Steve Lewis is back. It's not like he went anywhere; he still lives in Swarthmore. But the former Strath Haven boys basketball coach has been installed as an assistant at Penn Wood.

After heading the Panthers for four years, Lewis (pictured, with Haven 1,000-point scorer Calvin Newell) was removed from the team's top spot March 30 after recording a 34-65 record. He directed the Panthers to a 15-12 record last season, which featured a District One Class AAA runner-up finish and a berth in the second round of the PIAA tournament. It was their deepest postseason run in 12 seasons.

Lewis joins a talented coaching staff at Penn Wood, where he will serve under Clyde Jones. The others on Jones' PIAA Class AAAA championship-winning staff are Matt Lindeman, Derek Jones, Con Kirkaldy, Dwight Maness and school AD Rap Curry.

Last week, I blogged about the inadequacy of the PIAA when it allowed Glen Mills to host a play-in game to the Class AAAA state bracket.

And here we go again.

In Tuesday's second round of the Class AAA playoffs, the game between District One's Strath Haven and District Three's York Suburban was officiated by . . . a District Three referee crew from Berks County.

York Suburban won the game, 59-45. In the contest, York went to the foul line for 20 attempts and Haven had 10 free throws. The Trojans were whistled for seven fouls and the Panthers were called for 18, including a technical. Clearly, we have a couple discrepancies on our hands.

Now, I don't want to be the one to call out the PIAA this time of the year. And by no means do I want to insinuate that the referee crew was making calls to favor York. I saw the exact referee trio at the Archbishop Carroll/Phoenixville game last week, and they were just about as fair and thorough as I've seen all season.

And with 64 playoff games across the boys and girls hoops scenes taking place in a 48-hour span, it’s safe to assume that Pennsylvania's governing body for high-school athletics is probably stretched a bit thin.

But… when your season is on the line, a line has to be drawn.

"I don't think it came down to that," said Strath Haven coach Steve Lewis. "I don’t think my team made the right decisions, the ones necessary to win the game."

Added star guard Calvin Newell: "I wish they would have let us play the game and made it a little closer (in foul calls)." When Newell, pictured, was informed that a District Three crew called his final high school game, he said, "It happens."

The fact is, it shouldn't. The PIAA should know better, so as to preserve on-court talent as the dividing line between teams, and not the scheduling of a referee crew.

Delaware County had a rough showing in Friday's opening round of the District One Class AAAA playoffs. Seven local teams made the bracket, and only three moved on to the next round:

• At Upper Darby, Tre Davis (pictured) and the No. 16 Royals could not keep up with Souderton's A.J. Picard, who shot 8-for-11 from the floor. Harry Chaykun reports.
• At Penn Wood, the No. 3 Patriots were on a mission to make quick work of No. 30 Chichester. Mission accomplished. Matt Smith reports. And Bob Gurecki chips in with video coverage.
• At Chester, the No. 1 Clippers were able to regroup after a difficult week in which freshman point guard Kareem Robinson was shot twice. It was an emotional win. Your favorite blogger was on the scene.
• ELSEWHERE: No. 12 Glen Mills advanced, No. 10 Penncrest was upset and No. 22 Radnor could not spring a road win. The roundup.
  

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When the District One Class AAA and A brackets were unveiled, Strath Haven coach Steve Lewis was a little apprehensive. Reason being, his No. 6 Panthers have to do battle in the first-round with an 11th-seeded Upper Moreland team that "smacked us in the mouth," he said.

More on the brackets.

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Coming Sunday: The Daily Times has you (and the Catholic League playoffs) covered. Sports editor Rob Parent was on hand for Archbishop Carroll's win over West Catholic. A Northeast Philadelphia guy - born and raised - I didn't have to travel too far for Monsignor Bonner's loss to North Catholic, which was held at Archbishop Ryan. We'll have the latest in Sunday's edition.

Strath Haven's Calvin Newell went off for 39 points against Haverford last Thursday. Not only was the point total a county-best for the year (Newell previously had scored 38 points three times), the senior guard breached the 1,000 point plateau for his career.

Newell, who has scored 470 points this year for a 31.3 points-per-game average, needed 38 to reach the milestone. Above is a photo of Newell receiving an honorary basketball from Haven coach Steve Lewis. Thank you to Wallingford resident Bob Quinn, who snapped the shot and submitted it to the Daily Times.