By Richard L. Gaw
Staff Writer

If there is a textbook definition of a Unionville High School boys’ basketball player, it is that his approach to the sport is molded from the granite fundamentals of the game - selflessness and intelligence – and magnified in the form of diving for loose balls, sharp passing that finds the open man and a defense that is relentless but never sloppy. It is a philosophy welded into the playbook of Head Coach Chris Cowles and passed down to his players, and over the past few seasons, it has served as a testament to the way the game should be played, win or lose.

These accolades were on full display during the Longhorns’ 46-31 victory over visiting Sun Valley on Dec. 11, a game that saw its’ zone defense hold the Vanguards to just four points in the second and third quarters while patiently orchestrating a perimeter offense behind guards Tommy McGinnis and Harris Stanislawczyk.

From the opening tip to the final buzzer, Unionville dominated the tempo on both sides of the floor, accented by several backdoor layups and holding Sun Valley to four quarters of one-and-done offense with rip-and-read-the-floor rebounding by Will Sharkey and Graham Huntington that led to fast-break baskets.

Following two early buckets by Sun Valley’s Jhamil Smith, Unionville got on the board with a three-pointer by McGinnis with 6:30 left in the quarter that was followed by a game-typing layup one minute later. Sean Haug gave the Longhorns a 9-7 lead on a pass from McGinnis with 4:20 left, that was followed by a pass from Sharkey to Brendan Heyer on the next possession.

Carrying a slim 16-14 lead into the second quarter, Unionville’s Owen Watson helped his club jump out to a 24-18 halftime lead with a driving layup and a three-pointer with 3:55 left in the first half. 

As the third quarter got underway, Cowles’ on-court classroom began to turn on its jets, as Sharkey and Huntington killed off Sun Valley possessions by banging the boards and the Unionville offense continued its patient ways, highlighted by a seven-pass possession that led to a bucket by Huntington and was followed by Watson’s second three-pointer of the game that staked Unionville to a 34-21 lead with under three minutes remaining in the quarter.

Carrying a 12-point, 34-22 lead into the fourth quarter, Unionville placed further exclamation points on its win, punctuated by a coast-to-coast drive by McGinnis with 2:15 left in the game.

“We were trying to be disciplined with our assignments,” Cowles said of his team’s effort. “We settled in nicely and I think it’s a testament to our guys being disciplined while also being tough. 

“We’re learning how to be play both aggressively and with discipline, and while it may sound like a paradox, that’s how you maximize success. It’s great to be aggressive and it’s great to be disciplined, but you don’t want to think too much and become be too focused on being disciplined, and you don’t want to be so aggressive that you lose your discipline.”

Unionville was led by McGinnis’ 13 points, followed by Watson with 8 points. For Sun Valley, the Vanguards were led by game-high scorer Smith with 14 points and Zion Cauthorn with 9 points. Now 3-3 in the early season, Unionville will host Bayard Rustin on Dec. 18 and will travel to Avon Grove on Dec. 20. Sun Valley will look to get back to the winners’ circle when it travels to Kennett on Dec. 18 and returns home to face Interboro on Dec. 22.   

To contact Staff Writer Richard L. Gaw, email [email protected].