Boys Basketball: Conestoga stuns Downingtown West to clinch state playoff berth

DOWNINGTOWN >> For a furious 32 minutes, Tuesday night’s District 1 Class AAAA second round game between Downingtown West and Conestoga was an old fashioned slugfest. Every rebound and every loose ball was like a piece of raw meat in front of some hungry pit bulls. But in the end, the smaller and quicker Conestoga squad, led by point guard Daryl Caldwell, shattered Downingtown West’s dream of a district title as the Pioneers led start to finish and came away with a hard-fought 57-51 triumph.

The win puts Conestoga (19-7) into the PIAA Class AAAA Tournament for the third year in a row and into Friday night’s quarterfinal round at Lower Merion. Downingtown West now enters the playback round, where it will host Upper Dublin, and must win two games to get a spot in the state tournament.

“We got out early rhythm and built a seven-point lead at halftime,” Caldwell said. “And we needed that because we played the game at our pace and not theirs. All week the coaches talked about playing at our pace and getting a body on them under the boards because they were bigger than us and we did that tonight.”

Andrew Larkin also had 14 points for the Pioneers, including four long 3-pointers. The Pioneers shot 18 for 36 on the night and limited the taller Whippets (22-4) to just one shot at the basket. Jack Baker and Angus Mayock were the big men on the boards for Conestoga and the pair assigned to Downingtown West big man Josh Warren, who was held to just seven points, all in the second half.

“Angus and Jack did a great job on Warren,” Conestoga coach Mike troy said. “They are two of the unsung heroes for us and tonight I thought their defense and rebounding was outstanding against a a very big and talented team in Downingtown West.” Then, Scott Shapiro came off the Conestoga bench to score seven of his nine points in the second period to propel the Pioneers to a 27-20 halftime edge. The Whippets kept making runs at the Pioneers but could never tie the game. With Conestoga holding a 47-39 lead late in the fourth quarter, the Whippets made one last charge at the Conestoga lead. Warren scored in tight to make it a 47-41 game. Then, two straight times down the floor the Pioneers turned the ball over. Pat Kennedy drained a 3-pointer from the right side to make it a 47-44 game and Troy called for a timeout.

Click HERE to read the full article.