Chester Boys Basketball dropped a close one at Penn Wood

Report by Terry Thomas

Chester - 55, Penn Wood - 58

Chester (12-4, 5-1) dropped a close one at Penn Wood (11-5, 5-1) 55-58 to sit tied atop the Del Val. In the first quarter both teams were hitting their marks with Chester holding a slim 22-20 lead. Jamar Sudan led the way with 7 of his 11 points, Ahrod Carter found the mark for 5 of his team high 13, Jordan Camper dropped in four in the lane and sophomores Michael Smith and Jaimhy Evans each contributed 3 points. The teams applied a little pressure defensively in the 2nd quarter but the Clippers won the period 14-11 to take a 36-31 lead into intermission. With Sudan sitting with two quick 2nd quarter, junior Brian Randolph III took control for the Clippers with 6 of his 9 points, Carter and Smith each knocked down a trey and Camper added a dunk. In the third quarter, a trey from Randolph and a free throw from Camper game the Clippers their largest margin 42-33 at the 5:19 mark. With untimely turnovers and missed shots, the Patriots outscored the Clippers 10-0 to regain the lead 43-42 with 2:32 remaining in the quarter. Two free throws from Carter and a bucket by Sudan forced a tie at 46 as the 3rd quarter ended. After exchanging leads in the beginning of the 4th quarter, the Clippers were down 53-57 at the 3:17 mark.  A bucket by Camper got the Clippers with two 55-57 when the Patriots began the parade to the free throw line. After missing both free throws the Clippers were called for a foul away from the ball and the Patriots were back on the line. After making 1 of 2, Chester now trailed 55-58 with 16.3 seconds remaining in the contest. The ugly turnover monster would surface once again as the Clippers threw the ball away. The Patriots went back to the free throw line where they clanked both free throws and Smith heading down court with 5.5 seconds on the clock; only to have his shot fall short off the backboard.

The Clippers shared the ball with 17 assists on 21 made baskets which enabled three players to have double figures: Carter (13), Camper (11) and Sudan (11). Randolph finished with 9, Smith added 8 and Evans completed the scoring with 3. Carter also led with 5 assists followed by 4 each from Randolph and Smith.

The Clippers will once again hit the highway on Saturday, January 28th they they travel to York, PA to take on the William Penn (York) Bearcats. The JV game tips off at 5:30 p.m.