Ridley High School, Folsom, PA – The scene was set for a memorable game.  Two Central League teams with much talent, tied for the league lead.  A well placed night game, late enough for everyone to make it, but nicely fit for everyone to go to bed afterwards.

So did the game live up to the hype?  You bet.   In a game that saw many lead changes, momentum swing faster than Gary Sheffield, and a potential game-tying shot fall short, Lower Merion scored the 47-44 victory over Ridley (12-3, 7-2 league) to improve to 12-2 (8-1) and first place in the league.

As we have seen quite a few times in games covered by Varsity 365, the home team got off to a quick start.  Shamar Harris (10 points) got the ball rolling for Ridley with a three pointer, and the Raiders managed to get big man Dan Robinson (20 points) involved in the interior right away for a couple of baskets.  They controlled the tempo of the game in the start, going for a fast pace on offense that was tailor-made for making a home crowd go wild.

After a slow start by Lower Merion, which involved a lot of passing to read the man defense Ridley was playing, they started hitting shots, including Steve Meehan (8 points), who connected with a nice 3 point shot, and Carl Johnson (15 points), who connected with a jump shot that tied the game at 11.  The plan for the Aces from here was evident: slow the game down, take the crowd out, and be patient with the ball.  The plan worked, including the last minute of the quarter where they held the ball until Andrew King (2 points) hit a layup to end the quarter and give the Aces a 19-14 lead.

By now, a student section filled with Ace fans was fully vocal, and Lower Merion seemed to be in control.   Johnson, a threat to drive to the hole every time he touched the ball, drew much of the attention from the Raider defense.  He still managed to hit a few shots, including a tough three from the left corner that saw him fall to the ground.   While Robinson continued his impressive play in the interior for the Raiders, Ridley could not stop Lower Merion from going in to halftime with a 26-18 lead.

Coming out of halftime, the Lower Merion fans were louder than ever with “Let’s Go Aces,” chants.  The Raiders knew they had to come out of halftime strong to get their home fans back in it, and they did with a 9-0 run.  Lower Merion seemed to have no answer for Robinson in this quarter, who chewed away at their defense for 8 points.  Others contributed as well, including Harris, who had 5 in this quarter.  Lower Merion seemed to be losing composure a bit, but that was rectified by 6'5" big man Greg Robbins (18 points), who gracefully worked the box to make key baskets for Lower Merion.  This quarter ended with Ridley up, 39-36.

Both teams definitely looked like they had been in a battle by the time the fourth quarter got going, and it was evident in that it took over a minute and a half before either team could muster a score.  Lower Merion continued their scrappy effort, guided now by strong play from Steve Egee (who had a great second half with 11 points, 13 for the game).  The big factor, however, was that Egee was the only Raider to score in the 4^th quarter.  Ridley found themselves passing the ball alot in this quarter, but unable to get any open shots.  This is a credit to Lower Merion’s defense, which had gotten much more aggressive at this point.  Robbins added more key baskets for the Aces, including a clutch three pointer to tie the game at 41 with 4:45 left, and then another one from the same spot to give the Aces a 44-43 about a minute later.   

All of this led to the wild finish; Lower Merion held a 46-44 lead with under a minute left when John Mcsorley of Ridley had a chance to give his team the lead with a three from the left corner,  It went in and out, and the Aces got the rebound with 42.8 seconds left.  From there, a lot of time ran off the clock with Lower Merion’s subsequent possessions because Ridley still had 3 fouls to give.  When they finally got to the 7^th foul, Steve Meehan (8 points) of Lower Merion managed to get a shot off, and was thus rewarded 2 free throws.  He made one of two, giving Ridley one last hope.  Unfortunately for them, Robinson was unable to hit the game-tying three near the buzzer, and Lower Merion hung on for the win.

It was definitely a thrilling game between the Central League’s two leaders.  Great twists and turns, and a vocal crowd (for both sides) that elevated the scene to an even higher level than expected.  In the end, everyone in attendance knew that the players left it all on the court, and
when you have a game of this caliber, that’s really all you could ask for.