By: Alec Eskin

The historic boys basketball season and a fun and wild ride for those who got to see them play, however this great season came to a close on Tuesday again the red hot number 9 seeded team in Lower Merion. It was a close game for the most part. But after Lower Merion got up by seven in the third quarter, they started to utilize that four corners offense that takes a lot of time off of the clock. This is where the team with the ball just passes it around for long periods of time while the other team has a lot of trouble creating turnovers. Sam Davidson, Sam Brown, and Jalen Shippen were the bog three for Lower Merion that helped propel them to an upset win over Garnet Valley. On Garnet Valley’s side of the ball, Carl Schaller got the majority of points and assists while Justin Langan was the defensive anchor once again in the paint. Garnet Valley had been playing some really good basketball through out the course fo this year. During a year in which they had to deal with a pandemic, they were able to have the best year in their history. This team should be celebrated and praised for what they were able to accomplish this year. Seniors Carl Schaller, Justin Langan, Gannon McKee, Tyler Knapp, Joe Garrity, Jimmy Falcone, and Connor Fallon will be graduating as this team will lose a lot of talent with the exiting senior class. Also, both GV boys basketball team managers Jake Matsen and Nick Long will be graduating as well. As a football manager myself, I know how much time and effort this job takes and both should be praised for their efforts this year. Max Koehler and Ryan Wooten will be the two returning starters, whom both made impacts in Central and District playoffs. Also, Garnet Valley will have bench players in Ryan Faccenda and Nolan Brennan returning next year and could both get increased roles next year. Lastly, this years JV players for Garnet Valley could get a shot to have a big role next year on Varsity as seven spots on there will now be vacant.

Next year could be a very good year for GV as this team will get a lot of good, young players. It was a pleasure being able to write about this team as well as the girls basketball team. In a year that has been filled with heartbreak and disappointment, it was great to just see high school basketball being played and even more of a delight to see such high levels of basketball being played. Next year should be a lot better both on and off the court as we will hopefully have this pandemic finally being us after a year of adjusting to COVID-19 life. Spring sports should be twice as fun this year as we will be seeing these sports for the first time in two years! I will be writing about those sports as well! This should be a good end to the 2020-21 school year.