Chester season comes to an end

 By Terry Thomas

Chester (21-4) comes up short in its bid for a trip to Hershey at the hands of the Imhotep (27-4) Panthers 66-41 at Coatesville Area High School. The loss snaps the Clippers 16 game win streak. The Panthers showcased why there are ranked #12 in the nation using the overall height advantage taking the Clippers out of their comfort zone. Chester was also short-handed without the services of their Head Coach, Keith E. Taylor Sr, who was hospitalized last night. He is resting and should be returning home sometime this week. Assistant Coach Durell Moore led the team in his absence.

The Clippers scored first at the 5:50 mark on a bucket by Larenzo Jerkins for a 2-0 lead. However, four turnovers in their next six possessions allowed the Panther to go on a 10-0 run. Larenzo scored again to stop the run with 2:02 left in the quarter and Chester trailing 4-10. Imhotep scored consecutive treys to end the quarter with a 4-16 lead.

Sophomore Kyree Womack tried to ignite the Clippers in the second quarter scoring all of his seven points but it was not enough to offset the hot-shooting Panthers. Imhotep answered every Chester basket and converted their turnovers into easy points. Chester went into intermission trailing 18-39.

Chester opened the third quarter a little more aggressively with a 9-2 run to close the margin at 27-41 with 5 minutes to play. Over the next seven possessions, the Clippers could not find the bottom of the baskets and the Panthers responded with a 9-3 run. With 1:05 to play, Chester now trailed 30-50. The quarter ended 30-53.

Chester's shooting woes and weakness on the boards continued deep into the fourth quarter. With 3:28 to play, a Panther dunk by Justin Edwards put the score at 65-35. The Clippers continued to play hard until the final buzzer sounded. Today just wasn't their day.

Junior Breilynd White led the Clippers with 10 points, followed by Kevin Rucker (8), Larenzo Jerkins (8), Kyree Womack (7), Qadir Lowrie (5) and Isaiah Freeman (2). Freeman recorded 10 rebounds in his final game as a Clipper. Jerkins managed to match his career high of 4 blocked shots.