Chester Ends 2022 on a Losing Note

 By Terry Thomas

Chester ends 2022 at 4-4 after losing 75-60 to the Lower Merion Aces (8-1) at the Pete Nelson Classic. The Clippers started strong in the first quarter, holding a 16-6 lead as the quarter closed. Kyree Womack, Terrence Cobb and Calvin Williams each contributed 4 points. Dante Atkinson and Jerry Young completed the scoring with 2 points apiece. Chester limited their turnovers to two and played solid defense resulting in single digit scoring for the Aces.

The Clippers returned to form in the second quarter committing eight turnovers that the Aces converted to points. Chester relinquished their lead and entered intermission tied at 27. They were outscored 21-11 in the quarter. 

Chester's mishaps continued into the third quarter. The Aces ran off the first five points of the quarter for a 32-27 lead before Chester scored a foul shot with 5:32 to play, Chester - 28, Lower Merion - 32. The Clippers continued turning the ball over to the Aces who took complete control of the quarter. I appeared as if every-other Chester possession resulted in a turnover and a basket by the Aces. Chester was outscored 29-8 in the crucial third quarter of play. Chester entered the final quarter trailing 35-56.

The Clippers continued to fight in the fourth quarter led by junior Dominic Toy who scored all 14 of his points in the period. However, Chester could get no closer than 15 points by outscoring the Aces 25-19 in the quarter. 

Kyree Womack led a trio of Clippers in double-figures with 16 followed by Toy's 14, Terrence Cobb with 12. Dante Atkinson starting in place of Brielynd White recorded 8 points. Calvin Williams scored 6 points and tied his career high with 10 rebounds. Jasier Thompson and Jerry Young completed the scoring with 2 points apiece. 

Chester will return to action on Tuesday, January 3, 2023 when Philadelphia's Overbrook visits the Clip Joint. The JV game will tip-off at 5:30 pm with the Varsity to follow. The Clippers will be at home for their next three games on January 3, 5 and 7.

Chester Holds Off Coatesville

By Terry Thomas

Chester (4-3) used 5 of 7 free throw shooting in the final minute to secure the 69-64 win over the Coatesville (6-3) Red Raiders.  The game closed out the opening day of the 17^th Annual Pete Nelson Classic on the campus of Widener University. The fans in attendance got their money's worth in this closely contested affair as the teams appeared to be mirror images of each other. The win gives Chester a 14-9 edge in the overall series with Coatesville and Coach Taylor's first win against the Red Raiders.

The Clippers jumped out to a 9-2 lead with 4:06 on the clock. Kyree Womack scored 5 and Jerry Young and Calvin Williams added 2 points apiece. Coatesville took advantage of the Chester miscues and with 2:13 remaining in the quarter, the lead was cut to 9-8. A bucket from Terrence Cobb and two free throws from Dante Atkinson put the Clippers up 13-8 with 1:07 left to play. The quarter ended with Chester leading 13-10.

The second quarter was a back-and-forth affair with the teams' exchanging runs. Chester started with a 9-0 sprint capped by a Womack bucket at the 6:11 mark giving the Clippers a 22-13 lead. Coatesville answered with a 10-0 run capturing their first lead of the game 23-22 with about 3:30 to play. Chester responded with consecutive baskets from Womack regaining the lead 26-23. The first half ended: Chester - 26, Coatesville - 25.

The Red Raiders scored on their first two possessions of the third quarter recapturing the lead 28-26 and Womack responded with a trey and Chester was back in front 29-28 with 7 minutes to play. After the teams exchanged buckets, the Clippers went on a 11-0 outburst for a 42-30 advantage with 2:16 to play in the quarter. Cobb started the run with a bucket followed by seven points from Womack and two from Dominic Toy. The quarter ended with Chester leading 45-35.

Midway thru the fourth quarter, Jerry Young's basket pushed Chester's lead back to 14 points, 55-41. Coatesville was able to close the gap to eight points, 65-57, with 1:08 to play. It was at this point when their attempt at forcing a free throw shooting contest failed as Chester was up to the task.

Kyree Womack finished with a game and career high 24 points. He also added 3 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 assist to his stat sheet. Terrence Cobb added 14 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal. Dominic Toy was the third Clipper in double figures with a career high 11 points to go along with 5 rebounds, 2 blocks, 2 steals and 1 assist. Dante Atkinson and Jerry Young both just missed double figures with 8 points apiece. Calvin Williams and Breilynd White completed the scoring with 2 points apiece. Williams had a busy night with 9 rebounds, 2 blocked shots and 1 assist. White tied his career high of 6 assists. Chester connected on 13 assists of their 25 field goals.

Chester will closeout 2022 on Friday, December 30^th when they take on the Lower Merion Aces. The game is scheduled for a 7:00 pm tip-off at Widener University.

Clippers Run Aground in Reading

By Terry Thomas

Chester's (3-3) three-game winning streak came to an end, 57-71, on the road at the hands of the Reading (7-0) Red Knights. This was the 42^nd meeting between the schools and the series is now tied 21-21. 

The Clippers fell behind early as the home court was very beneficial for the Red Knights. Reading connected on their first four shots including three treys putting Chester in a 4-11 hole. Terrence Cobb responded with two treys to close the gap to 10-15 at the end of the first quarter. Kyree Womack and Cobb led the way in the second quarter scoring 6 and 5 points respectively keeping the Clippers in striking distance; but the Clippers still trailed at intermission, 23-29.

The Clippers continued to fight in the third quarter cutting the margin to four points on several occasions. With 52 seconds remaining in the quarter Terrence Cobb connected on his fifth trey of the night pulling the Clippers within four, 38-42. After a couple questionable calls, Coach Taylor was called for a technical four (the ref said he waved his arms) and the Clippers would get no closer the rest of the game. The third quarter ended with Chester trailing 38-46.

The Clippers did not go away quietly in the final eight minutes. Chester produced 19 fourth quarter points and the Reading did not feel secure in removing their starters until there was 1:41 on the clock. And even then, it was a whole-sale change, they were replaced one at a time. Cobb delivered 7 fourth quarter points including his 6^th trey of the night. Dante Atkinson connected on 5 of 6 free throws in the quarter and was 7 of 8 from the line for the game for his 7 points. Vince Coleman and Jaseir Thompson came off the bench for 3 and 2 points respectively.

Dominic Toy added 10 rebounds to go along with his two points. Calvin Williams chipped in with 3 points, 4 rebounds, 1 blocked shot and 1 assist and Kristian Chambers completed the scoring with 2 points.

The Clippers will return to action on Wednesday, December 28 in the Pete Nelson Holiday Classic on the campus of Widener. Chester will face District-1 foe Coatesville to close the evening, tip-off is scheduled for 8:00 pm.

JV GAME SUMMARY

Chester (3-1) suffered its first loss of the season, 49-52, at the hands of the Reading Red Knights. Andre Brown and Jaseir Thompson led the Clippers with 12 points apiece. Germain Glover finished with 8 points, Ra'Shaad Dorsey chipped in 7 and both Tashon Gibson and Kristian Chambers each scored four. Freshman Nyrell Pray completed the scoring with 2 points. Chester trailed 49-50 with 17.2 seconds left in the contest. Unfortunately, their shot fell short and Reading connected on two free throws to seal the win.

The JV team will return to action on Tuesday, January 3, 2023, when Philadelphia's Overbrook visits the Clip Joint. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.

 

Chester Continues Winning Ways

 By Terry Thomas

The Clippers (3-2) completed the 3-game sweep of their Delaware opponents with an easy 85-22 win over the visiting Thomas McKean Highlanders. Prior to the start of tonight's contest, Coach Taylor was acknowledged before the home fans for reaching the 100-Win milestone. Chester bombarded McKean with 14 treys which now ranks #2 behind the school record of 17 set February 6, 2006 against Christian Brothers Academy at the Battle By The Bay in Atlantic City. Senior Terrence Cobb led the way, tying the boy's school record with 7 treys. He joins Noel Wilmore who did it in 2004 (Episcopal Academy, Widener Univ) and 2005 (Manheim Township, State Tournament), Darrin Goven whose 7 came against Christian Brothers Academy and Ahrod Carter who dropped his against Milton Hershey in the 2017 State Tournament. 

The back-court of Cobb and Kyree Womack were hitting on all cylinders in the opening quarter dropping 20 and 11 points respectively. Cobb dropped in four 3-pointers and Womack added another. The Clippers defense smothered the Highlanders allowing just 2 points which matched the production of Chester's Brielynd White. The Clippers were sailing away 33-2 at the end of the quarter.

Coach Taylor went to his bench in the second quarter and they did not disappoint. Sophomore Jaseir Thompson continued the sharp-shooting collecting 9 points including two treys. Fellow sophomore Ra'Shaad Dorsey also hit the mark with two treys for 6 points. Freshman Nyrell Pray dropped in two points in the debut. Nijah Carpenter and Vincent Coleman also added two points apiece and Jerry Young completed the scoring with one point. The end result was a 22-7 quarter in favor of the Clippers pushing their half-time margin to 55-9.

With the "Mercy Rule" in place, Chester outscored their opponents 30-13 in the second half sealing the win. Ten of the fourteen Clippers were able to put their names in the scoring column. Cobb led with a game and career high of 31 points follow by Womack's 16 points. Thompson was third Clipper in double digits with 11 points. Senior Brielynd White added 5 assists and 3 steals along with his 8 points. Junior Dominic Toy recorded a career high 4 blocked shots to go along with his 6 points. Junior Calvin Williams found another way of contributing besides scoring with a career high 5 blocked shots to go along with his 9 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal. Junior Jerry Young contributed a career high 3 blocked shots along with his 3 rebounds. Kristian Chambers, another sophomore, added 2 assists and 1 steal. Junior Dante Atkinson, returning from injury recorded two rebounds and 1 assist. The team recorded a season high 12 blocked shots. 

Chester will take to the road for a trip to the Geigle Complex where they will face the Reading Red Knights on Wednesday, December 21. The JV is slated to tip-off at 6:00 pm with the Varsity to follow. 

JV GAME SUMMARY

The Clippers improved to 3-0 with a resounding 77-16 thrashing of the McKean Highlanders. Nine of the ten players who saw action put their names in the scoring column. Chester had five players in double figures led by Andre Brown with 15 points. Kristian Chambers added 11 points with Jaseir Thompson, Ryan Reed and Kameron Wilson each contributing 10 points. Germain Glover was just short of double-digits with 8 points followed by Ra'Shaad Dorsey (6), Nyrell Pray (5) and Tae'Qwann Naylor's two points.

Chester Wins in Winter Showcase

By Terry Thomas

Chester's backcourt leads the way in 57-47 triumph over the Delcastle Technical Cougars at the Winter Showcase in Wilmington, DE. Kyree Womack was high man for the Clippers with 20 points and game MVP Terrence Cobb complimented him with 18 points. The first quarter was a back-and-forth affair with Chester holding a slim 13-11 advantage after the first eight minutes. Both teams played solid defense forcing the other to work offensively to get a bucket.

The Clippers increased their defensive intensity opening the second quarter with a 12-0 outburst for a 25-11 lead with 3:27 to play. During the run, Cobb contributed 6 points, Womack and Dante Atkinson each drained a trey. The Cougars finally stopped the attack with a trey at the 3:05 mark. Womack answered with another trey keeping the margin at fourteen points, 28-14, with 2:55 to play. After a bucket from Calvin Williams, the Clippers returned to form closing the quarter with three consecutive turnovers. Chester led at intermission, 30-21.

The Clippers woes continued into the third quarter only managing to score 11 points thus allowing the Cougars to close the gap, 41-35. On this occasion, Chester just could not find the bottom of the net. Both the ball movement and shot selection were good but it seemed as though the rim had a cap on it. Cobb and Womack once again led the way with 5 and 4 points respectively and Dominic Toy added 2 points.

The Clippers started the final 8 minutes with a 6-2 spurt and after two free throws from Breilynd White, Chester lead was back to 10, 47-37, with 4:21 to play. Chester answered Delcastle's 4-0 sprint with a trey from White and two free throws from Cobb to push their lead to eleven, 52-41, with 1:29 left in the contest. The Clippers guards closed the contest connecting on 5 of 6 free throws to secure the win. In the closing minutes of the game Chester's back-court went 7 for 8 from the charity stripe upsetting the Delcastle game plan.

Dominic Toy finished the game with 7 points, followed by Brielynd White's 5 points and Dante Atkinson chipped in with 3 before leaving the game after taking an elbow to the lip. Junior Calvin Williams made the most of his second consecutive start with a career high 10 rebounds to go along with his 4 points, 2 steals and 1 blocked shot.

Today's win also marked a milestone for Coach Keith Taylor Sr as he became just the 7^th coach in Chester High's storied history to reach the 100-Win milestone. In just four games into his 6^th year at the helm, Coach Taylor has amassed a 100-28 record with a 78.1 winning percentage. While Coach Taylor would quickly give credit to his coaching staff and players for his success, we all know the ship can only stay afloat and on course with an outstanding Captain and Coach Taylor is that guy. Congratulation, Coach Taylor!

The Clippers will return to action at the Clip Joint on Monday, December 19 when Delaware's Thomas McKean visits the Fred Pickett Gymnasium. The JV will tip-off at 4:30 pm with the Varsity to follow. Please take note of the early start for the JV game.  Don't be late.