Boys Basketball: McCaffery: Close loss on big stage will benefit Ridley going forward

PHILADELPHIA — Nine buses rolled toward the Liacouras Center Wednesday night, each carrying a full load of Ridley fans, each stuffed with a full load of mystery.

Already having reaching the Final Four of the District One Class AAAA tournament, the Green Raiders were about to reveal whether they were there by accident, by skill, by good bracket fortune or some of each. Yet there was also the risk that as the No. 9 seed in the tournament, facing fourth-seeded and 24-2 Plymouth-Whitemarsh, that they would prove they did not belong at all.

But then Julian Wing buried a 3-pointer to force a tie at halftime, and then the Green Raiders rallied from four points down in the final minute to have two late chances to win, and then, both results were validated. Plymouth-Whitemarsh, yes, was the better team, winning, 44-41, to reach the tournament final. And Ridley, though redirected into a Friday consolation game at Pennsbury, would be a worthy, if not a dangerous state-tournament participant.

Click HERE to read the article.