Aces beat Conestoga 59-42, advance to Round Two of the District 1

Justin McFadden ’14 had another strong all-around performance for the Aces.

The Aces turned on the heat after a sluggish start and beat Conestoga 59-42
in round one of the PIAA District 1 Playoffs. LM jumped out to a 9-2 lead in the
first quarter and never trailed, but it wasn’t until a 16-3 fourth quarter that
they finally put the Pioneers away for good.

JaQuan Johnson ’14 led all scorers with 18 points, playing with his usual
passion and grit. The Aces’ speedy junior point guard was a menace on both sides
of the ball, relentlessly attacking the rim for layups, knocking down a
second-half three and coming up with a team-high four steals. BJ Johnson ’13 (11
points), Yohanny Dalembert ’13 (11 points, 4 blocks), Justin McFadden ’14 (9
points, 7 rebounds), Raheem Hall ’13 (6 points) and Corey Sherman ’15 (5 points)
rounded out the scoring. McFadden had six straight points during the Aces’
decisive final frame.

LM had numerous chances to break the game open through the first three
quarters, but it appeared there was a lid on the basket. Layup attempts and easy
jumpers — shots the Aces normally make — rimmed out. During one second quarter
sequence, the Aces had six consecutive looks off offensive rebounds, including
two dunk attempts and still could not convert. Thankfully, strong defense and
rebounding kept Conestoga at arm’s length until the Aces got in sync. LM held
Conestoga’s leading scorer, Zach Yonda, to just three points. Credit the
underdog Pioneers, however — playing with nothing to lose — for a solid game
plan and scrappy effort.

It’s been said that the mark of a good team is one that can still win when
not playing at its best. That would certainly describe the Aces on Friday night.
Although it wasn’t pretty, any win at this time of year is a big one as winners
advance and losers go home.
LM returns to action on Tuesday night against another Central League foe —
the Penncrest Lions. Penncrest beat Spring-Ford 49-47 in other round one action.
Tip-off Tuesday is 7 PM in the Bryant Gymnasium.
The Central League finished 6-1 in the opening round of Districts, with the
Aces, Ridley, Upper Darby, Harriton, Strath Haven and Penncrest all advancing.
Fifteen of the top sixteen seeds won on Friday, though most of the games were
highly competitive. Only four games, including the Aces’ win over Conestoga,
were decided by margins of more than 16 points.