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#3 CHELTENHAM 68, #6 COATESVILLE 61
The Cheltenham community has been hit with yet another case of Panther fever.
On the heels of the football team’s state runner-up finish last fall, the basketball team is creating some magic of its own, and the Panthers have once again captured the imagination of the community.
The ticket line for Friday night’s district quarterfinal game against the Red Raiders began forming at five o’clock, and the stands were packed long before the opening tap with the overflow lining the space at both end lines.
“It’s definitely a big boost of energy and excitement,” Cheltenham sophomore point guard Justin Moore said of the fan support. “Tonight it was a big help, cheering us on and giving us energy, so we could keep playing hard. They definitely have been a huge support for us and we thank them for that.”
The two high-flying teams kept the place rocking from the opening tap until the final horn. When the dust had settled, it was the Panthers holding off the hard-charging Red Raiders for a win that vaulted them into Tuesday night’s District One 6A semifinals at Temple University where they will face #7 Bensalem in an All-SOL semifinal.
“I have been thinking about this since the beginning of the season,” Cheltenham senior Jaelen McGlone said. “A couple of years ago (2017) we went to Temple and we actually lost to Coatesville (79-58), so it was good to get the redemption back.”
McGlone certainly did his part to ensure that there would be no reruns of that 2017 loss to the Red Raiders, scoring a team-high 22 points – 16 in a dominant first-half performance. He was a beast under the boards with 14 rebounds and also handed out six assists.
“Jaelen put up a meme on his Instagram story the other day and said it was his playoff Jaelen,” Fleury said. “Basketball-wise he’s locked in.”
“I just know that if I play hard, my teammates will play hard,” McGlone said. “So I just wanted to go out there and just keep giving it my all for us to get the win.”
McGlone had six points in an 8-2 run late in the first quarter that put the Panthers on top 14-10. A Jhamir Brickus foul shot made it a three-point game after one quarter.
Brickus – who scored a game-high 30, 23 in the second half – opened the second quarter with a basket that pulled the Raiders to within one, but Brandon Scott scored on a putback. Again, the Raiders answered, this time with a Jaelen Brickus basket, but another McGlone basket was followed by Sean Emfinger burying a pair at the foul line. When McGlone buried a three midway through the quarter, the Panthers led 23-15. His second 3-pointer of the quarter upped the Panthers lead to 32-21.
The Red Raiders trailed 32-23 after a Jhamir Brickus basket with 22 seconds remaining in the half. Moore, however, delivered yet another play that ignited the crowd, dribbling time off the clock just over midcourt and then – as the final seconds ticked off the scoreboard clock – made a move on his defender and drove to the hole. Despite being fouled, Moore made the basket and converted the foul shot, sending the Panthers into halftime with a 35-23 lead.
“It was definitely a big boost for us going into halftime and coming out of halftime. It gave us a lot of energy,” Moore said. “The crowd was definitely excited.
“I just saw him step up on me off the screen, he reached, I put it behind my back and went strong to the basket and tried to finish through contact.”
Cheltenham opened up a 41-26 lead after Moore buried a pair at the foul line three minutes into the third quarter, and it looked as though the Panthers might be able to coast to the finish line.
That was not the case, although they still led 48-37 heading into the final frame. The Panthers endured a two-minute scoring drought to open the fourth quarter, misfiring on the front end of back-to-back one-and-ones and allowing the Raiders – who trimmed the Panthers’ lead to 48-45 – to crawl back into the game.
Mike McClain broke the Panthers’ scoring drought when he sank both ends of a one-and-one, and the Panthers led 52-45 when Moore scored on a fast break off a Raider miss. Again, the Raiders pulled to within three, but Travis Coleman turned a Moore pass into an easy bucket and then came up with a steal. He sank one-of-two at the line to give the Panthers a 55-49 lead midway through the quarter.
The Raiders, however, refused to go away, cutting the Panthers’ lead to one (56-55) when Donovan Brickus completed a three-point play with 2:56 remaining.
The Panthers came up empty on a pair of foul shots, but after a Raider miss, Coleman scored on a nifty shot off the dribble to put the Panthers on top 58-55.
“Travis Coleman pull-up – that was very Westbrook-like,” Fleury said.
The Raiders would get no closer than three the rest of the way, and Emfinger put an exclamation point on the win with a dunk as time was about to expire.
The players acknowledged there’s still plenty of work to be done.
“We just have to get better in our press break – make sure we’re strong with the ball, make sure we’re confident dribbling the ball and not turning it over because it’s going to get harder and harder the farther we go,” McGlone said.
As the point guard, Moore had the ball in his hands a whole lot down the stretch.
“After I made a couple of mistakes, Pat (Fleury) pulled me to the side and told me that I got this, play through it and just get on my teammates so we can finish out the game strong – be strong with the ball and make free throws,” “Moore said.
The sophomore point guard was 4-for-6 at the foul line in the quarter and scored eight of his 16 points in the frame. He dished out eight assists and also had three rebounds.
“It wasn’t his best game, but as a sophomore, he made enough plays and stayed confident, and that’s what I want all of them to do,” Fleury said.
Coleman and Emfinger both added nine points for the Panthers. Coleman also had four steals and seven rebounds and Emfinger had nine rebounds. McClain also had nine rebounds to go along with three steals.
“This was a collective effort,” Fleury said. “I’m just happy for all the fans, our community. This is such a great place. You see the energy. I’m just happy that we get to go to Temple.
“I think of coach Nolan who does the (scorer’s) table for us, coach Eveslage, coach Timms, coach Wilson, coach Scott, all of them. I feel as though this is for the community. This is so much bigger than us.
“Our creed is ‘Scholarship, Championship, Service.’ We knew that one of the CHS’s was going to Temple. We wanted to be the one that was going. It’s amazing for our community, for our school, for the families. It’s so much bigger, it’s amazing.”
Cheltenham (23-3, 14-0 SOL) will take on #7 Bensalem in the early game at Temple University on Tuesday.
Game Summary brought to you by
Coatesville 11-12-14-24 61
Cheltenham 14-21-13-20 68
Coatesville (61) – Donovan Brickus 0 2-3 2; Dapree Bryant 2 3-5 7; Jhamir Brickus 12 5-11 30; Jaeden Brickus 2 1-2 6; Stewart 2 1-1 5; John Proctor 3 4-4 11; Totals 21 16-26 61.
Cheltenham (68) – Travis Coleman 4 1-2 9; Brandon Scott 2 0-2 4; Justin Moore 3 10-13 16; Saleem Payne 2 0-0 4; Jaelen McGlone 9 1-4 22; Mike McClain 1 2-5 4; Sean Emfinger 2 5-6 9; Totals 23 19-32 68
3-point goals: Coatesville – Jhamir Brickus, Jaeden Brickus, John Proctor, Cheltenham – Jaelen McGlone 3.