Chester Falls Short Against Reading

By Terry Thomas

Chester suffered a hard-fought defeat, 63-65, in the opening round of the State Tournament against the Reading Red Knights. Today's contest marks the 43rd meeting between the storied programs and with the win Reading now hold s a 22-21 edge. Reading and Chester are the only programs in the state of Pennsylvania with over 2,000 wins. Reading has won 2,266 games and Chester has won 2,025 games. The Clippers ended the season losing three consecutive games, finishing with a 20-5 record.

Reading took advantage of Chester's early first quarter miscues and sprinted to a 16-3 lead. Chester called timeout with 3:22 to play to settle themselves down. With basketball being a game of runs, the Clippers responded with an 11-0 run to close the quarter, trailing 14-16. Sophomore Daron Harris got the Clippers started by connecting on two free-throws. Dominic Toy stole the next possession and converted an offensive rebound into two points. Daron then rebounded his missed free-throw for a put-back and two more points. Senior Dante Atkinson blocked a shot and sprinted to the other end where he knocked down two free-throws. Sophomore Jalen Harris hauled in a defensive rebound and junior Dallas Thompson hit a trey from the corner to end the quarter.

Chester tied the score at 16 in the second quarter when senior Andre Brown fed Daron on their second possession of the quarter. After committing a turnover, Daron stole a pass and converted it, tying the score once again, this time at 18 with 3:20 to play. Unfortunately for the Chester, Reading put their feet to the peddle and ran of a 15-2 run to close the second quarter. Chester now trailed 20-33 at the intermission.

The Clippers uncharacteristically had a sluggish beginning in the third quarter. They missed on several opportunities to close the gap which the Red Knights capitalized on pushing their lead to 34-52 with 3:12 to play. Once again, Coach Taylor called for a time-out to refocus his troops. The team answered the call with a 12-0 run, scoring on the last five possessions and trailed 46-52 as the period ended. During the run, Daron scored 5 points including a trey, Jalen and Dominic each added 2 points and Dallas completed the scoring with a trey as the third quarter buzzer sounded. Junior Dallas Thompson led Chester's third quarter thrust with 11 of his 14 points. Jalen Harris scored all 6 of his points in the quarter while Daron Harris added 5 and Dominic Toy dropped in 4 points.

Daron Harris opened the fourth quarter with a steal that led to a basket by Dante Atkinson and the Clippers were with 48-52 with 7:20 to play. Reading was up six when Atkinson hit a trey at 6:25 pulling the Clippers within three, 51-54. Ater another Reading basket, Atkinson hit his second trey of the quarter, getting Chester within two, 54-56. With 3:02 seconds on the clock, Dallas Thompson was fouled hard and had to be removed from the game. Junior Jaseir Thompson came off the bench and hit both free-throws (his only points in the game) tying the game at 58. The teams continued to trade baskets and with 1:33 to play, Dominic Toy connected on both his free-throws and a score of 60-62. On Chester's next possession, Atkinson failed at his attempt for an old-fashioned three-point play. The Clippers now trailed 62-64 with 56 second left in the contest. Dominic Toy grasped a defensive rebound, was fouled and headed to the free-throw line with 35.1 seconds left. He hit the back end putting Chester within one, 63-64.

With Chester trailing 63-64, the Clippers applied full court pressure and the Red Knights were forced into a time-out with 26.6 seconds on the clock; just before a 10-second violation was called. Reading inbounded the ball and with 16.2 seconds on the clock was called for double dribbling thus turning the ball over to Chester. Reading called for the last time-out of the game. Out of the time-out, Dallas Thompson drove to the basket where a jump-ball was called. With the possession arrow belonging to Reading, they took possession with 10.7 seconds on the clock. The Clippers were forced to foul sending Reading to the charity stripe. They made the front-end, Daron Harris rebounded the missed second shot and Chester called their final time-out with 5.5 second left in the contest. Chester - 63, Reading - 65.

With 5.5 second remaining in the game, Chester was inbounding the ball under the Reading baskets. The tying or winning basket was now 94 feet away. Reading applied token pressure in an attempt to slow Chester's progress. The Clippers advanced the ball into the frontcourt, Dallas Thompson took possession and drove to the baskets where contact was made. The referee blew his whistle, raised his arm and Chester's fans thought a foul had been called. However, it was not the case. The game ended as the officials ran off the court. In the fourth quarter, Chester was led by Dante Atkinson with 10 of his 16 points.

It was a hard-fought defeat, but the team battled until the final buzzer sounded. 

Senior Dante Atkinson scored 16 points and recorded 2 blocked, 1 assist and 1 steal in his final game at the Clip Joint. Fellow senior Dominic Toy finished his careers at the Clip Joint with 12 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 blocked shot and 1 assist. Junior Dallas Thompson added 14 points to go along with his 3 assists, 3 rebounds and 2 steals. Sophomore Daron Harris filled the stat sheet with a season high of 13 points. He also contributed 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and 1 blocked shot. Sophomore Jalen Harris contributed 6 points, 3 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 assists. Junior Jaseir Thompson completed the scoring with 2 points.

Thank you to Coach Kenny Tate for providing the statistics. Your work is greatly appreciated.