Well, following a fluid regular season and a number of tight results in district tournament play, let the state playoffs begin.
And Pennsylvania’s 32-team, big-school scramble will begin to unfold later this week with Chris McNesby’s Roman Catholic Cahillites still parked atop PennLive’s somewhat fluid Class AAAA boys’ basketball rankings.
Although the top four squads remained intact, District 1-AAAA champion Chester swapped spots with North Allegheny. Larry Yarbray’s Clippers climbed one spot to No. 5, while Dave DeGregorio’s Tigers slipped to No. 6.
District 1-AAAA runner-up Pennsbury, which led Chester 45-39 after three quarters, was elevated three spots to No. 7. Needing a corresponding move to flesh out the top 10, Conestoga, Lower Merion and Abington each dropped one spot.
If the state tournament shows form similar to what took place throughout the regular season and the first two weeks of the postseason, Pennsylvania’s big-school basketball fans should be in for a real treat over the next three weeks.
Yep, plenty of surprises should be in store.
Short synopses of our top 10 appear below — PIAA district, overall record and record for the week are displayed in parentheses — as does a list of teams that hope to make an impact in the state tournament.
1. Roman Catholic (12, 22-4, 1-1) — previous ranking: 1 — Although Roman’s winning streak was halted at seven games in the Philly Catholic League title game by Neumann-Goretti (53-48), Chris McNesby’s Cahillites rebounded by edging Martin Luther King (58-55) in the District 12-AAAA final. Rashann London (22/18) posted a pair of double-digit outings for Roman, which will open the state tournament on Saturday in Philadelphia against Oxford.
2. New Castle (7, 26-0, 2-0) — previous ranking: 2 — New Castle remained perfect by hammering Kiski Area (77-23) in the WPIAL semifinals before defeating Hampton (55-49) in the title game. Stew Allen (12/18) and Drew Allen (10/14) reached double figures twice for Ralph Blundo’s Red Hurricanes, who will meet Bethel Park in its state opener. New Castle stopped Bethel Park in the WPIAL quarters.
3. Martin Luther King (12, 23-5, 0-1) — previous ranking: 3 — Just days after capturing the school’s first Philly Public League title, Sean Colson’s Cougars fell 58-55 in the District 12-AAAA final to Roman Catholic despite a combined 40 points from Greg Bennett (17), Jahmir Taylor (13) and Sammy Foreman (10). Will open state play on Saturday against Cumberland Valley.
4. Hampton (7, 22-4, 1-1) — previous ranking: 4 — Landed in another WPIAL championship game with a win over North Allegheny (61-53) in the semifinals, but tumbled 55-49 to New Castle in the final. While Ryan Luther, David Huber and Collin Luther shared 42 points against North Allegheny, Ryan Luther bagged a game-high 21 in the loss to New Castle. Will meet Pittsburgh City League champ Allderdice in the opening round of the state playoffs.
5. Chester (1, 22-5, 2-0) — previous ranking: 6 — With seniors Mahir Johnson and Tyrell Sturdivant providing plenty of fuel, Larry Yarbray’s Clippers handled West Chester Rustin (72-56) in the District 1-AAAA semis and rallied to beat Pennsbury (52-49) in the final. Johnson (29/10) spent Tuesday and Friday pocketing 39 points in Chester’s latest victories, while Sturdivant (21/17) chalked up 38. Will meet Carlisle on Saturday when the state playoffs begin.
6. North Allegheny (7, 21-4, 0-1) — previous ranking: 5 — Since Dave DeGregorio’s Tigers dropped a 61-53 decision to Hampton in the WPIAL semifinals — David Haus scored 14 points and Mike Carter added 12 — they only played once last week. Up next is a scrap with Altoona in Saturday’s state tournament opener.
7. Pennsbury (1, 22-5, 1-1) — previous ranking: 10 — Although Bill Coleman’s contingent avenged an earlier setback by defeating Conestoga (58-36) in the District 1-AAAA semifinals, the Falcons fell to Chester (52-49) in the final. While Cameron Jones, Derrick Woods and Mekhi Bryant shared 40 points against Conestoga, Jones and Woods combined for 27 in the loss to Chester. Will open the state tournament on Saturday in suburban Philly against Wilson.
8. Conestoga (1, 24-5, 1-1) — previous ranking: 7 — While Mike Troy’s top-seeded Pioneers fell to Pennsbury (58-36) in the District 1-AAAA semis — Andrew Diehl netted 10 points — Conestoga rebounded to edge West Chester Rustin (53-50) in the 1-AAAA third-place game. Diehl (16), Martin Dorsey (10) and Zach Yonda (10) combined for 36 points in the win over Rustin. On deck for Troy’s Pioneers in the opening round of the state playoffs is La Salle College.
9. Lower Merion (1, 21-7, 2-0) — previous ranking: 8 — Rebounding from their reversal in the District 1-AAAA quarters, Gregg Downer’s Aces decked Spring-Ford (84-66) and Abington (53-42) to finish fifth in the 32-team event. Justin McFadden (22/18) and Corey Sherman (14/11) posted two double-digit outings for Lower Merion, which will meet Hershey in its state opener.
10. Abington (1, 22-5, 1-1) — previous ranking: 9 — Following a loss to Chester in the District 1-AAAA quarterfinals, Charles Grasty’s Ghosts responded by edging Central Bucks West (57-52, OT) behind 20 points from Anthony Lee and an additional 21 from Amir Hinton (11) and Matt Penecale (10). Penecale and Hinton then shared 21 points in Abington’s 53-42 loss to Lower Merion in the 1-AAAA fifth-place game. Will meet Emmaus on Saturday when the state playoffs begin.
OTHERS TO WATCH: Allderdice (8) 19-5, Bethel Park (7) 18-6, Carlisle (3) 18-8, Cedar Crest (3) 25-5, Central Bucks West (1) 15-12, Central York (3) 24-4, Cumberland Valley (3) 19-7, Emmaus (11) 18-8, Great Valley* (1) 22-3, Harrisburg* (3) 17-7, Hazleton (2) 21-4, Hershey (3) 18-8, Kiski Area (7) 17-6, LaSalle College (12) 19-6, McDowell (10) 22-3, Obama Academy* (8) 22-1, Oxford (1) 22-7, Parkland (11) 21-5, Spring-Ford (1) 24-4, St. Joseph’s Prep* (12) 16-7, Stroudsburg (11) 16-11, West Chester Rustin (1) 17-10, Wilson (3) 26-3, York (3) 20-6.
*-season complete
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