But Saturday, with the constant shadow of Billy Fisher in zone defenses, Seidman never found his touch. He only attempted two shots in the first half, both 3-pointers, and his only bucket, a reverse lay-in in transition, came with 1:03 left in the third, cutting the deficit to one.
But Seidman still impacted the game. He led Haverford with four assists, six rebounds and three steals. He swiped two steals in a run of four straight Sun Valley turnovers in the third, which contributed to the Vanguards scoring one basket over nearly 10 minutes between the final two quarters.
“It just shows his versatility and how he’s able to affect the game always,” Stuck said of Seidman. “If he’s not scoring one night, he’s playing good defense and facilitating the ball really well. Overall, he’s just helping the team, and that’s all that matters.”
It didn’t help the pressure on Seidman that the Fords started ice cold from the field. They missed 14 of their first
15 attempts from range in a rim-rattling first half. Even with Googie Seidman’s run in the fourth, they still were just
6-for-26 from behind the arc. That allowed Sun Valley
(1-1) to take the edge in the third. A 3-pointer by Stuck, who was 6-for-6 from the field, sent the Fords into halftime with a 20-19 edge. But after a John Schievert triple, Sun Valley dashed off a 7-0 run, punctuated by a Kenny Lazer and-1 set up by Fisher’s feed off a screen.
Sun Valley’s offense shut down after that. Four consecutive turnovers didn’t help. It got worse when Fisher went to the bench, bleeding from a cut on his head.
Fisher scored 16 points to go with four assists, but the scoring was embellished by eight in the fourth quarter after Haverford had opened a double-figure lead. Dom Valente scored 12 points before fouling out; he was just
2-for-8 from 3-point land. With big man Nick Giannakopoulos fouling out in less than 10 minutes of game action without a point, Sun Valley’s offensive options were severely limited.
“It’s one of the first games of the season, so we’ve definitely got to work on getting guys open and being able to handle the pressure,” Fisher said. “Closing games is definitely one of the harder things to do in high school.”
Eight Fords attempted
3-pointers; only Googie Seidman (nine points), Schievert
(14) and Stuck connected on any of them. Stuck’s 11 firsthalf points kept the Fords afloat. Schievert kicked in 11 in the second, including a 6-for-6 effort at the line in the fourth.
John Seidman was one of the first to congratulate his brother when Googie was awarded the tournament MVP plaque, as the Fords bench whooped it up. It’ll be a nice memento for the house.
“I guess that’ll go in his room now,” John said.
Also at the Sun Valley TipOff:
INTERBORO 59, MOTIVATION
40 » DaShawn DiEmidio asserted his will with 17 points and 14 rebounds, and Mekhi Wormack-Fields marked his second varsity start with 19 points, five rebounds and four steals to lead the Bucs (1-1) in the consolation game. Alec Wood added 10 points.
At the Media Tip-Off: PENNCREST 55, CHURCH FARM
21 » The backcourt tandem of Aidan Carroll, Marquis Tomlin and Saahir Lee combined for 33 points as the Lions (2-0) rolled. Carroll hit four 3-pointers for his 12 points, and Lee complemented 10 points with four assists and two steals. Denzel Atkinson-Boyer had four points and 10 rebounds. STRATH HAVEN 66, COVENTRY CHRISTIAN 20 » Luke Edwards scored 15 of his 19 points in the first half as the Haven defense allowed just nine firsthalf points. Ibo Pio contributed nine points for the Panthers (2-0).
CHESTER CHARTER SA 61, CHICHESTER 55 » Davon White hit four second-half
3-pointers on the way to 14 points, and Malik Cook-Stephens scored 15 to pace the Sabers (1-1).
Josh Hankins led Chichester (1-1) with 13 points, and Ciyir Hancock added 11 points.
At the Pottsgrove Tip-Off: ACADEMY PARK 86, POTTSGROVE 50 » Jalen Cassidy couldn’t miss, burying eight
3-pointers (six in the first half) on the way to a careerhigh 33 points. Tahriq Marrero and Lavaughn Johnson had 13 points each, Jamese Turner paired eight points with six assists and Kahlil Greenwood added nine points for AP (2-0).
At the Fred Pickett Classic: ARCHBISHOP CARROLL 48, PENNSBURY 34 » Missing players due to SATs was no problem for Carroll Saturday. Anquan Hill scored 21 points to go with 10 rebounds and five blocks. Caleb Carter stepped up with 13 points, and John Camden added eight for the Patriots (1-0), who were missing three regulars.
At the Delco Christian TipOff:
NORFOLK CHRISTIAN 73, DELCO CHRISTIAN 47 » Jackson Piotrowski scored 13 points and Obinna Nwobodo added
12 before fouling out, but the
Knights (1-1) fell in the consolation game.
CHRISTIAN ACADEMY 71, ATLANTIC CHRISTIAN 54 » Grant Sareyka paired 24 points with six steals and three assists to land on the all-tournament team and lead the Crusaders (1-1) in the consolation game. Isaiah Mitchell added 11 points and seven assists, and Dom Jones tallied 13 points.
At the Hatters Tip-Off: UPPER DARBY 60, WILLIAM TENNANT 49 » The Royals made it two wins in as many days behind 24 points from Shareef Jones. Iyan Joshuasville chipped in 10 points.
At the Don McBride Classic: HAVERFORD SCHOOL 54, ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH 44 » Christian Clover was a perfect 9-for-9 at the line on the way to 17 points, and Jameel Brown added 13 points as the Fords took the title.
In nonleague action: RADNOR 59, W.C. HENDERSON
47 » Jack D’Entremont tallied
22 points to go with eight rebounds, and Jahmir Dixon added 15 points and five steals. Lewis Robinson chipped in 13 points and seven boards for the Raiders (2-0).