Yesterday was a day to remember for fans seated in the bleachers of Widener's Schwartz Center. For me, well... let's just say I had my fill of basketball.

The Jameer Nelson/Pete Nelson Classic kicked off Friday with all three Delaware County teams involved walking away with wins:

Chester extended its dominance over Norristown, 58-47 ... Rahlir Jefferson (pictured) had a dominant outing against the team the Clippers beat for the District One and PIAA Class AAAA titles. So did Maurice Nelson, the younger brother of Chester legend Jameer.

Daily Times photographer Bob Gurecki was on hand for some video coverage of the game, so let me know what you think of it: e-mail me or post your thoughts on the blog.

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Penn Wood led the whole way against North Catholic, 78-65 ... Reserve Chris White hit six big-time 3-pointers for the Patriots, who went nine-deep but never lost the lead against the Falcons.

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Archbishop Carroll topped Life Center Academy, 55-49 ... Junior D.J. Irving had the big game for the Patriots, winning the MVP award in his hometown of Chester. The game was closer than it should have been considering LCA was without four players who were declared post-graduates. Among them was Jon DeShields, who played last year at Delco Christian.

Had LCA played all of its post-grads, who knows whether Carroll's district- and state-playoff eligibility would have been called into question down the road? The result of this game might have even been forfeited. It's a good thing this was dealt with appropriately.

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A couple other tidbits from the Nelson Classic:

• DeShields, who watched his LCA teammates from the bench, was walking with a limp. He said its the product of a toe contusion. DeShields led the county with 24.4 points per game in 2007.
• Freshly retired coach Fred Pickett was on hand throughout the day and was seen videotaping the Penn Wood game for Chester coach Larry Yarbray. "I'm a scout now," he said with a smile. Pickett took in the Chester-Norristown game from the far end of the Clippers' bench.
• Penn Wood looks like it has its most success when it rotates players in and out of the game with regularity. The Pats scored 10 points in the second quarter, when coach Clyde Jones stuck with a six-man set. "With foul trouble, you have to do that sometimes," Jones said. "The game of basketball is a lot easier when you have the players you want on the court all the time, but it doesn't work like that."

There's more to come Saturday from the Nelson Classic. Staffer Matt Smith is there for the Chester-Atlantic City game.

There were plenty of juicy subplots to watch for in Tuesday's District One Class AAAA semifinal between Chester and Penn Wood:

• Would the underclassmen of PW usurp the senior-laden Clippers?
• Would Chester sweep a three-game set with the Patriots?
• Would their familiarity play into the game's outcome?

In the end, none of that really mattered. It was simply a case of Chester being Chester in a 74-52 win at Norristown High School. Nasir Robinson and Karon Burton (pictured) were big as usual in the win.

Check out my game story as well as a column by Jack McCaffery on the head-scratching of Penn Wood coach Clyde Jones that went into preparing for Chester.

With the win, that makes 35 straight victories for Chester in the district tournament, which matches Lower Merion's 35 from 1930-46. The Clippers have won 35 in a row from 2002 to the present, while the Aces reeled off that many in a time when the district tournament was only three rounds.

***In other boys basketball news, Wednesday's Daily Times includes a profile story on Delco Christian's Jake Godino and Jon DeShields --- two great kids with great back stories who are leading the Knights into an all-important playoff game tonight. Check it out.

Academy Park coach Rick Pergolini has been absent from the sideline for close to a month.

Complications from a May 2006 kidney transplant have kept Pergolini either in the hospital or resting comfortably at home the last four weeks. In an exclusive interview with the Daily Times, Pergolini said he wants to return this week for the Knights' final two games.

The Knights would welcome his return, since they are desperately missing their coach. Said senior Anthony King: "...when I have a question about basketball or anything, he's the one I go to. Without him here, it's like, 'Well, who do I go to? Who do I turn to?'" Check out the story and read up about Pergolini's health status only in Sunday's Daily Times.

Elsewhere on the hardwood, there were only a few games Saturday featuring Delco teams:
...Playing its third game in four days, Glen Mills showed its fatigue in a loss to a Coatesville team that has won 15 of its last 18 games.
...Marple Newtown got 32 points from Soutiri Sapnas in an upset of Garnet Valley.
...Delco Christian has two big guns in Jon DeShields and Jake Godino. But every now and then Pete Hughes (16 points) flexes his muscles. He did Saturday in a win.

There's an assortment of topics covered in this week's boys basketball notebook, so be sure to pick up a copy of today's Daily Times:

• A feature story on Penn Wood and the junior with the hot hand, Duane Johnson.
• An update on Chester's national ranking.
• A piece on Delco Christian's top two scorers, Jake Godino and Jon DeShields, who have been scoring in bunches lately.
• Something on the three seniors (Michael Barrett, Dave Kerzner and Seth Cartmell) keeping Interboro afloat during a rough season.
• A recruiting item on Glen Mills junior Aaric Murray.
• Games of the week, the Super 7 and so on.

Every week, I pick the three biggest games of the week. If there's a game coming up that I should have my eye on, let me know. I always take reader feedback and suggestions.