Another Lower Merion championship delicious for Gregg Downer

MARPLE — There was no question who the defending champs were after Radnor bounced out to a 10-point lead in the first quarter of the boys Central League title game Thursday at Marple Newtown High.

The Raptors had no intention of letting go.

But Lower Merion dug down deep with a couple of those explosive runs that make you wonder if the scoreboard is malfunctioning, including a decisive third quarter to earn a 17th Central League championship with a 68-54 win over the Raptors.

“They all taste good,” Aces coach Gregg Downer said. “But this has been a lot of fun. Good environment, beat a good Radnor team and this is the third year in a row it’s come down to us or them. It’s nice to get the trophy back to Bryant Gym.”

Senior Adam Herron Kohl scored 16 points to lead the Aces (23-1), who have won 14 in a row since a 65-62 defeat to Stow-Munro (Ohio) on Dec. 28. Owen McCabe and Carson Kasmer scored 14 points each, and Jayden Robinson added 13 points. Robinson also provided a defensive effort that unraveled the Raptors (18-4) in the third quarter, the 6-5 transfer from Overbrook almost single-handedly blowing up the rhythm of the Raptors.

“He’s really long and he’s very athletic,” Downer said. “We think putting him at the front of the press is really effective because he does a lot of good trapping and it’s hard to get around that length.”

With Robinson clogging the floor, the Aces scored the first 17 points of the third quarter to turn a tight contest into a near runaway decision. In addition to steals, Robinson was getting easy transition layups.

When the dust settled, the Aces had outscored the Raptors, 20-4, to take a 47-30 advantage into the final frame.

Robinson did an about face after learning the Aces outscored the Raptors, 20-4, in the third quarter.

“It was the pressure and the intensity,” Robinson said. “They had a good first half and we had a decent first half, but we had to step it up. And it starts on defense. That’s how we play. We just never let up.”

Play by play, possession by possession, the hole became deeper for the Raptors, who got 16 points from senior Kessy Cox and 10 from Michael Savadove.

“He’s got really long arms, and it definitely threw us off a little,” Cox said. “I think there were more self-inflicted errors than anything, but he’s a good player and they played well. We just came into the game knowing that they’re a superfast-paced team and they can jump on you early. If you go down, you may never come back. I think we came out with a lot of energy. We were really pumped up for the game. We were just ready to go from the tip.”

The Aces led by as many as 18 points in the game, and the advantage hovered around 17 for a chunk of the final frame. But there was no quit in the Raptors, who lost a big chunk of scorers from the title team of last year yet not the will to win.

The Raptors cut the deficit to 10 points before running out of time.

“They’re resilient as heck,” Raptors coach Tim Smallwood said. “They left everything out there. All credit to Lower Merion. They played really hard as well. But I couldn’t be more proud of the guys in our locker room. I told them to hold their heads high because they should be proud of themselves. Again, I’m really proud of my guys. If we’re going to lose to anybody I’d rather lose to a really good team.”