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Sports

Henderson Makes Ches-Mont Post Season

The Warriors rallied past Downingtown West to clinch the number two seed.

The Henderson High School basketball team clinched a spot in the Ches-Mont Final Four Tournament --  and a rematch with Rustin --  by outlasting Downingtown West, 70-63, on the strength of a season-best performance from junior forward T.J. White Tuesday night at the Whippets’ gym.

White bulled his way to 19 points and 11 rebounds, giving the Whippets fits in the paint all night long as Henderson registered its eighth victory in Ches-Mont National Division play, securing second place (behind Coatesville) and grabbing the number 2 seed in the Final Four Tournament set for Saturday at Oxford. 

The Warriors will meet Rustin, the American Division #1 seed with Coatesville (#1 National) and Octorara (number two American) squaring off in the other semifinal.

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“I’m more concerned right now about Thursday (regular season finale vs. West Chester East),” Henderson coach Leon Bell offered when asked about a rematch with intra-city rival Rustin, which beat the Warriors for the third straight year last week.  “We didn’t play as well as we could have the first time and may want to do some things differently.”

Because of Downingtown West’s tenacity, that Henderson-Rustin rematch was not secured until just seconds remained in an entertaining contest. 

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It wasn’t until early in the fourth quarter that Henderson’s McCormick twins, Chas and Jason, combined for nine points during a 14-5 run.  White gave the Warriors their largest lead of the night with an offensive rebound put back at the 6:20 mark for a 12-point lead.

“We continue to take the ball to the basket,” stated Bell, clearly pleased with the performance of
White and with his team’s ability to get to the free throw line. 

Henderson converted 19 of 24 free throws in the first half (but went 27 of 47 for the game) in forging a four-point halftime lead.  As usual, Henderson got a key contribution from Austin Constable, who had 18 points, and from point guard Des Alston, who delivered seven points and seven rebounds.

Now 14-6 overall, Bell knows he’ll have an unfavorable seed in the District Tournament but is upbeat as he faces his final post-season as a high school head coach. 

“We’ll be ready,” said the veteran coach, who announced his retirement last month.  “We’ve played through some tough times this year and we have some work to do.  But we’ll be ready.”

Entering the game, Downingtown West still had a shot at that Ches-Mont National Division number two seed but had to win and then get help later in the week. 

On a night when they honored graduating seniors Jashaun Fontanez, Greg Martin and Mark Nelson, the Whippets gave it their best shot.  Fontanez led all scorers with 21 points and junior Andrew Bargmann added 18 as the Whippets never let the game slip away.  Jimmy Scott hit three three-point shots in the fourth quarter to keep the game exciting and Henderson was finally able to exhale when Jason McCormick made it a three possession game with a free throw with 8.5 seconds left.

In the junior varsity game, Downingtown West topped Henderson, 60-37, behind nine points from Greg Lattanzi and eight each from Grant Hall, Brandon Carson, Blair Williams and Shawn Clements.  Chris Richardson tallied 14 for Henderson with Ryan Hooven and Ryan Mundy contributing five each.

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