Audenried upsets Del-Val Charter

An error in classification pitted Audenried against host Del-Val Charter on Tuesday to determine the Public League's second representative in the PIAA playoffs.

Audenried, which competed in the Pub playoffs as an AA squad, should have instead been classified AAA.

Public League basketball chair Ben Dubin said the mistake was his and arranged the matchup to give the Rockets an opportunity to qualify for state play.

The Division C Rockets took care of the rest.

Behind important performances from several players, Audenried upset Division A Del-Val, 67-64.

"It was a big win," said senior forward Devon Jacobs. "We proved that we were really a AAA team and it doesn't matter who we go against. We just have to fight hard. That's all that matters."

With the win, Audenried will play Archbishop Carroll at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Archbishop Ryan for third place in District 12.

Jacobs finished with team highs of 17 points and 13 rebounds. He also added four blocked shots.

The South Philadelphia resident, however, had plenty of help. Nisheem Wright scored nine of his 13 points in the fourth quarter and Eddie Lewis and fellow guard Raheem White added 11 points apiece.

As a team, Audenried (16-4, 10-2) blocked 12 shots. Torrance Moore had five blocks. Cameron Stokes blocked a pair and Wright also added a block.

"When we first heard about it, we thought we wouldn't be in states at all," Wright said. "Then we heard we had to play Del-Val to get in and we just wanted to play and win."

For Del-Val (17-9, 3-7), Dashon Giddings led all scorers with 22 points. He also added 11 rebounds and five steals and hit four three-pointers in the final frame.

Del-Val coach Jason Harrigan said he was upset his team was forced to play the game, but he wanted no excuses for the loss.

"I just feel bad for my seniors," he said. "They've been to states every year. They thought they were in states again. Unfortunately they're not."

After a 19-3 Audenried spurt earned the Rockets second-half control, Giddings nearly willed Del-Val to victory. He scored 17 points in the fourth quarter.

Bysil Northern added 13 points while Semaj Motley finished with 10 for Del-Val, which was without 6-foot-4 forward Karl Lewis, who was ill.

The Rockets' huge run spanned the second and third quarters, yielding a 43-31 edge with less than four minutes left in the third.

Wright's fourth-quarter heroics, however, helped seal the victory. The sophomore hit a pair of free throws with 29.1 seconds left when the Rockets led by just a point.

"I had to just think, 'This is what I want . . .,' " Wright said. "I had to do it for the team."

Audenried 12 19 19 17 - 67

Del-Val 19 9 16 20 - 64

A: Nisheem Wright 13, Eddie Lewis 11, Devon Jacobs 17, Torrance Moore 4, Raheem White 11, Nyseem Smith 7, Jamir Carr 2, Cameron Stokes 2.

D: Dashon Giddings 22, Bysil Northern 13, Dymir Logan 5, Semaj Motley 10, Saadiq Harris 3, Makhi Morris 9, Jermaine Lucas Green 2.