District champion Lower Merion boys basketball team enjoying memorable ride

Ardmore >> The PIAA District 1 6A champion Lower Merion High School boys’ basketball team has enjoyed a memorable ride this winter.

The Aces (27-1) currently are on an 18-game win streak, and their only loss was a 65-62 defeat to Stow-Munroe Falls (Ohio) on Dec. 28, during a team trip to Arizona.

This season, Lower Merion has relied on a balanced attack. A trio of senior guards — John Mobley, Owen McCabe and Adam Herrenkohl — each are averaging 14 ppg. Also contributing are junior Carson Kasmer (10 ppg), senior Jayden Robinson (8 ppg) and senior Justin Mebane (5 ppg).

Herrenkohl, who played for the Aces’ junior varsity team as a sophomore, has developed into one of the most valuable players in the Central League this winter, averaging 5 assists per game, providing tough defense, and pulling down 10 rebounds in Lower Merion’s 57-49 win against Garnet Valley in the District 1 6A championship final.

“It’s been an amazing journey the past two months,” said Herrenkohl, who will be attending Baylor University in the fall. “At the end of the district final, it was just pure bliss – celebrating with my teammates, the coaches, the student section. We have just been working for this moment. All of us – managers, coaches, players — worked so hard to get here. …. I worked really hard every single day last summer with Owen (McCabe), trying to get better, and we see the results now.”

McCabe said, “We have a great group of guys, all 15 of them have bought in. Last summer, we built a lot of (team) chemistry and we’re seeing it this season. We’ve played with each other for a while, and we know each other’s tendencies. Our chemistry is clicking, and it’s fun.”

Mobley said, “I think the biggest key for us this season has definitely been our unity. Being with each other (dinner, movies, etc.) outside of the game helped our chemistry a lot, and it kind of shows on the court that we’re just clicking.

“We were clicking really well in early December too but when we went to Arizona we took a hard loss (to Stow-Munroe Falls) that honestly I think we needed. Before that game I don’t think we were fully mentally locked in, and it kind of caught us off-guard. Every good team needs some adversity to face, so after that loss we just knew that we needed to be consistent no matter who we were facing.”

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The Lower Merion boys basketball team gathers on the Liacouras Center court following their District 1 6A championship final victory Saturday. (photo courtesy of Eddie Levin)