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| Great games from JV & Varsity! Congrats on Del Val win |
By Terry Thomas
The fans came out for
Senior Night and the Clippers did not disappoint. Playing in front of an
announced crowd of over 1600, the Clippers overcame a 6 point halftime deficit
to claim a 66-59 victory over the visiting Academy Park Knights. With the win
Chester completed their second consecutive perfect (10-0) run through the Del
Val and pushed their overall record to 17-4. The Del Val Champions have now won
13 consecutive games in 2019 matching their win streak from the 2017-2018
season.
The first quarter was a
back and forth affair that concluded with sophomore Karell Watkins put back on
a missed Javan Graham shot and Chester ahead 14-13. Chester's defense did not
hold up well in the second quarter allowing the Knights open looks from
distance accounting for the 18 points outburst. Chester trailed 25-31 at the
half.
Chester began the 3rd
quarter with a 6-0 run to tie the game at 31. The Clippers fell behind before a
steal and a layup by junior Rahmee Gilbert tied the game at 35 with 2:53
remaining. Chester outscored their opponents 9-3 to closed the quarter capped
by a Rahmaad DeJarnette wind-mill dunk as the quarter ended. Chester now
led 44-38.
Watkins entertained the
crowd with two dunks off assists from Gilbert and senior Michael Smith to open
the final quarter. And, he followed that with rebounding the missed Knight and
going the distance for yet another bucket giving the Clippers a 50-39 lead.
Senior Michael Smith got in the act with 8 of his 15 points put on a dribbling
display as the Clippers milked the clock. Watkins dropped in 6 of his team high
16 points and junior Akeem Taylor Jr chimed in with 5 of his 12 to join his
teammates in double figures. Yes, as has become his custom Watkins had another
double double by hauling in 14 rebounds. Junior Zahmir Carroll added a
bucket and seniors Javan Graham and Naim Berry Jr. completed the scoring with 2
and 1 points respectively.
Smith led the Clippers
with 5 assists to go along with 4 rebounds and 3 steals. Gilbert added 4
assist, a career high 6 rebounds and 3 steals to go with his 8 points.
DeJarnette was the fourth Clipper in double figures with 10 points and his
complete game consisted of 3 assists, 3 blocks, 5 rebounds and 3 steals.
With the regular season
completed, Chester will await the results from the District-1 Tournament's
Seeding Meeting on Sunday, February 10 to find out who they will face in the
upcoming tournament. The Clippers are expected to be seeded in the top 8
earning them a first round bye. They will begin play on Tuesday, February 19th
at the Clip Joint.
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