Cole McAndrew (above) and the GV supporting cast all chipped in. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)
The Jaguars came into Wednesday in fifth place in the unofficial District 1 6A rankings; a top-eight spot guarantees a home game in the second round and a bye in the first, while a top-four spot would mean home games through the quarterfinals. They were No. 4 last year, beating Bensalem in the second round before losing to Plymouth Whitemarsh in the quarterfinals.
Koperna, Golek and Diggory all admitted to checking the district’s website regularly to see where they stand.
“I don’t tell them how often I check,” Diggory said. “I’m like every other hour, making sure everything’s good. I tell them ‘don’t worry about the other games,’don’t worry about what happens at Conestoga, Lower Merion, win the games we have and we’ll take care of it.’”
Upper Darby began Wednesday in the No. 19 position, five spots ahead of the cutline. The Royals close with trips to Conestoga and Ridley and host Lower Merion; two wins should keep them safely in the field.
Garnet hosts both Haverford and Conestoga in the next three days, then finishes out the season at Ridley next Tuesday. It’ll be tough to pass all of Abington, Methacton and Plymouth Whitemarsh to end up in the top spot, with CB South and Souderton right on GV’s heels as well.
They’re hoping to get as many games as they can at their home gym — but they’re not too worried if the final numbers don’t quite pan out.
“I don’t know,” Diggory said. “With the way we’ve been playing on the road, a road game would be good.”
By Quarter
GV: 15 | 19 | 11 | 19 || 64
UD: 11 | 11 | 6 | 13 || 41
Shooting
GV: 29-58 FG (2-9 3PT), 3-8 FT
UD: 15-47 FG (4-19 3PT), 7-11 FT
Scoring
GV: Mason Koperna 19, Grayson Golek 12, Cole McAndrew 9, Braden Quinn 7, Evan Small 4, Vasile Egonopoulous 4, Colin Schaller 3, Ryan Anderson 2, JJ Francani 2, Tyler Smith 2
UD: Artemus Sirleaf 13, Marlon Boreland 12, Jude Ennis 4, Tahli Murray 3, Mahdi Goodman 3, Joseph Campbell 2, Brent Lewis 2, Musa Kamara 2