Chester Finishes 4th in District-1 Tournament

By Terry Thomas

Chester (20-3) came up short finishing 4^th in the District-1 Tournament after a 65-61 setback at West Chester Henderson (24-5). The Clippers will begin their run towards a State Championship on Saturday, March 9 when they will host the Reading Red Knights. Reading finished 4^th in the District-3 Tournament. The time of the game will be announced at a later date. The State Tournament is a single elimination - "Win or Go Home Affair" -affair.

In the first quarter of today's game, the Clippers ran into a red-hot Warriors team who had a jump shot response to whatever Chester had to offer. They scored the first and last baskets of the quarter. The Clippers found themselves in a 4-14 deficit halfway through the period. Chester continued to fight and closed the quarter with a 7-4 advantage and now trailed 11-18 as the quarter ended. Dante Atkinson led the way with 6 of his 11 points.

Chester continued their push into the second quarter and when Jalen Harris scored with 4:25 remaining, the game was knotted at 23. They accounted for a 12-5 outburst by Chester. The Warriors countered with a 4-0 spurt taking a 27-23 lead. Chester answered with a 5-0 run capped by a steal and layup from Daron Harris. Chester now led 28-27 with 2:25 to play. The Warriors recaptured the lead with a trey and Dominic Toy tied the game at 30 at the 1:50 mark. On Henderson's next possession, Toy stole a pass and converted it into 2 points giving the Clippers a 32-30 lead with 1:24 on the clock. The teams went scoreless for the remainder of the quarter. Chester took the margin into intermission. Jaseir Thompson scored 6 of his 10 points in the quarter. Jalen Harris contributed 5 of his 7 points. Daron Harris added his four points on the night. Toy chipped in 4 points and Andre Brown flipped in his only 2 points on the night. In all, Chester outscored Henderson 21-12 in the second period.

The third quarter was truly a back-and-forth affair. Chester scored first and Henderson answered with a slight 4-0 run tying the game at 34. Toy's two free throws gave Chester 36-34; he scored their next basket which was followed by a Calvin Williams free throw. Chester now led 39-34 with 4:43 to play. The Warriors drew within 39-38 before Dallas Thompson scored for a 41-38 Chester led at the 2-minute mark. The Warriors tied the game at 41 with a trey. Calvin Williams scored again for a 43-41 Chester lead. After the Warriors took the lead on an "And-1", Jalen Harris scored his final two points and the quarter ended with Chester ahead, 45-44. 

Henderson started the fourth quarter with a 5-2 spurt taking the lead 49-47. They held a slight edge, 54-50, until Calvin William putback of a missed Atkinson free throw at the 3:16 mark gave the Clippers the lead, 55-54. The Warriors reclaimed the lead before Toy's free throw tied the game at 56 with 2:39 to play. Dante Atkinson rebounded a missed Williams' free-throw and converted it into two points and a 58-56 Chester lead with 2:06 to play. Toy tied the game once again at 59 with 1:50 on the clock. Atkinson converted another offensive rebound into a bucket tying the game at 61 with 1:14 left in the quarter.  Chester failed to score on the next three possessions, turning the ball over on two of the three possessions.

Senior Dominic Toy led the Clippers, tying his career high of 19 points. He also filled the stat sheet with 7 rebounds, 2 blocked shots, 2 steals and 1 assist. Senior Dante Atkinson finished with 11 points and 6 rebounds. Junior Jaseir Thompson added 10 points, 5 rebounds, 5 steals and 2 assists. Sophomore Jalen Harris scored 7 points to go along with his 5 rebounds. Calvin Williams chipped in 5 points and a team high 9 rebounds. Sophomore Daron Harris put in 4 points and accounted for 3 steals. Junior Dallas Thompson contributed 3 points, 2 rebounds and 1 steal. Senior Andre Brown completed the scoring with 2 points. He also added 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal. 

The team will get a much-needed break before starting the third phase of their season, "The State Championship Tournament", on Saturday, March 9. When ticket sales are announced, we hope you will fill the Fred Pickett Jr Gymnasium "Clip Joint" in support of these young men. The losses they have suffered this season have not been due to lack of effort. This will be their last home game and you can show them that you truly appreciate their hard work by filling the building in "Orange & Black".