Episcopal beats Haverford School for first place in the Inter-Ac.
With about 20 seconds left in the fourth quarter at Haverford School, the exuberant student section of Episcopal Academy laid claim to its rival's gymnasium.
With about 20 seconds left in the fourth quarter at Haverford School, the exuberant student section of Episcopal Academy laid claim to its rival's gymnasium.
"This is our house," thundered the Churchmen faithful during Friday night's battle for Inter-Ac supremacy. "This is our house!"
In front of a packed and raucous crowd, Episcopal led from start to finish and eventually vanquished the Fords, 71-57, to earn sole possession of first place.
"This honestly means the world to us," said EA senior Conner Delaney. "To come in their house on a Friday night with a great atmosphere and just from the tip go out there and play hard, hit shots and get rebounds [was great]. We've been saying for a couple years that we don't want to be in second place anymore."
Delaney, whose leadership and play-making ability has kept the oft-injured Churchmen afloat this season, finished with a team-high 23 points.
Nick Alikakos, a senior, Navy commit for EA, had missed about a month with an ankle injury earlier this season.
In his stead, Delaney and Co. held down the fort - an experience, the senior said, has paid dividends.
Friday night, Alikakos picked up his fourth foul with 2 minutes, 36 seconds left in the third quarter.
The Fords, who trailed, 15-3, after the first quarter, had stolen a modicum of momentum just before Alikakos went to the bench.
"When he got in foul trouble today," Delaney said, "I knew I could count on my other guys because I've seen them do it before."
The Churchmen (13-9, 6-1) held fast and led by nine entering the final frame.
Jack O'Connell, also a senior, finished with 15 points on 5-of-5 shooting from behind the three-point line. Kyle Virbitsky finished with six points and nine rebounds. Alikakos finished with eight points and six rebounds.
Delaney "is absolutely brilliant in the classroom," said EA coach Craig Conlin, who also heaped praise on his assistant coaches for Friday's gameplan. "He brings a lot of IQ on the court. He's been a great leader throughout this year."
Conlin said EA hasn't had a single game this season when every player was healthy and played.
Senior Jermaine Rhoden was out with an injury Friday night. O'Connell had also missed time this season, as did Delaney, who committed to Johns Hopkins in December.
Despite the hostile environment, replete with dueling chants from each school's students, the Churchmen started hot on Friday and finished with poise.
The Fords (16-3, 5-2) were led by Kharon Randolph, who struggled mightily from the perimeter early before finishing with 25 points. Christian Ray added 17 points and 12 rebounds.
The Fords, however, appeared tight early, never sustained an offensive rhythm and finished just 10 of 20 at the foul line and 3 of 17 from three.
By contrast, the Churchmen finished 20 of 35 overall (57 percent) and 23 of 32 from the foul line (72 percent).
EA controls its own destiny and can win its first outright championship since 2006 under Dan Dougherty.
On Tuesday, the Churchmen play at Malvern, which they escaped, 82-81, in overtime back on Jan. 13.
"Just keep working hard in practice and keep trusting each other," Delaney said. "Coach said, 'Rely on your seniors.' We've been through a lot together and we're looking to finish it out these last couple games and finally win a league title."
Episcopal 15 17 14 25 - 71
Haverford 3 14 20 20 - 57
EA: Conner Delaney 23, Nick Alikakos 8, Jack O'Connell 15, Jack O'Reilly 8, Kyle Virbitsky 6, Matt Dade 9, Jack Purcell 2.
HS: Kharon Randolph 25, Jameer Nelson 5, Christian Ray 17, Gavin Burke 2, Asim Richards 6, Nasir Smith 2.
@AceCarterINQ