Any thoughts that the visiting Royals would be able to stay with the high-flying Panthers were quickly put to rest

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#3  CHELTENHAM 83, #19 UPPER DARBY 57

Cheltenham led 8-4 early in Tuesday’s contest, but any thoughts that the visiting Royals would be able to stay with the high-flying Panthers were quickly put to rest. By the end of the first quarter, the Panthers led 15-4 and extended that to 22-4 midway through the second quarter. They took a commanding 44-17 lead into halftime.

“Defensively, our team rotated well and got stops,” Cheltenham coach Patrick Fleury said. “I think from that point they were able to manufacture scores by sharing the ball and making a play for themselves or their teammates.

“There was a point in the game where it was 8-4 in the first quarter and they went zone. Saleem Payne hit a three that put it at 11-4, and that was the start of our run and we were able to sustain it. We defended well so we were able to keep them at arm’s length.”

Sophomore Justin Moore led the Panthers with 19 points to go along with four steals and three assists. Jaelen McGlone and David Pope both had 13. Brandon Scott finished with 10 points and three steals. Travis Coleman added nine points, four steals, three assists and three rebounds. Saleem Payne contributed seven points and three steals while Mike McClain had three steals, three assists and five rebounds. Sean Emfinger had three rebounds to go along with four points.

“David Pope gave us great energy off the bench,” Fleury said. “Justin Moore led us with 19, and Brandon Scott gave us a great lift with 10. He was all over, making plays.

“Travis Coleman gave us great energy on the ball, which started that (early) run defensively. It was definitely a total team effort. In the midst of the second quarter when we went with a couple of our other guys, Brandon Hawkins was able to come in and get a couple rebounds to sustain possessions when we were out of sorts, but with multiple possessions to get back into our sets. He actually ended up finishing the bucket later on which took the wind out of their team. They kept fighting, but we were able to make shots and get stops consistently tonight.”

Upper Darby and Cheltenham both scored 40 second-half points, but by that time, the outcome had long since been decided.

Cheltenham will host #6 Coatesville in a quarterfinal game Friday. The Red Raiders defeated #22 Plymouth Whitemarsh 77-60.

“I’m happy – we’re in states, and that was a goal,” Fleury said. “That was the main thing. We felt like we should have last year with the team that we had.

Game Summary brought to you by

Upper Darby   4-13-17-23   57

Cheltenham     15-29-19-20   83

Upper Darby (57) – AJ Tucker 14, CJ Dabbs 4, Mo Kante 7, Jamere Kosh 3, Ivan Joshuasville 18, Onyekachi Nzeh 11.

Cheltenham (83) – Travis Coleman 9, Brandon Scott 10, Justin Moore 19, Brandon Hawkins 2, Saleem Payne 7, David Pope 13, Jaelen McGlone 13, Mike McClain 2, Sean Emfinger 4, Nasir Andino 2, Lou Liedtka 2.