Chester High boy's basketball (9-3) defeated by Imhotep

Chester falls to Imhotep 59-52 in the feature game of the 15th Annual Scholastic Play By Play event held on the campus of Harriton High School. The Clippers inability to hold on to the ball allowed the Panthers to seal the victory at the free throw line. 

Senior guard Mahir Johnson led the way in the first quarter with five of his game high 20 points as Chester trailed 11-10 at the end of the quarter. Junior guard Keyonte Watkins went 3 of 4 from the free throw line and Johnson added another nickel and the Clippers trailed 20-22 at the intermission. 

Costly turnovers in the third period allow the Panthers to increase their lead to 6 points at the end of the period. Chester - 33, Imhotep - 39. More Chester turnovers coupled with excellent foul shooting by Imhotep resulted in a 10 point lead by the Panthers (55-45) with 3 minutes to play in  the final period. 

After consecutive turnovers by the Panthers, Imhotep called timeout at the 1:39 mark and a six point lead 55-49. Coming out the timeout the Clippers made a defensive stop and Mahir Johnson nailed a trey and once again Imhotep called timeout with 0:59.5 second remaining in the contest. Chester 52 - Imhotep 55. The Clippers rebounded the missed Panthers shot but an misguided pass was stolen by the Panthers. With the Clippers over the bonus, the Panthers connected on both free throws; an Imhotep rebound on the next Clippers possession and two more free throws provided the final score.

After Tyrell Sturdivant fouled out at the 5:02 mark in the 4th quarter, 6'7" Sophomore Marquis Collins stepped in and provided 8 points on 6 of 6 shooting from the foul line, 3 rebounds and 1 blocked shot. Junior guard Keyonte Watkins came off the bench and his defensive pressure resulted in a career high 12 points with a trey and 5 of 6 from the charity stripe. Conrad Chamber added 7 points going 7 of 8 from the line and Gabe Adesina (4) and Khaleeq Campbell's one point completed the Chester scoring. 

The Clippers continued their hot hand at the free throw line hitting on 23 of 31 shots for a 74% mark. 

Chester will return to action next week for back-to-back Del Val League games at the Clip Joint on Tuesday, January 21st against Chichester and Thursday, January 23rd against Academy Park.

Footnote: The Chester JV team coached by Jimai Springfield will take their 9-2 record on the road on Monday, January 20th for a 10:00 a.m. tip-off at Concord High School in Delaware.

Terry Thomas