In case you didn't pick up the Sunday Times, the Daily Times sports staff was ALL over the District One Class AAAA, AAA and A playoffs. We had a writer at all six boys basketball postseason games.

We also had staff photographer at a few of them. Here's Bob Gurecki's view from the baseline:


Marple Newtown's Soutiri Sapnas drives past a Harriton defender Wednesday during the Tigers' District One Class AAA first-round victory.


Penncrest's Rodney Duncan eludes Plymouth-Whitemarsh's C.J. Aiken Saturday in the Lions' loss to the Colonials in a District One Class AAAA quarterfinal.


Chester's Rondae Jefferson tries to bring in an offensive rebound in the Clippers' District One Class AAAA quarterfinal loss to Souderton.

Wednesday's win was big for Marple Newtown. How big? After taking down Harriton, 71-61, a throng of Marple fans - who wouldn't stop screaming throughout the game's duration - emptied the stands and occupied space on the floor.

But it's not over yet. The No. 8 Tigers (11-12) have a huge test looming Saturday in the quarterfinals of the District One Class AAA tournament, in top-seeded Holy Ghost Prep.

Here's what those around Marple's program had to say about their upcoming opponent:
Head coach Gerry Doemling: "They know what's coming up. We'll be ready. We know how good Holy Ghost is, but we also know that when we're playing our best, we can play with anyone. Other than St. Joe's Prep, we've been in every game this year.

Senior forward Ryan Hanley: "We've just got to keep playing hard. We have Holy Ghost next. People were predicted us to play for the championship. We knew we'd have to play them at some point. Might as well get it out of the way.

Senior guard Soutiri Sapnas (pictured): "They're the next team on the schedule. It's as simple as that."

Sapnas might have seemed like a man of few words, but that's only because he doesn't usually talk about upcoming opponents. He lets his play do the talking. And against Harriton, Sapnas dropped in 36. He'll need another game like that Saturday if the Tigers expect to beat the Firebirds.

For you Delco basketball fans out there looking to get caught up on some of the county's finest who have moved onto college, this semi-regular feature is for you. Today, we take a peak at Rahlir Jefferson:


It's not often that a freshman on Temple coach Fran Dunphy's squad gets minutes. But in Rahlir Jefferson's situation, he isn't just playing; he's making a difference.

The 2009 Chester graduate and All-Delco forward, Jefferson averages 16 minutes a game for the 16th-ranked Owls. He's become a defensive specialist, checking into the game late to lock down on the opposition's best scorer. Despite playing only 300 minutes, Jefferson is second on the team with 13 steals, and also fills out the stat sheet with 3.8 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.0 blocks.

Who knows? With the way he and the Owls (16-3) are playing, we might be talking about Jefferson deep into March.

But, hey -- this post isn't just about the past. Here's a closer look at some of the action from Wednesday night:

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It may be a couple months - and with less on the line - but Chester got some revenge on Williamsport.

The Clippers (8-3) easily handled the Millionaires in a game on a neutral court, at Coatesville High, as part of the Mid-Atlantic Shootout. Chester lost to Williamsport last winter in the second round of the PIAA Class AAAA playoffs.

Erikk Wright, a sophomore, continues to impress. He had 12 points and 15 boards. Tavaune Griffin had seven rebounds and three blocks and Mo Nelson led the way with 15 points

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EXTRA BOUNCES
---Five of Upper Darby's eight losses have come by two possessions or fewer. Count the Royals' 44-43 loss to Springfield tonight among them. The Cougars' Adam Washington had 15 for the victors.
---Radnor, which scored 12 points in the first quarter, scored only 11 in the second half of its 37-29 loss to Ridley.
---Marple Newtown's Soutiri Sapnas, already the leading scorer in Delco, filled up the rim with 46 points in an 80-74 loss to Conestoga. Sapnas, the Tigers' all-time and single-season scoring champ, fell short of his 49-point career high, however.

There were only three games Wednesday. Allow me to take you beyond the box score for each of them:

CHESTER 69, CHICHESTER 47
In the Del Val League opener for both teams, this was always Chester's game - even if Chi led, 15-13, after one quarter. Four Clippers hit for double figures - Kareem and Laquan Robinson, Erikk Wright and Darius Collins. And Wright, though I'll need to check on this, fell one rebound shy of a double-double in his seventh straight game. The Eagles are good, and better than they have been in recent years, but the Clippers are still the Clippers.

ARCHBISHOP CARROLL 74, LANSDALE CATHOLIC 44
Eight games in, we're finally starting to see how balanced Carroll's team is. Matt Donaldson, who has very limited hoops experience, bullied LC for 11 boards. I have yet to see him in person but Yosef Yacob (10 points, four steals) is looking solid. And Ben Mingledough had 22 points, a career-best. LC never stood a chance. And that's before you count All-Delco D.J. Irving and Juan'ya Green, who had 12 and 16 points, respectively.

EPISCOPAL ACADEMY 48, GERMANTOWN FRIENDS 33
Even with star center Isaiah Baker feeling ill and missing the game, the Churchmen rolled. Taylor Wright is beginning to prove that he's a threat you can't leave open on the perimeter, with his three 3-pointers. And three others scored in double figures.

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One thing I forgot to bring up didn't happen Wednesday. It was part of Tuesday's action.

Penncrest barely snuck past Marple Newtown, 58-57, using a pair of free throws by Matt Atkinson with 7.5 seconds remaining. The thing about Atkinson, the First-Team All-Central League quarterback pick in 2009, was that he hadn't scored all game prior to stepping to the line.

Also, the senior limited Marple stud two guard Soutiri Sapnas to a rather pedestrian 23 points, which almost has become an off night for the senior.

"Soutiri got two looks in the last six-and-a-half seconds and he missed on both," said Penncrest coach Mike Doyle. "Matty did a great job. He didn't worry about scoring - he had zero - and he hit those shots. The gym was rocking. It was close to standing-room only here and it was a great high school experience."

Part of what I love about high school hoops is the atmosphere. Sounds like it was a good one at Kaufman Gymnasium.

Friday, we kicked into the new year with the first installment of a question-and-answer session with Archbishop Carroll All-Delco D.J. Irving. Here's the final helping of my interview with Irving:

Q: I see your (Boston University) hat. Have you been in contact with the coaches?
A: Yeah, they keep telling me they can't wait for me to get up there. They tell me they kind of need me right now. They're struggling because they don't have anybody who can get to the basket. It's all shooters up there.

Q: I talked to Soutiri (Sapnas, Marple Newtown's senior) earlier about coaches telling him he's not big enough, not strong enough for Division I. You heard that, too, early on. Any advice for guys like that?
A: I think he's a Division I player because of his ability to score the basketball. He's not getting the looks he should because he's 6-1 and he's not really a point guard. He's a two. He can score flat out and that's enough to get him D-I.

Q: What team in the county is your dream matchup?
A: Penn Wood, because I like going against Tyree (Johnson, the reigning Daily Times' Player of the Year). He brings the best out of me, and I bring the best out of him. We usually go at it any time we can. And I would love to play against Chester at Chester High. That would be a dream. I don't know why they're not on our schedule. I heard a rumor that they don't like playing teams that have kids from Chester. It's me, Yosef (Yacob) and Anthony Butler. We're all from Chester.

We all make them, these things we call new year's resolutions. We resolve ourselves to be better, more committed, more determined to something, anything. But we never follow through.

That changes now.

It's the early going of the boys basketball season, and it's been tough finding chances to blog about the teams and players in Delaware County. But I'm vowing right now to fix that in 2010. (Question: Is it twenty-ten, or two-thousand-and-ten? I need to get that answered post haste.)

Anyway, here's a quick-hitting recap of Wednesday's games:
---Penncrest (6-0) is Delco's lone unbeaten boys basketball team. The Lions won their own tournament behind 27 points from Andrew Radomicki. Is it just me or is someone different stepping up every night for coach Mike Doyle? One night it's Radomicki. The next it's Rodney Duncan, or Matt Atkinson, or Ian Campbell. That's a well-balanced team.

---Marple Newtown's Soutiri Sapnas put up 47 points in a one-point loss to Girard College. It was the third time in his career that Sapnas has eclipsed the 40-point barrier. His career-best was in the second-to-last game of the regular season a year ago, when he tossed in 49.

---The Class AAA teams in Delco are all over the place. Springfield wins four in a row to start the year, then loses four straight. Strath Haven, on a four-game winning streak, opened 2009 at 1-3. And Carroll needed overtime in its first two games.

More to come in the days to follow. Happy New Year, everyone.