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By Scott Huff
Philadelphia – Plymouth Whitemarsh lost its PIAA Quad-A semi-final contest against Chesterlast Saturday when senior Jaylen Bond crumpled to the hardwood after a flagrant foul with 1:29 left in the quarterfinal victory over Red Land.
Huh?
Plymouth Whitemarsh actually lost to Chester on Wednesday when the Colonials were defeated by the Clippers 73-50. The contest was played before a huge crowd at the Hagan Arena on the campus of St. Joseph’s University. Bond – who missed the Chester game due to a back injury sustained in the vicious fall in the Red Land contest – walked on the court prior to the game in a red hooded sweatshirt and sweat pants.“With Jaylen out of the game, it basically became Hoosiers for us,” said Plymouth Whitemarsh head coach Jim Donofrio. “We have played the entire season with a design six or seven players playing in rotation, and when a player of his talent is not the floor it makes us vulnerable.
“We would have had to play a perfect game to beat Chester without Jaylen and Stephon (Baker),” added Donofrio as the gifted Baker was limited by a knee injury and played sparingly in the Chester loss. “That fall that Jaylen had on Saturday altered any real chance we had at a title run.
“Jaylen has a serious back injury – and when he said he couldn’t play, he couldn’t play,” continued Donofrio. “When you are 12 feet in the air and exposed like he was – you know that there a chance that he could be injured.”
Bond – who will take his talents to the University of Pittsburgh next season – spoke with eyes rimmed in tears after the game.
“I really wish that I could have helped the team compete tonight,” said Bond. “This was not the way that I wanted my career to end here – sitting on the bench watching. I tried to practice (with the injury), but I couldn’t do the things I needed to do to help the team.”Plymouth Whitemarsh competed with both desire and heart in the first three periods – and only trailed the brilliant Clippers by nine – 42-33. Colonial senior starters Sam Pygatt and Marcus Badger tried to patch the PW team together to make a miracle run.
However, it wasn’t going to happen.
Not against the likes of the high octane Clippers who completely blew the game apart in the fourth quarter to race to the win. Chester turned a somewhat competitive 50-39 lead into a 66-39 rout with a 16-0 run that featured six successive Colonial turnovers.
“That is how Chester plays,” said Pygatt – who scored a game-high 18 points for PW. “They make you play fast, and they can get you out of control.
“Losing this game really broke my heart,” added Pygatt. “If we were going to lose this game, Marcus (Badger) and I wanted to lose the game with both Jaylen and Stephon on the floor with us. Playing this game without them was like being on a desert without water.”
Chester – which will play Mount Lebanon in the PIAA Quad-A final on Saturday at Penn State University – showcased a very balanced attack. Maurice Nelson – brother of Orlando Magic guard Jameer Nelson – led the 
Clippers with 14 points. Chester had three other players score in twin digits.
Clippers with 14 points. Chester had three other players score in twin digits.“Playing Chester is like playing a fine tuned machine,” said Donofrio. “They have a lot of players that can play, and they keep running the entire game.”
The Plymouth Whitemarsh engine was far from fine tuned in its biggest game of the season. The team’s 6-foot, 7-inch offensive and defensive sparkplug was dejectedly sitting on the bench.
Chester Clippers 13 17 12 31 - 73
Plymouth Whitemarsh 10 10 13 17 - 50
Chester: Tymier Butler 7; DaQuann Walker 9; Maurice Nelson 14; Rondae Jefferson 11; Richard Grandbury 2; Lamon Church 10; Tavaune Griffin 8; Kareem Robinson 2; Erikk Wright 10. Total – 73.
Plymouth Whitemarsh: Kenny Williams 8; Garnell Sanders 3; Joe McTamney 2; Morgan Jackson 3; Marcus Badger 4; Marcus Glover 5; Brandon Johnson 3; Sam Pygatt 18; and Jake Silvers 4. Total – 50.
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