According to the Phoenix News, Phoenixville big man George Harper has decided to quit the team only days before the District One Class AAA playoffs begin.

This makes the bracket wide open.

The story, from one of the Daily Times' sister papers, makes the case that Harper, a 6-7 junior power forward, left the Phantoms following their loss Friday in the Pioneer Athletic Conference playoffs. The story cites that Harper, an American Christian transfer, had difficulties with coaches and teammates, and academic and disciplinary pitfalls.

This is a huge blow for the Phantoms (18-5, 11-2), who won the regular-season title in the PAC-10's small-schools division. They are the Class AAA top seed and, on Saturday, will face the winner of a first-round game between No. 8 Octorara and No. 9 Pottstown.

What does this mean for Delaware County teams?

Well, fourth-seeded Marple Newtown certainly has an easier route to the district final, with the Phantoms out of the picture. (Harper torched the Tigers for 14 points in the title game of their holiday tournament. Harper, who has received recruiting interest from Georgetown and Seton Hall, was the tourney's MVP.)

And on the other side of the bracket, it's one less team No. 6 Strath Haven and No. 7 Springfield will have to contend with, should they string a few wins together.

The District One Class AAA and Class A brackets were announced Friday, and four Delaware County teams made the cut:

Class AAA
No. 11 Upper Moreland at No. 6 Strath Haven (first round)
No. 10 Lower Moreland at No. 7 Springfield (first round)
No. 4 Marple Newtown vs. No. 8/9 winner (second round)

Class A
No. 11 Calvary Christian at No. 6 Delco Christian (first round)

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In the Catholic League playoffs, we're looking at Archbishop Carroll and Monsignor Bonner trying to advance to the semifinal round. Both play Saturday. Carroll is at Cardinal O'Hara, where it will face West Catholic. Bonner is at Archbishop Ryan, taking on North Catholic.

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The Bicentennial Athletic League is coordinating its playoff system this weekend to determine a champion. The top two teams from the league's Constitutional Division cross over to face the top teams from the Independence Division. Here is a look at Friday's opening round:

• Delco Christian (No. 2-CD) at Holy Ghost Prep (No. 1-ID)
• Christopher Dock (No. 2-ID) at Girard College (No. 1-CD)

The championship is Saturday.

Marple Newtown coach Jerry Doemling knew he had something special when a diminutive and spry sophomore named Soutiri Sapnas was in the midst of setting a school record last season.

Sapnas, the school's single-season scoring champ, will make history again tonight when the Tigers face Radnor at home at 7:30 p.m.

Now a junior, Sapnas needs only 13 points to cross the 1,000-point plateau for his career. That's nothing for the point guard, who averages 26 points per contest this season.

Stay close to the Daily Times for the latest on Sapnas.

Two Delco baseball teams entered Monday's first round of the PIAA Class AAAA state tournament. None advanced to today's second round.

Pitcher Steve DeCecco had a tough time finding the strike zone in the Marple Newtown's 8-3 loss to Muhlenberg, at Wenger Field in Fredericksburg.

At West Chester University, Mike Pappas gave up just one run but that was one too many in Sun Valley's 1-0 loss to Fleetwood.

We all knew the PIAA Class AAA state baseball tournament was scheduled to begin Monday. We just didn't know where Marple Newtown and Sun Valley would be playing.

Now we do.

The Tigers, District One's runners-up, will play District Three champion Muhlenberg at Wenger Field Monday in Fredericksburg for a 4:30 p.m. first pitch.

The Vanguards, who claimed their first District One title since 2005, are a bit closer to home. They will play Fleetwood, District Three's runner-up, at West Chester University at 4 p.m.

For full coverage of the PIAA Class AAA playoffs, turn to the pages of the Daily Times all this week.

With two Delaware County team's in Thursday's District One Class AAA title game, you knew one team would have to go home unhappy.

Sun Valley, on the strength of a five-run fifth inning, wore the Class AAA crown in a 7-5 win over Marple Newtown. Catcher Joe Maloney hit a home run to lead off the inning and get things going for the Vanguards, who have won 21 straight games.

It also marked a third consecutive come-from-behind win in the playoffs for the Vanguards. They rallied with a two-run walkoff homer in the quarterfinals, scored two runs on a seventh-inning single in the semifinals, and erased early 1-0 and 2-1 deficits against the Tigers. Interestingly, right fielder and pitcher Pat Sheridan was key in all three games.

Both teams will play Monday in the first round of the PIAA Class AAA state tournament. Sun Valley will take on Fleetwood, the District Three runner-up, while Marple Newtown will face District Three champ Muhlenberg. More to come soon on those games.

Wait, what? There's a big game today?

In case you weren't aware - hard to believe, really - there are two local teams vying for one championship.

Marple Newtown (15-6) takes on Sun Valley (19-1) in the District One Class AAA championship game today in a 4 p.m. start at Glen Mills Schools. The Tigers and the Vanguards are the final two remaining teams from Delco still playing on the diamond, so today's game should be a treat.

Make sure you get there early, as parking is usually limited at The Mills. (I'm pretty sure all baseball parking is on the grass field beside the stadium.) See you out there.

Two seasons ended while two more are extended following Tuesday afternoon's playoff games.

Sun Valley and Marple Newtown, the first and second Delco teams to ever make a state-baseball final, both qualified for the state tournament with wins Tuesday. In fact, the two will face each other in Thursday's District One Class AAA final.

Monsignor Bonner's fall in the Catholic League title game wasn't without a solid effort from Conor Kerins, pictured, who was lifted by coach Joe DeBarberie after five-plus strong innings. He gave everything had against St. Joseph's Prep, which looked like one of the strongest teams I've seen all season.

In the Class A bracket, Delco Christian lost to Morrisville on a walk-off grand slam in the eighth inning.

The 12-team field for next week's District One Class AAA bracket was announced Thursday morning, and three Delaware County teams made the cut:

No. 8 Marple Newtown (9-15) vs. No. 9 Harriton (7-17)
No. 10 Radnor (6-18) vs. No. 7 Phoenixville (11-13)
No. 11 Springfield (5-19) vs. No. 6 Upper Perkiomen (16-8)

First-round matchups will be played Wednesday, Feb. 13, with the higher seed hosting. A storyline to follow is with Springfield, which looks to defend its district title. For more on the Class AAA bracket, pick up Friday's Daily Times.

A couple things I saw Tuesday night at Marple Newtown got me thinking about doing a 'By the Numbers' post. First, the Tigers' Soutiri Sapnas knocked down five 3-pointers. For being a slasher who drives the lane, that's an unreal amount. Second, there was a time in the third quarter when Marple had more 3-pointers as a team (7) than 2-point field goals (6).

Here are some of my other findings from a night of Delaware County boys basketball action:
2 - Wins Ridley needs to clinch the Central League crown, after beating Upper Darby tonight.
5 - Number of Haverford High scorers to reach double figures. That's NBA caliber, right there.
7 - Number of games (and losses) for the Haverford School in Inter-Ac play.
10 - Blocked shots recorded by Glen Mills' Aaric Murray, who posted a triple-double in the Bulls' win over Penn Wood.
10 - Consecutive Del Val League crowns won by Chester High. Kudos to the Clips for maintaining their reign of the league for the past decade.
14 - Conestoga's biggest lead over Marple Newtown, which overcame the deficit only to lose to the Pioneers.
26 - Points scored by Ridley's Shamar Harris, posting a new career-high in the process.

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.

Scoring 20 points per game is not enough to make Marple Newtown sophomore Soutiri Sapnas smile. Sapnas is pretty darn competitive and wants to win.

His performance Friday night in a 61-58 loss to Upper Darby proved the fact that he does not like losing. After the game, Sapnas overlooked his own 32-point effort and instead chose to focus on improving the Tigers' chances of winning.

"Yeah it's great to lead the team (in scoring), but I'd rather do it in a win," said Sapnas, who scored a career-high 34 points last month against Friends Central. "We're staying in games and cutting down leads but we can't get it all together. ...We're close."

Sapnas is the only sophomore among the county's top 25 scorers, ranking fifth with a per-game average of 20.2 points. For more on Sapnas, read a profile story on him from earlier in the season.

And for more on Upper Darby's win Friday over Marple Newtown, pick up today's Daily Times.

On another note, basketball fans can rejoice! Eight games, including a nearly-full Del Val League slate, will be played Saturday -- including Karon Burton (pictured above) and Chester. What's my pick for game of the day? Garnet Valley at Academy Park, 3 p.m. GV's Tim Lang and J.J. Rapczynski are a fun duo to watch.