Chester Holds Off Chichester

By Terry Thomas

Chester's win streak reaches 11 games with a 47-46 win over the visiting Chichester Eagles. The Clippers are now 12-1 overall and sit atop Del Val at 3-0. Dante Atkinson's two free throws with 37.9 seconds left in the game gave the Clippers their margin of victory. Atkinson finished with 11 points. The Eagles had no answer for Chester's big-man, Dominic Toy, who finished with a team high 16 points, 13 rebounds, 5 blocked shots, 3 assists and 2 steals.

Emotions were high for this game from the jump. Chichester was visiting the Clip Joint for the first time since winning their first Del Val Championship on this floor last season. They were also riding high because their head coach, Clyde Jones, had just celebrated win #400 in his career. Chester on the other hand was looking for payback. The atmosphere was electric, and you could feel it on each and every possession.

Neither team could find their mark from long distance, as points off transition was key in the first quarter. Chester's inside presence of Dominic Toy and Calvin Williams combined for 6 of their 8 first quarter points. The Clippers trailed 8-12 at the end of the quarter.

In the second quarter, Chester scored on their first two possessions as Toy's two-handed dunk tied the game at 12 at the 7:00 mark. While Chester stepped up their game defensively in the second quarter limiting the Eagles to a mire 5 points, their offense was MIA. The Eagles held a slim 12-15 lead with 3 minutes to play. Calvin Williams scored at 2:47 getting the Clipper close at 14-15. Chester regained the lead, 16-15, on a basket from Atkison with 1:20 on the clock. Chichester answered with a bucket and Chester trailed 16-17 at the intermission.

Chester scored on the opening possession in the fourth quarter regaining the lead 18-17. The Clippers enjoyed their biggest margin of the quarter at 7 points, 33-26, with three minutes on the clock. Chichester's Carlton Gordy got hot in the third quarter where he scored 14 of the team's 18 points. His hot hand allowed the Eagles to tie the contest at 35 with less than 10 seconds left in the quarter. Senior Andre Brown hit 1 of 2 free throws with 0:00.5 on the clock giving them a 36-35 lead at the end of the quarter. While the Eagles were dependent on Gordy, Chester on the other hand continued to use the team approach where six played participated in their 20-point production. Toy led the charge with 8 points, followed by Atkinson's 5 points, three points from Jaseir Thompson, two points from Calvin Williams and one apiece from Andre Brown and Dallas Thompson.

The final eight minutes were a roller-coaster of emotions as the team battled through three ties and six lead changes. With three minutes left in the contest Chester trailed 41-44. Dallas Thompson scored a lay-up drawing within 43-44 with 1:29 to play. After a steal and a missed shot from Atkison, Toy converted his steal into two points giving Chester a 45-44 lead with about 1 minutes on the clock. The Eagles recaptured the lead 45-46 and the Clippers responded after Williams hauled in a crucial defensive rebound leading to the two free throws from Atkinson at the 37.9 mark.

The Clippers strapped in defensively forcing the Eagles to use the final two time-outs during this possession. Their last time-out came with 0:04.5 left on the clock, of course still trailing 47-46. During their last possess, Toy recorded his fifth blocked shot and Chester having fouls to give strategically used them taking time off the clock. As the Eagles inbounded the ball, Chester had a lock on Gordy, so Chichester was forced to find another option. The Clippers challenged each ball handler, and the Eagles were forced to take a contested shot that did not find the bottom of the basket.

The Clippers will put their win streak on the line on Saturday, January 20, when the William Penn (York) Bearcats visit the Clip Joint. There will be a triple header with the Freshman team opening in the afternoon at 12:00, followed by the JV and then the Varsity.

JV GAME SUMMARY

Chester used a balanced attack to pull away from Chichester, 41-27, improving to 8-3 on the season. While no Clipper reached the double figure mark, eight members of the team reached the scoring column. After taking a 10-8 lead after the first quarter, Chester held Chichester scoreless until the last play of the quarter. Chester outscored Chichester, 9-2, to take a 19-10 lead into intermission.

Chester Scorers: Tae'Qwann Naylor - 2, Shadrach George - 4, Kameron Wilson - 3, Kristian Chambers - 9, Ra'Shaad Dorsey - 9, Nyrell Pray - 3, Tyson Scott - 4, Germaine Glover - 7.