Keith Pompey: Lower Merion back where it belongs

We should not have been surprised.

Lower Merion's Gregg Downer is one of Southeastern Pennsylvania's premier basketball coaches. Aces senior guard Greg Robbins is one of the state's top players. And Lower Merion is annually considered a PIAA Class AAAA state-championship contender.

But some of us were surprised when word spread that Lower Merion had defeated Penn Wood on Saturday night in the Kobe Bryant Classic at Norristown.

"Man, I didn't know that Lower Merion beat Penn Wood," said Nick Walker, a high school basketball fan who had attended the classic earlier Saturday. "I saw the score online Sunday morning. I was shocked!"

After watching the event's first two games, Walker left the gym in the middle of the Williamsport-Monsignor Bonner contest. Like some other fans, he expected Penn Wood to crush Lower Merion, and with other matters to attend to, he decided that the game wasn't worth watching.

Walker learned his lesson. He learned not to sleep on the Aces.

Matt McKenna's desperation 23-footer at the buzzer lifted Lower Merion, 47-44.

As a result, the Aces (14-4) climbed into The Inquirer's Southeastern Pennsylvania rankings for the first time this season. They are ninth, while Penn Wood (15-2) dropped four places to No. 10.

Lower Merion's victory wasn't the shocker that some of us made it out to be. We just overlooked the Aces. They have won 13 of their last 14 games, so they certainly didn't sneak up on the Patriots. They were just overshadowed by Chester, Pennsbury, Conestoga and Penn Wood.

Not anymore. The Aces are back in the limelight where they belong.

With a rematch with Conestoga tonight, Lower Merion has a chance to play spoiler for the second straight game. At 19-0, the sixth-ranked Pioneers are the area's lone undefeated team.

One of those victories came Dec. 16 over the Aces, 33-29. Lower Merion has played much better since then, so tonight's game at Conestoga will be interesting.

Penn Wood will look to regroup after Saturday's setback. History, however, isn't exactly on the Patriots' side as they entertain top-ranked Chester tonight.

The Clippers (15-1) have beaten their Del-Val League rivals 13 consecutive times. The Patriots' last triumph in the series came in February 2003.

The Primetime Shootout will be held this weekend at Villanova. The event will feature three games Friday. Fifth-ranked Neumann-Goretti will take on Penn Wood at 7:30 p.m. in a much-anticipated showdown. Immediately afterward, Chester will face second-ranked Roman Catholic in the headliner.

On Saturday, the first of six games will begin at 12:30 p.m. That day's headliner is a 2 p.m. contest between third-ranked Pennsbury and Norristown.

For more information, including tickets, visit

» READ MORE: www.primetimeshootout.net

Here is the schedule:

Friday:

Academy of the New Church vs. Bishop McNamara (Forestville, Md.), 6 p.m.; Penn Wood vs. Neumann-Goretti, 7:30; Chester vs. Roman Catholic, 9.

Saturday:

Our Savior New American (Centereach, N.Y.) vs. Northern Guilford (Greensboro, N.C.), 12:30 p.m.; Pennsbury vs. Norristown, 2; Lower Merion vs. Coatesville, 3:30; Camden Catholic (N.J.) vs. Malvern Prep, 5; Plymouth Whitemarsh vs. Holy Ghost Prep, 6:30; North Catholic vs. Jamesville-DeWitt (N.Y.), 8.