Chester completes perfect season

STATE COLLEGE - With another awe-inspiring performance, perfection was achieved.

In Saturday night's PIAA Class AAAA championship game vs. Lower Merion, Chester kept its unblemished record with rebounding ferocity, length-of-the-floor defensive pressure, and transition scoring.

Defending their state title and finishing with a 32-0 mark, the Clippers throttled the Aces, 59-33, at Penn State's Bryce Jordan Center.

Larry Yarbray's team pounded the offensive glass, collecting 24 rebounds on that end. Lower Merion, hurt by 29 turnovers, was held to 16 points in the first half and 17 in the second.

Afterward, Yarbray was asked if this squad would go down as the best in program history.

"There's always a lot of great players in Chester, a lot of great teams," he said. "So it's hard to say who's the best when they don't play each other."

Rondae Jefferson, a 6-foot-7 junior swingman and Division I recruit, spearheaded the romp with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Jefferson (three), 6-5 forward Richard Granberry (five), and 6-4 forward Erikk Wright (four) combined for 12 offensive boards. The Aces managed just seven.

The Clippers, ranked No. 4 in the country by USA Today, recorded their 58th consecutive victory. They won their 10 playoff contests by an average of 31 points.

Chester has a state-record eight PIAA crowns, including seven at the Class AAAA level. In 1983, a year before a fourth classification was added, the Clippers won in Class AAA.

Ahead by 40-31 with 61/2 minutes to go, the Clippers closed with an incredible 19-2 run. They took the lead for good, with an 11-0 burst, early in the second quarter.

Lower Merion (29-4) did not have a double-digit scorer. Raheem Hall, B.J. Johnson, and reserve Mike Robbins each had seven points. Darryl Reynolds, a 6-7 senior, gathered 10 boards.

The Clippers' second-quarter spurt was capped by Jefferson's slam, off a missed layup, and Tavaune Griffin's second follow of the period.

In the first quarter, the Aces jumped out to a five-point lead. Reynolds' follow and JaQuan Johnson's two driving buckets put the Central League champs in front, 11-6.

At the end of the opening stanza, Chester sub Shanier Cottman's buzzer-beating trey from up top, with 6-7 junior Yohanny Dalembert closing in, cut the gap to two.

Over the last five seasons, Chester has a 164-24 record. Yarbray, who took over for Fred Pickett in 2008, is 103-17 in four years.

Expect the Clippers to be a force again next year. They will return three starters: Jefferson, Darius Robinson, and Granberry.

Lower Merion was trying for its seventh state title. In 2006, the Aces, after ousting Chester in the semifinals, surprised District 7's Schenley, 60-58, in the final. Kobe Bryant was the catalyst behind the 1996 title.

Lower Merion   11 5 11 6 – 33

Chester   9 13 16 21 – 59

LM: JaQuan Johnson 4, Raheem Hall 7, Darryl Reynolds 4, B.J. Johnson 7, Yohanny Dalembert 2, Justin McFadden 2, Mike Robbins 7.

C: Kareem Robinson 4, Darius Robinson 11, Richard Granberry 7, Erikk Wright 7, Rondae Jefferson 13, Zimir Geiger 4, Tavaune Griffin 4, Shanier Cottman 7, Rashan DeJarnette 2.