Church Farm adds another district title

It was early in the third quarter of Friday's PIAA District 1 Class A boys' basketball final when Church Farm erased any chance that Faith Christian had of making a comeback.

With three straight buckets, the top-seeded Griffins extended their lead to 16, and easily defended their championship with a 61-34 romp over the third-seeded Lions at Villanova's Pavilion.

"That's a statement win," sophomore guard Aondofa Anyam said. "We wanted to show that we're capable of winning it year after year."

The 5-foot-10, 175-pound Anyam totaled 20 points, seven rebounds, and four steals. Junior guard Howard Sellars, a lower-level Division I recruit, hit two three-pointers en route to 20 points.

Church Farm, in its fourth year in the PIAA, forced 19 turnovers, including seven in the second quarter.

"I thought our kids defended as they always do," Griffins coach Marc Turner said. "They covered all 94 feet."

Last season, Church Farm downed Faith Christian, 71-44, for its first district title. In 2009-10, the squad bowed to Girard College, 68-56.

"For us, this is a stepping-stone to the state tournament," said the 6-1, 160-pound Sellars, who added five rebounds. "We want to be successful there, too."

The Griffins (20-5) will begin states next Friday against District 2's second-place finisher. The Lions (22-4) will face the District 2 champion.

Against Faith Christian, senior guard Doolun Anyam, Aondofa's brother, chipped in five points, five boards, three assists, and three steals.

In the second quarter, senior point guard Nolan Swiderski-Soto (seven points) drained a three-pointer to put Church Farm ahead, 25-16. It was 30-20 at the break.

A 6-0 spurt at the start of the second half, capped by Aondofa Anyam's steal and layup, put the Griffins in firm control.

"We imploded a little bit there," Faith Christian first-year coach Dave Forker said. "It's hard to get it back mentally after that."

Will Maynard, a 6-3 senior forward, paced the Lions, of the Atlantic Coast Christian Athletic Conference, with 10 points and seven boards.

Of the rash of turnovers, Forker said, "There's no excuse for that. But give Church Farm a lot of credit. They played good, hard, man-to-man defense."

Midway through the third quarter, Sellars' driving layup put the Griffins in front, 40-25. Aondofa Anyam's coast-to-coast bucket at the end of the frame bumped the lead to 43-27.

Faith Christian   12 8 7 7 – 34

Church Farm   16 14 13 18 – 61

FC: J.D. Zamroz 4, Justin Festa 9, Alexander Woelkers 4, Will Maynard 10, Greg Boyd 7.

CF: Nolan Swiderski-Soto 7, Howard Sellars 23, Aondofa Anyam 20, Doolun Anyam 5, Mlynue Reeves 1, Tyler Ofray 2, Joey Shelton 1, Malik Towles 2.