MALVERN PREP

Record: 17-4 overall, 5-0 league

Last week: 76-49 win vs. Haverford (1/17); 75-62 win vs. Episcopal (1/21); 74-59 win vs. West Catholic (1/22)

This week: vs. Penn Charter (1/24); vs. Germantown Academy (1/28)

Malvern hasn’t lost since the last week of December and is well ahead of schedule to win its first Inter-Ac title since 2012. Deuce Turner, the league’s all-time leading scorer, led the Friars with 24 points in a win over Haverford last Friday, while Fran Oschell (15 points) and Rahdir Hicks (13 points) contributed as well. In a 13-point Tuesday win over Episcopal, four players reached double figures for the balanced Malvern roster: Spencer Cochran (21), Turner (16), Joe McElwee (13) and Oschell (12).

SPRINGSIDE CHESTNUT HILL ACADEMY

Record: 9-9, 3-2

Last week: 61-56 win vs. Germantown Academy (1/17); 69-61 win vs. Penn Charter (1/21); 73-60 loss vs. Harriton

This week: at Haverford (1/24); vs. Episcopal (1/28); vs. Freire Charter (1/29)

A strong week placed the Blue Devils right back in the thick of things in the Inter-Ac. Following two straight losses to Episcopal and Malvern, SCH bounced back with a tantalizing 18-point comeback win against GA last Friday night in which senior guard Delonce Hines scored 12 of his team-high 18 points in the fourth quarter.

A few days later against Penn Charter, Hines outdid himself to the tune of 26 points, while senior forward David Robinson had 11. Both Robinson, who previously transferred to SCH from North Penn, and senior guard Ke’Shawn Williams, a gifted football player who will be continuing his gridiron career at Wake Forest, recently crossed the 1,000-point threshold at the school.

“Great accomplishments for David and Ke’Shawn during the same season,” said head coach Julian McFadden, who scored 1,000 points at SCH as a player himself. “Though Dave did not begin his career at SCH, it’s been phenomenal to watch his growth as a player. I’ve been fortunate enough to coach Ke’Shawn all four years of his career. There isn’t a more deserving athlete in our school’s rich history. We are blessed at SCH to have such mature, thoughtful and talented young men who embody our mission statement.”

One of those players who additionally embodies the school’s mission and values is senior captain Jared Sprague-Lott.

Sprague-Lott isn’t the team’s biggest scorer, although he has proven he can score when he is needed, like in the comeback win over GA in which he scored four huge points (of eight total) during SCH’s fourth-quarter rally. Sprague-Lott’s abilities are more intangible and are there to behold for anyone paying close enough attention. He constantly plays hard, smart and tough on both ends of the floor. He is the Blue Devils’ Swiss Army Knife.

GERMANTOWN ACADEMY

Record: 11-7, 3-2

Last week: 61-56 loss at SCH (1/17); 39-35 win vs. Haverford (1/21)

This week: at Episcopal (1/24); at The George School (1/25); at Malvern Prep (1/28)

The Patriots took one on the chin last Friday night at SCH, letting an 18-point third quarter lead slip away in what eventually became a 61-56 Blue Devils victory. However, led by junior leading scorer Jordan Longino’s 15 points and sophomore Jake Hsu’s 11, the Patriots bounced back in a tight four-point win over Haverford a couple of days later. GA, led primarily by Longino and sophomore Casey Traina in scoring, has huge road games at Episcopal and Malvern looming and will need contributions from the entire supporting cast if it wants to jump back into the league title conversation.

The Patriots appear well poised to open as Inter-Ac favorites next season with their top two scorers returning, but there are a handful of seniors who aren’t ready to give up the chase just yet.

One of those unheralded seniors is point guard Juan Adames. Adames plays a variety of roles for GA, including but not limited to primary ball handler, reliable shooter (42 percent overall, 36 from deep) and trusted passer, evident by being one of the team leaders in assists.

Adames might not always score a ton — his league high so far this season is 12 against Malvern — but that by no means diminishes his importance to what the Patriots do. He is one of the engines that makes the team’s motor hum.

EPISCOPAL ACADEMY

Record: 9-11, 3-2

Last week: 65-51 win at Penn Charter (1/17); 75-62 loss at Malvern Prep (1/21)

This week: vs. Germantown Academy (1/24); at SCH (1/28)

The senior-heavy Churchmen have ridden their veteran leaders to an enviable position halfway through the season.

Episcopal is a gritty, scrappy team, one that always plays hard regardless if they are up 20, down 20 or the score is tied late in the fourth quarter. Part of this identity should be credited to Brian Shanahan, the team’s head coach and former player in the program, for molding the Churchmen into a group where each distinct player has a unique role to play.

At the head of the class is senior Alex Capitano, a previous transfer from Great Valley who also hit the 1,000-point milestone at his school this past week.

“It’s a great individual honor and speaks volumes to Alex’s work ethic to constantly improve as a scorer,” Shanahan said. “He has a lot of defensive attention and still finds ways to score. Real proud of this milestone for Alex.”

Capitano receives primary support on both sides of the ball from seniors Marcus McDaniel, Tommy Dennis and Colin Chambers, junior Will Delaney and sophomore Sam Malloy.

However, perhaps no player on the Churchmen roster has improved more as the season has progressed than senior forward Andrew Alikakos. Starting with a 16-point effort against SCH, Alikakos has scored in double digits in his last four, including 27- and 22-point outbursts against Penn Charter and Malvern, respectively.

Alikakos plays a physical brand of basketball, is strong as a bull defensively and can surprise on the offensive end if not paid close enough attention by the defense. He is averaging 16 ppg, 8.5 rpg and 3.5 apg in five league games.

“Andrew is our most impactful player in the league right now,” Shanahan said. “He’s a relentless point forward for us, plays with a ton of passion and never stops competing. He’s really grown into his role on the team and has battled some injuries throughout his senior year that haven’t changed his commitment to the team. Just like our other four seniors, they have all committed to the team and competing one final year. We are so lucky to have such great senior leadership.”

The Quakers sandwiched a nonleague victory around a pair of Inter-Ac losses last week. The team got senior leading scorer Ryan Holmes back after he had missed a couple of games due to an ankle injury. Holmes posted 23- and 17-point games, respectively, against Episcopal and SCH, while freshmen Mark Butler (20 points) and Trey Shinholster (11 points) each had solid efforts versus the Blue Devils. Penn Charter, the youngest team in the league, will continue to search for its first league win this coming week.

The up-and-coming Quakers, led by Holmes and second-year head coach John Owens, have been pleased with the development of the exceptionally young key players on the roster. The contributions from the four freshmen that see significant minutes has accelerated the PC rebuild, even if it has yet to pay dividends in wins in the standings just yet.

Butler has been the shining star of that rebuild. The freshman scoring whiz cut his varsity teeth last season as an eighth grader and now is averaging 15.2 points in five league games. He helped win an AAU championship on the 16U Under Armour circuit as a 14-year-old and Owens believes Butler should be an all-league selection this year. He has the chance to be one of the most exciting players in the Inter-Ac as a sophomore next season.

“Mark is a stud who has all the skills,” Owens said. “This year he’s learning how to play winning basketball, how to be a leader and ‘the man.’ When Ryan missed a few games, Mark was being guarded by the best player on the other team while also guarding their best player. We have so much to look forward to with Mark going forward.”

The Fords, still beset by injuries to key players, dropped a pair of tough road losses this past week, first a 27-point defeat at Malvern that was followed by a four-point loss at GA.

Despite missing three starters against the Patriots, the Fords still played their hearts out with a chance to win the game on the road in crunch time, a fact that pleased head coach Bernie Rogers.

“The team stepped up and gave great effort having a chance to win the game right down to the wire,” Rogers said. “We were able to tie the game on a good three-point shot with 20 seconds remaining, but unfortunately the ball did not bounce our way the rest of the way. I was left impressed by our guys’ composure.”

Juniors Zach Genther (13 points) and Bernie Rogers Jr. (11 points) led the way against GA for the Fords, who were playing without Christian Clover, Tyler Seward and Jameel Brown.

Senior MJ Atkins didn’t score against GA, but he has been a consummate leader of the program after a slew of graduations and injuries have left the program retooling following consecutive league championships.