Chester, Lower Merion boys basketball meet in titanic Pennsylvania matchup

There is something inherently visceral for anyone who ever attended Chester (Pa.). It's a chest-pounding badge to be associated with a traditionally strong basketball program that's prided itself through the decades of growing its own talent to produce state titles. For those who once wore Chester's black and orange, the allure is often too great to walk away.

It's why you'll still find men in their 50s, 60s and 70s at Chester High games. It's why Larry Yarbray climbed the chipped cement steps of the fabled Palestra and sat up there as a fan in the creaky wooden rafters in the spring of 1996, as he always did, to get a better view of the court. He watched as his alma mater, Chester, was facing this hotshot from Lower Merion, and his insides churned as he saw opportunities fade in an overtime Chester loss.

The hotshot kid from Lower Merion happened to be Kobe Bryant, who before attaining NBA fame led the Aces to the '96 PIAA Class AAAA (large school) state championship after winning that state semifinal game over Chester — and in the process avenging a loss the previous year to the Clippers.

The game also happened to change the life of Yarbray, who thought about getting into coaching.

That game convinced him that he should.

Today, Yarbray is the head coach of the Clippers, ranked No. 5 in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Boys Basketball Rankings presented by the Army National Guard with a school-record 26-0 start and riding a 52-game winning streak, the second-longest streak in the country behind St. Anthony's (Jersey City, N.J.) 57-game streak.

But it's that Lower Merion defeat in 1996 that still sends a tingle up Yarbray's spine. Because if there is any team in Pennsylvania that could overcome the defending state champion Clippers, it's their old nemesis, Lower Merion (Ardmore, Pa.), which is 25-2 and will meet Chester tonight at 9 p.m. at Villanova's Pavilion for the District 1 Class AAAA championship.

It's a showdown of the state's best two teams that goes far beyond this little corner of southeastern Pennsylvania, where the schools are about a 25-minute drive apart. The game is one of the nation's marquee matchups, featuring a dominant Chester team that has never started a season 26-0 before this year, has beaten every Pennsylvania team it's faced by double figures this season, and won 36 of its last 41 games by double digits.

There are a few looming objectives, however, that Chester has never accomplished in its storied past: The Clippers have never won consecutive state titles nor gone an entire season undefeated. And there's more: If Chester could win back-to-back state titles, there's an even greater possibility the Clippers could three-peat, with their entire team returning, other than starting senior Erikk Wright.

But first, the Clippers have to get by Lower Merion, a team Chester has wanted all season. The schools flip-flopped state titles in 2005 and '06, when Chester beat Lower Merion for the state championship in '05, and Lower Merion came back to win the state title in '06, beating the Clippers in the state semis.

This group of Clippers has never faced Lower Merion. They play in different leagues, Chester in the Del-Val League and Lower Merion in the Central League. Both teams have been clawing toward one another all year, and the intensity will certainly come to a boil when they meet tonight for the District 1 championship.

"This is a game we want," said Chester's Rondae Jefferson, the Clippers' brilliant 6-foot-7 junior guard. "Lower Merion is good, and we hear things that we can't beat them. We're not worried about any of that. We just know what we have to do when it's time to play. I was there for those games in 2005 and 2006. I remember how crazy those games were with all the fans there. It was like a Duke game, it was that crazy. I remember the big crowds thinking I wanted to be out there one day playing in this game. As a team, we can't wait. To me, honestly, I don't think any team can compete with us, especially when we're on our A game and we're feeling good. Our confidence is that high."

The No. 1-seeded Clippers reached the district finals by beating Wissahickon, 67-52. It marked the closest in four district playoff games any team has gotten to Chester, which outscored its first three district opponents 205-89, winning by an average score of 68.3 to 29.6.

Chester terrorizes teams with torrents of full-court pressure. Opposing teams usually crumble under the Clippers' high-octane pressing game, creating offense off steals. Pressure defense is a staple of all Chester teams.

Lower Merion, riding a 19-game winning streak, will counter with size, led by 6-6 Darryl Reynolds and 6-5 junior guard B.J. Johnson, who combined to score 47 points in the Aces' 68-54 victory over Abington in the other District 1 semifinal. Yohanny Dalembert, a 6-6 forward and half-brother of Houston Rocket and former Philadelphia 76er Samuel Dalembert, and 6-1 guard Raheem Hall add punch to the Aces' lineup.

The Aces also have another weapon — head coach Gregg Downer, one of Pennsylvania's top head coaches with two state titles to his credit and a strong track record against Chester. In 2006, Downer's team lost twice to Chester, once in the district championship before going on to win the state title.

"I really didn't expect us to go 25-2 this season," Downer admitted. "But the team has played with a lot of consistency and focus. They've answered every challenge we've given the kids to be 25-2. Tempo is going to be an important part of this game. No one can simulate Chester's speed, athleticism and quickness. We've had problems with turnovers this year, and we'll be calling on some kids to come into this brightest of lights and play well. Keeping turnovers down is the key. We need to keep the turnovers below 15, and if we do that, we have a shot.

"I like that we're a multidimensional team with a lot of different weapons. We're long and athletic. And so far, we've shown no fear of anyone. Hopefully, we'll see that Friday night. This is a great rivalry. Chester is a great team, with a great tradition, and coach Yarbray does a great job over there. You have to play almost a perfect game to beat Chester. To get anywhere in Pennsylvania, you have to beat the orange and black 10 out of 10 times. When I've been fortunate enough to have good teams, we had to go through Chester to get to the state championship."

Chester is favored. The Clippers also carry the weight of an undefeated season, lugging high expectations and a deep-seeded feeling that they're playing for more than themselves.

"Our history is something special, and you get to see how people love it and respond to it," Yarbray said. "I wanted to give back to the school, and when you go to Chester, there is always a connection. That game Chester lost to Lower Merion and Kobe in '96 is what got me into coaching. I thought I could do some good, and my playing days were over. There are a lot of bad things in our Chester environment, and the kids on to the grownups have something good and something to be proud of in this community. That's the basketball program. We don't play for ourselves, but the whole community and the school. We play for everyone. That's pretty powerful. It's why these kids handle pressure so well.

"You're going to have two good teams going at each other Friday night. Gregg Downer is a great coach and he'll have some tricks up his sleeve. I tell a lot of people that see us, they can plan against us, maybe try some different things but it becomes a lot different when you get out on the court against us. Lower Merion does have size and good athletes and we'll see. I have a feeling we will meet again, in the state championship."

Yarbray may have some prescience, since the losing team in the District 1 championship goes to the western bracket of the state and the winner stays east. So this could very well be a precursor to what promises to be the 2012 state championship — and whether or not history is made.