Youth serves Garnet Valley in win over Ridley

RIDLEY TWP. — The clock showed 1:51 when Greg Vlassopoulos, Garnet Valley’s leading scorer this young season, attempted his first field goal of the third quarter. Yet in that first six-plus minutes, as the senior wing turned his attention elsewhere on the court Friday night, the Jags saw their lead balloon from seven to an ultimately decisive 15 points.

The reason, as a boisterous Garnet Valley student section eagerly pointed out, was a pair of players who are sophomores.

Neel Beniwal scored a career-high 20 points, and Carl Schaller added 13 as Garnet Valley hung on late in the face of Ridley’s incessant press for a 64-55 Central League win.

Beniwal and Schaller combined for 15 points in the third quarter, one more than the Green Raiders scored. The result was a 20-point edge that was whittled to five in the fourth quarter by the awakening Ridley shooters.

Beniwal hit four 3-pointers, including a dagger early in the fourth as he provided the first five points of that frame. Schaller, the 5-7 point guard, started the second half with a triple from a Beniwal feed, then reciprocated to Beniwal on the next trip.

So early in their young careers, they’ve developed a rapport that allows Schaller’s shiftiness and Beniwal’s length to shine on the perimeter.

“It’s really nice because Carl, even though he’s small, he can score and he can get to the hoop and get fouled,” Beniwal said. “And he can make really good passes to us and we can shoot a three.”

It lessens the focus on the senior leaders of the Jags (3-0, 2-0 Central). Vlassopoulos was outstanding as usual with a game-high 21 points, 11 in the first half, to go with nine rebounds. But Cade Brennan was held in check offensively, scoring just two points and grabbing 13 rebounds.

Those are the only two in the seniors’ category for coach Mike Brown, so the season’s progress will largely be determined by how quickly players like Schaller and Beniwal become steady contributors.

“Having Carl and Neel around is great,” Vlassopoulos said. “Two young kids, and I don’t think anybody predicted they would come in and show and produce the way they’re producing. If guys are making shots, you can always count on those guys to step up, get to the rim, make free throws, do everything to help us get that win.”

“It’s really good because Greg trusts everyone on this team to shoot the ball and knows we can score,” Beniwal said. “It’s really nice to know that this team is good and we can work together and score whenever we want.”

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Garnet Valley’s Neel Beniwal, right, shoots over Ridley’s Nasir Santiago Friday night. Beniwal scored 20 points to lead the Jaguars to a 64-55 win over the Green Raiders. (Pete Bannan/Digital First Media)