Sun Valley boys cap turnaround with win over West Chester East and District 1 5A championship
“We knew this [senior] group had a chance to be good, [but] we didn’t know we’d be wearing gold medals around our neck,” coach Steve Maloney said.
When Steve Maloney left Strath Haven as an assistant to take over the Sun Valley boys’ basketball coaching job, people questioned the decision.
Four years later, nobody is questioning Maloney after he guided the Vanguards to their first District 1 Class 5A championship with a 65-54 triumph over top-seeded West Chester East on Saturday at Temple.
“We knew this [senior] group had a chance to be good, [but] we didn’t know we’d be wearing gold medals around our neck,” Maloney said. “Our first goal was to win the Ches-Mont [League]. We shared it. Second goal was to get to Temple, and once we got here, try to win it.”
Two years ago, Sun Valley only had six wins. Senior guard Vinny DeAngelo knew something special was brewing after the Vanguards qualified for states last year by crushing West Chester Rustin, a team they had lost to twice in the regular season.
“That’s when we played our best, and I knew, at our best, we couldn’t be beat,” DeAngelo said.
Sun Valley, a No. 6 seed, couldn’t be beaten Saturday as the Vanguards went on a 10-3 run to start a second half that was capped by a Marvin Freeman bucket.
But the Vikings didn’t go away, and they took the lead, 37-36, with an 11-0 run of their own. Brenden Merten and M.J. Kushner each made a three during the run. With a senior-laden team, however, Maloney knew he could count on his guys to respond.
“We knew we could trust these guys to get us back out of the hole,” Maloney said. “Going to Chester last year in the Districts and going to the state tournament, they weren’t fazed by this atmosphere.”
As the Vanguards protected a one-point lead heading into the fourth quarter, free throw shooting became key. Sun Valley went 15-for-18 from the line, and DeAngelo scored eight of his 15 points from the line in the fourth quarter. Isaac Kennon, who finished with 17 points, went 5-for-6 from the line in the fourth.
Freeman paced Sun Valley with 18 points and hit a buzzer-beating three to give the Vanguards a 26-23 lead going into the second half. DeAngelo was held to four points in the first half. He averaged 30.3 ppg in the previous three District playoff games.
Freeman, also a senior, has been with DeAngelo and Maloney for all the highs and lows during his career.
“Last year, we lost our senior point guard. We’ve lost so many people, but we stayed [together], and we regrouped,” Freeman said. “We could have crumbled when they came back and took the lead. Every time they came back, we had an answer.”
Sun Valley 17 12 11 25 -- 65
West Chester East 18 8 13 15 -- 54
SV: Vinny DeAngelo 15, Billy Fisher 3, Marvin Freeman 18, Isaac Kennon 17, Lance Stone 7, Dom Valente 5.
WCE: Andrew Carr 12, Ben Delaney 6, M.J. Kushner 5, Brenden Merten 5, Tym Richardson 8, Gibby Trowery 18.