Clippers Boys Basketball Fall in Opener

By Terry Thomas

The Chester Clippers opened the 2017-18 season with the introduction of their new Head Coach, Keith Taylor Sr and showcasing the brand new gym floor in honor of legendary Coach Fred Pickett Jr. The Clippers welcomed the Lower Merion Aces under the leadership of Coach Greg Downer, a well respected competitor of Coach Pickett, as their opponent in the 5th Annual Fred Pickett Jr Classic. The Clippers (0-1) fourth quarter charge fell short and the Aces (2-0) held on for the 57- 52 win.

The Clippers trailed by four, 9-13, at the end of the 1st quarter with junior forward Rahmaad DeJarnette leading the way with 4 of his 8 points. The Clippers inability to put the ball in the basket allowed the Aces to stretch their lead to 11 points at the half, 16-27. Chester put on a better defensive posture in the 3rd quarter but their ineffective foul shooting, 4 of 11, enabled Lower Merion to increase their lead to 15 points for a 24-39 advantage. As the Clippers upped the defensive pressure forcing Aces turnovers, junior point guard Michael Smith led the charge offensively with 10 of his team high 16 points and speedy sophomore guard Rahmee Gilbert joined him in the backcourt and added his 6 points. Brian Randolph III hit on 4 of 6 free throws to finish with 9 points. DeJarnette added 4 fourth quarter points before fouling out of the contest. The Clippers were able to cut the margin to 7 points, 43-50, with 1:45 remaining. A couple unsuccessful trips to the foul line allowed valuable time to run off the clock and the Aces left the Clip Joint as the victors.

Although Coach Taylor may not have been successful in the "Win Column", his team continued to fight until the closing seconds. With 11 of the 13 players on the roster seeing action in the game, practices will become a lot more competitive now that they have one game under their belt and a better understanding of what "Varsity" basketball is all about.

Chester put eight players in the scoring column: Smith (16), Randolph (9), DeJarnette (8), Gilbert (6), sophomore Zahmir Carroll and junior Timothy Johnston (4), senior Kylair Blackston (3) and sophomore Malik Langley (2). Junior Rahnel Sparks led the way with a career high 6 rebounds.

Chester will return to action on Monday, December 11th with they travel to Lancaster to take on the J.P. McCaskey Red Tornadoes.