Coatesville downs Lower Merion, 71-66, in District 1 semifinals

When a team holds Coatesville’s Jhamir Brickus to 13 points entering the fourth quarter, it has to feel good about its chances. The junior guard averages 26.6 points per game.

But Coatesville showed Tuesday night that it has more than Brickus, as Dapree Bryant and John Proctor scored 20 and 18 points, respectively, in a 71-66 victory over Lower Merion in the District 1 Class 6A semifinals at the Liacouras Center.

“They picked me up," Brickus said. "I just had to play defense and I made everyone around me better by creating space for them.”

Lower Merion played a box-and-one defense against Brickus for most of the game, and held the junior without a touch until 2 minutes, 43 seconds remained in the the first quarter. It was working, as the Aces took an early 16-4 lead. Jack Forrest led the charge with 12 first-quarter points.

“We’ve seen this before,” Coatesville coach Fred Thompson said. “We kind of got a little loud on the bench because we weren’t guarding, but we settled down and got our composure back.”

Coatesville made some inroads, cutting the deficit to six at the end of the first quarter with Brickus only scoring four points.

The Raiders made their run in the second quarter and tied it at 23 on Brickus’ three-point play. After trailing by two at halftime, Coatesville opened the second half with seven straight points and never gave up the lead.

Brickus, who finished with 22 points, added nine points in the fourth quarter, including a backbreaking three that gave the Red Raiders a six-point lead.

A two-star prospect, Brickus already holds college offers from La Salle, Rider, and Bryant. He also has received interest from Virginia Commonwealth, Temple, St. Joseph’s, Drexel, and Siena. He’s second on Coatesville’s all-time scoring list. Even though he struggled early, Brickus and the Raiders prevailed.

“They’re resilient, they’re a bunch of tough-nosed, hard-nosed guys,” Thompson said of his team. “They understand when he’s not stepping up, they’re going to have to step up to fill the needs on offense.”

Coatesville, the No. 2 seed, moves into the District 1 Class 6A title game and against the Abington-Pennridge winner.

Lower Merion 19 13 9 25 66

Coatesville 13 17 16 25 71

C: Jhamir Brickus 22, Dapree Bryant 20, Tione Holmes 6, Dymere Miller 5, John Proctor 16, Aaron Young 2

LM: Jack Forrest 22, Julian Hairston 7, Theo Henry 7, Josh Martin 3, Matt O’Connor 6, Steve Payne 11, Darryl Taylor 8, Jaylen Shippen 2