Sun Valley Spring League Notebook: Thursday May 14

Penn Wood and Marple Newtown in action on Thursday night.

Week two of the Sun Valley spring league wrapped up with three games on Thursday night, featuring some stellar performances from players on all six teams that played. Here's a notebook from Thursday night.

Shillingsford showcases against Marple

As offseason leagues are focused around growth, Penn Wood's spring league outings have reflected that. For the Patriots who beat Marple Newtown 45-32, rising junior big man Mehki Shillingsford has showed growth from night to night, with Thursday being his best performance yet. Already a solid rebounder and having the ability to block shots on the defensive end, Shillingsford just as well displayed his skills on the offensive end finishing with 14 points. The Patriots did an excellent job of getting him the ball via the hi-lo on several occasions in which he was able to finish with a jump hook with either hand and he also hit two jumpers from the short corner. In transition, Shillingsford also ran the floor well. What I want to see from Shillingsford throughout the summer is if he can add a few more moves into his low post package. Rising senior guard Naeem Purnell also added 12 for the Patriots, displaying his ability as a slasher and getting to the rim with ease.

For Marple, Jordan Bochanski once again led the Tigers with 14 points, with 12 of them coming from downtown. Bochanski is turning out to be one of the better shooters that this league has to offer with a solid form and quick release, also showing the ability to knock down shots with a hand in his face.

Keyes is key for Chichester's offense

In the second game of the night, Chichester ran past Kennett 68-31 thanks to a much better defensive performance from the Eagles and the shooting of Ahkir Keyes who led the Eagles offense with 15 points. The Eagles offense was off to a hot start thanks to the rising junior guard getting out in front of the ball in transition, knocking down two transition three's in the first five minutes. As the Blue Demons defense began to go back and forth between man and zone looks, the Eagles ran a double stagger oriented quick hitter to get Keyes open for his opportunities from downtown. Rising senior forward Isaiah Diggs added 10 points as well, with six of his ten coming from his ability to get downhill and the other four off of put-backs.

Ryan Wooten-The common denominator on both ends in the equation that is Garnet Valley

In what was a rematch of last Thursday's game between Garnet Valley and Chester Charter, the Jaguars once again got by a continually improving Sabres by a 61-49 final. Rising senior forward Ryan Wooten led the effort on both ends for Garnet Valley finishing with 16 points and close to double digit rebounds. Wooten, who is a bit of a streaky shooter was more consistent from downtown on this night pouring in nine points from beyond the arc, and being aggressive in the lane, getting to the free throw line twice to add an additional four. He also continued to be the glue on the defensive end for the Jags, consistently communicating, jumping to the ball on time, and boxing out for several boards.

Chester Charter once again showed improvement in this one, not going down without a fight against the reigning Central League champs. The Sabres did a good job of scoring the ball down low, and speeding up Garnet Valley with their full court pressure. What the Sabres will need to improve on is overcoming slow starts and getting more kills (3 straight stops) defensively in the second half of games. They are certainly improving game to game though and it will be nice to see this young group progress throughout the spring and summer.