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By Scott Huff
Villanova – In 1999, Jameer Nelson led his Chester Clippers to a PIAA Quad-A District One title over Pennsbury. Nelson is now an NBA star playing professional basketball with the Orlando Magic.In 2011, brother Maurice Nelson led his Chester Clippers to a PIAA Quad-A District One title with a spectacular 22-point effort that included a ‘you had to be there’ 19-point third quarter as Chester (26-1) defeated Council Rock North (25-2) – 66-43.
“One second we were up by a point (31-30) at the beginning of the third quarter, and by the end of the period we were down 17 (55-38),” said Council Rock North head coach Derek Wright. “Nelson just went off on us, and when Chester makes 3’s, they’re very tough to handle.”
Nelson – who stands just 5-foot, 11 inches and is very slender – hit three straight treys in a one-minute time span to fuel the scoring for the Clippers to erase the brief one-point Rock lead. And in that same minute, Chester blocked two Indian shots and turned Rock North over on three successive possessions.
“Every time I shoot the ball I know it is going to go in,” smiled Nelson who drained five treys on five attempts in the third quarter and was a perfect seven-for-seven from the field overall in the period. “Once I got into the flow of the game, I felt pretty good. This was the best game that I have ever had on the big stage.”
“Any time that you allow (Nelson) get his feet under him, he is going to make shots,” said Chester head coach Larry Yarbray. “The players ran our offense, and we got him some good looks.“We worked their zone from the inside out, and we didn’t settle for the first jump shot,” added Yarbray. “But the key to the game tonight for us was our defense.”
The lightning quick Clippers generated a total of 18 critical Rock North turnovers. And this is an Indian offense that has prided itself all season with protecting the basketball.
“When Chester was able to turn us over, the pace of the game became much more of a transition game,” said Wright. “It wasn’t something that we wanted to do, but give Chester credit for making the game more of a running game. We really didn’t handle their pressure very well.”
Council Rock North, though, did make a game of it in the first half. The Indians trailed by just a point at the close of the first period (18-17), and Rock North was just three points behind at intermission (30-27).
Nelson was the poster child for an incredible performance in the third period, but Council Rock North junior point guard Aaron Morgan was the best player on the floor for the entire game. Morgan scored a game-high 21 points for the Indians.“We really respect how good a team Chester can be, and they were very good tonight,” said Morgan. “I feel bad for our seniors that we weren’t able to win a district championship, but I am still very proud of this team. Nelson might be the best pure shooter we have played – him and Ryan (Arcidiacono – Neshaminy guard).”
In addition to generating costly turnovers, Chester was also able to get to the offensive boards. Rock North was unable to limit the explosive Clippers to one-shot possessions.
“Chester has great athletes, and they just jumped over the top of us,” said Wright. “Sometimes we didn’t box out like we should have, but Chester just did a great job of getting to the boards.”
Another huge plus for the Clippers was their ability to go deep into their bench. Chester goes 10 deep without a huge drop off in talent. CR North rotated just six players for most of the game.
The PIAA Quad-A District One title will not be on the Council Rock North resume for the 2010-2011 season. The 2009-2010 district title was not on Plymouth Whitemarsh’s resume last year – but the Colonials won the PIAA state championship last season.“I told the players after the game that the season isn’t over,” said Wright as the Indians prepare for the state tournament. “Our new season starts next week, and we have to remember what a special experience this season has been. We still have to prepare for a very big game.”
And so does Maurice Nelson.
“I make these shots all the time when I play against my brother,” smiled Nelson. “He can’t stop me when I’m knocking down shots.”
And I don’t think he was kidding.
Chester 18 12 25 11 * 66
Council Rock North 17 10 11 5 * 43
Chester: Erikk Wright 2; Darius Robinson 2; Rondae Jefferson 10; Lamon Church 12; Maurice Nelson 22; Tavaune Griffin 8; DeQuann Walker 10. Total – 66.
Council Rock North: Aaron Morgan 21; Arron Goodman 12; Jordan Chernin 3; Charlie Anastasi 6; John Raymon 1. Total – 43.
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