By Terry Thomas
Chester (17-3) advances to defend their District-1 Championship with a 56-43 victory over the visiting Bishop Shanahan Eagles. The Clippers will face the #1 seeded Radnor Raptors on Saturday, March 5, 2022 at Temple University's Liacouras Center. The tip-off is schedule for 2:00 p.m.
The Clippers were a little out of sorts to begin the contest and after several turnovers and missed shots found themselves trailing 6-13 at the 1:53 mark. Chester regained their composure holding the Eagles scoreless while scoring on their final three possessions of the quarter to cut the deficit to 12-13. Chester used four players to produce their point production: Larenzo Jerkins and Isaiah Freeman scored 4 apiece and Breilynd White and Kevin Rucker added 2 each.
The Clippers took advantage of the wind in their sails cruising to a 10-2 run to open the second quarter resulting in a 22-15 lead with 4:20 to go. Sophomore Kevin Rucker led the charge scoring 8 of his career/game high of 27 points. After turning his ankle, senior Qadir Lowrie came off the bench to drain a trey and sophomore Kyree Womack added a bucket to help the Clippers convert a first quarter deficit into a 28-21 halftime lead. Chester connected on 4 of 5 free throws in the quarter. The Clippers defense stiffened holding the Eagles to 8 points in the quarter.
Chester maintained their defensive presence in the third quarter again holding the Eagles to 8 points. Meanwhile, Kevin Rucker continued making his mark scoring 7 of Chester's 9 third quarter points. Chester led at the end of the slower paced third quarter, 37-29.
The Clippers scored on their first two possessions of the final quarter taking a 40-29 lead at the 7:00 mark. The inability to score in their next five possessions allowed the Eagles to draw within 40-34 with 4:20 remaining in the quarter. The teams exchanged baskets over the next two plus minutes. With 1:39 on the clock, Kevin Rucker connected on 1 of 2 free throws giving Chester the 48-41 lead. After Isaiah Freemen blocked an Eagles shot, Rucker went 2 of 2 from the line; he followed that with a sweat reverse layup giving the Clippers a 52-41 lead. Lowrie stripped his opponent, was fouled and converted both free throws. His back-court mate, Breilynd White, duplicated his fete - a steal and free throws, pushing the lead to 56-41 with 31.7 seconds left in the contest.
Breilynd White joined Rucker in double-figures with 10 points. Isaiah Freeman just missed a double-double with 8 points and 12 rebounds. Qadir Lowrie (5), Larenzo Jerkins (4) and Kyree Womack completed the scoring with 2 points.
With today's win Coach Taylor earns his 94th victory putting him in a tie with Juan Baughn for 7th place on Chester Basketball Coaches Win List.
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