"In the end, he made a concerted effort to go and get the ball in his hands," Neshaminy coach Jerry Devine said. "He wasn't going to be denied."
Tuesday, in a 7:30 p.m. semifinal at Villanova, the fifth-seeded Redskins (21-4) will play No. 1 seed Chester (22-3), which topped No. 9 Bensalem on Friday. No. 13 Lower Merion (17-8) heads to the consolation bracket, where it will face Bensalem (19-6).
At 6 p.m. Tuesday, No. 3 Plymouth Whitemarsh (21-4) will square off against No. 2 Council Rock North (24-1) in the other semifinal.
Arcidiacono, defended by senior guard Darius Hall most of the evening, shot 6 for 14 from the field (4 for 7 from beyond the arc). He added 11 rebounds (three on offense), 5 assists, and 2 steals.
"He picked his spots," Devine said. "He was finding his teammates. That's something that will help with their confidence. In the beginning of the season, I think Ryan felt like he had to do a lot on his own."
High-leaping swingman Dwight Williams (13 points, six boards) and center Mike McGarry (eight points, four offensive caroms) each had three second-half buckets. Williams, who fouled out with 1 minute, 15 seconds to go, was 5 for 6 from the line in the first half.
Arcidiacono's second-quarter runner put Neshaminy in front, 28-20. With the aid of B.J. Johnson's trey, Lower Merion cut the gap to five, 30-25, at intermission.
The Aces opened the second half with a 13-6 spurt and then went up, 40-37, on a layup by sub Luke Chambers. Arcidiacono's last-second trey forged a 42-42 tie after three quarters.
"They got to the basket pretty much at will," Devine said. "I was a little unhappy with our defensive effort."
The teams traded baskets for the first four minutes of the fourth quarter. With 2:13 remaining, after Arcidiacono made the first of two foul shots to give the Redskins the lead, Tyler Katz followed the miss to make it 52-49. McGarry's inside bucket stretched the lead to five.
Hall (12 points) sank a three-pointer with 28 seconds remaining to cut Neshaminy's advantage to 60-59. Arcidiacono responded with two free throws.
On a tying attempt with nine seconds left, Mike Buchwald's off-balance, left-wing trey missed.
Lower Merion 11 14 17 19 – 61
Neshaminy 13 17 12 22 – 64
LM: Darius Hall 12, Mike Buchwald 2, Eric Green 14, Mike Robbins 13, Raheem Hall 9, B.J. Johnson 7, Darryl Reynolds 2, Luke Chambers 2.
N: Tyler Katz 4, Ryan Arcidiacono 33, Mike McGarry 8, Dwight Williams 13, Richie Schafer 3, Charlie Marterella 2, Dave Baron 1.
Contact staff writer Rick O'Brien at 610-313-8019 or robrien@phillynews.com.
