One Down(er), Four to Go: Aces Reflect on Scranton, Look Ahead to Red Land

Heading into their March 12 PIAA Class AAAA first round state playoff game against Scranton (in, of all places, Scranton) Aces' head coach Gregg Downer admitted to a reporter that after scrutinizing tape of the Knights' most recent game, he saw no exploitable weaknesses in the District 2 champs.

In the intervening period though, he apparently found a few.

Lower Merion held Scranton to two points in the first period and three in overtime in knocking off the Knights 44-42 to advance to the state's final 16, where they'll face Red Land in Reading Wednesday at 6 p.m..

"We had a game plan, which was to slow down the game, and we executed it very well," Downer explained before the Aces Monday practice. "The score was 8-2 after the first quarter, 25-15 at halftime... I thought if we had any chance, we would have to win the game with the score in the 40s. The underdog mindset and slowing down the game, making it a lesser possession game, is what worked for us."

Defensively, the Aces keyed in on the perimeter in general and Knight junior wing Terry Turner in particular. The two Aces tasked with shutting down the explosive Turner, Scranton's leading scorer, were senior guards Darius Hall and Colin Eisenstaedt. Their success was one of the sparks that carried the Aces.

"That kid has 1300 points as a junior, and Darius covered him, Colin covered him, and long story short, he got a very hard-earned 16 points. They are a team that just bombs in threes and they hit one the entire game," said Downer.

"I'm always ready for the challenge, and playing DI [caliber] players gets me up," said Darius Hall, who in addition to his defensive efforts was also, as the point guard, charged with dictating the pace of the Aces' offense.

Eisenstaedt said the key to stopping Turner was limiting his chances.

"It was just sticking with the game plan, concentrating on not letting him touch the ball. I just made sure I didn't lose him at any point," said the defensive specialist, who added that the low score was "my kind of game."

On the other end of the court the Aces were paced by sophomore forward Raheem Hall and, in a bit of a surprise, little used center Yohanny Dalembert. The two combined for 23 points.

Dalembert, who as the half-brother of former-Sixer Sam Dalembert has something of a basketball pedigree, came in when starter Darryl Reynolds got in early foul trouble and acquitted himself nicely for the Aces.

"Yohanny had a tremendous shift for us. Darryl got two quick fouls, and he went in and was great. That was a real boost. He had two fifteen-footers and an and-one," Downer said.

Raheem Hall's success came as less of a surprise. The sophomore, fresh off being named to the District 1 All-Tournament Team by The Philadelphia Inquirer, scored 16 to lead Lower Merion and also contributed nine rebounds and four steals to the effort.

"He's just got a savvy ability to make the key steal. Find the key hoop. He's in many ways emerging right before our eyes. We were down four points, and it was not looking good, and right out of nowhere he had a huge steal and a layup. He's a guy who the bright lights don't bother," Downer said about his rising sophomore.

"I was just getting to the hole and finishing. That was basically it," shrugged the younger of the Aces' Halls.

He said the secret to his big game exploits is simple: forget it's a big game.

"I just treat everything like a regular game. Just play your game and forget all the other stuff. Don't let it distract you."

Senior Mike Buchwald, who chipped in four points to the winning effort, pointed to another factor that pushed the Aces over the top: the fans.

"Scranton fans had the whole stands to themselves. But there was a track up around the court and we had fifty fans in it. And they were just as loud as their fans, if not louder. There was one play where it was their foul shot, and it was on their side of the court. Our fans were running around, making noise, and he missed it. That could have been the difference in the game," the senior said.

As big a win as it was though, the time to celebrate it has come and gone. Wednesday at 6 p.m. they face a Red Land team every bit as good as the one they just knocked off. The Aces are confident though. They know they belong.

"We have so many good players," said Eisenstaedt, a senior eager to protract his high school career. "We have no standout guy who scores 30 points a night, but we have a lot of really good talented players who can play every night."

"From here on out, every win is our biggest win," added Buchwald.