Lower Merion

A Havertown man was charged Wednesday with being the hit-and-run driver who struck and injured a 46-year-old Bryn Mawr woman and her 5-year-old twins while they were crossing Lancaster Avenue at Bryn Mawr Avenue in Bryn Mawr on April 25. Stephen John Groch, 27, of Ellis Road, was charged by Lower Merion police. He was the alleged driver of a black Ford F-150 pickup truck that hit the three before driving off. The mother and one daughter were treated at Bryn Mawr Hospital for bumps and bruises.

What: PIAA District 1 Class AAAA boys' basketball championship game. When, where: 9 p.m. Friday at Villanova's Pavilion. Records: Lower Merion, 25-2; Chester, 26-0. Winning streaks: Lower Merion, 19; Chester, 52. District titles: Lower Merion, 15; Chester, 20. Last district title: Lower Merion, 1996; Chester, 2011. Last meeting: The Aces defeated Chester, 49-48, in overtime in December 2006. Coaches: Lower Merion, Gregg Downer (22d season)

Another dazzling third-quarter surge paved the way for Chester's third consecutive PIAA District 1 Class AAAA championship. Against second-seeded Lower Merion, the top-seeded Clippers seized command after a back-and-forth first half with a 16-3 burst and easily downed the Aces, 60-46, Friday night in the final at Villanova's Pavilion. Chester, which claimed its 10th district boys' basketball crown in the last 12 seasons and 22d overall, did the same to Abington in Tuesday's semifinals.

Harry Hasson, suspended since January as Lower Merion police superintendent following a drunken-driving arrest, ended speculation over his future role with the department by retiring yesterday. Hasson, 52, a 31-year veteran of the department, had been suspended with pay from the 135-officer force after his Jan. 4 arrest. Hasson was seriously injured when the township car he was driving hit a tree in Easttown Township, Chester County, the night of Dec. 17. He will receive the same monthly retirement benefit and health-care coverage that the township offers to all retiring officers, township personnel director Gary Nichols said.

Robert J. Koegel, an assistant township manager in Lower Merion for the last eight years, will move up July 1 to the top leadership post in the township administration. The Township Board of Commissioners decided earlier this month, after several closed-door sessions, to name Koegel, 40, to replace retiring Township Manager Patrick Joyce, board President Charles F. Ward said in an interview Tuesday. He said the commissioners were to officially vote on the appointment at their business meeting last night.

The game meant nothing in the Central League standings. Lower Merion was locked into second place, Haverford High had clinched third, and their meeting Tuesday would affect the standings as much as the New Hampshire primary. But the game meant something to Lower Merion guard Alison Cohen, who hit two free throws with 14 seconds left to break a 41-41 tie and one more with no time remaining to give the visiting Aces a 44-41 victory. "Haverford-Lower Merion always is a big rivalry," the Aces' senior guard said.

They're not exactly Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, but Kirsten Kepner of Lower Merion and Nina Alston of Conestoga turned back the clock in a girls' Central League basketball shootout Monday night. Armed with itchy trigger fingers and aided by teammates willing to give up the ball, the pair nearly transported the sparse crowd inside the Lower Merion gym back to the Wild West. The result was an old-fashioned shoot-'em-up that saw 'Stoga escape with a 58-52 victory, leaving the two combatants weary but smiling.

Frank Ingram removes asphalt broken up by a milling machine on Trent Road between Remington and Manoa Roads in Lower Merion. The three-week job, which began last Thursday, also covers parts of North Bowman, Montgomery and Wyndon Avenues, and Airdale and Wakefield Roads.

Chester-Lower Merion State-Final Preview District 1 rivals Lower Merion and Chester will square off for the PIAA Class AAAA boys' basketball championship at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Giant Center in Hershey. Here is a closer look at the final. TV: Live on the Pennsylvania Cable Network. Follow on Twitter: Rick O'Brien (@ozoneing) will be providing live tweets. Records: Lower Merion, ranked No. 3 in Southeastern Pennsylvania by The Inquirer, is 29-3. No. 1 Chester is 28-3.

Lower Merion's Yohanny Dalembert, a 6-foot-8, 225-pound senior forward, has committed to play basketball at James Madison. The half-brother of former Sixers center Samuel Dalembert also considered Drexel, Niagara, and Wagner. Memphis, Temple, and Villanova showed varying degrees of interest. Last season while helping Lower Merion to a 30-3 record and the PIAA Class AAAA state championship, Dalembert averaged 11.3 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 4.1 blocks. He was an Inquirer second-team all-Southeastern Pennsylvania selection.

A Havertown man was charged Wednesday with being the hit-and-run driver who struck and injured a 46-year-old Bryn Mawr woman and her 5-year-old twins while they were crossing Lancaster Avenue at Bryn Mawr Avenue in Bryn Mawr on April 25. Stephen John Groch, 27, of Ellis Road, was charged by Lower Merion police. He was the alleged driver of a black Ford F-150 pickup truck that hit the three before driving off. The mother and one daughter were treated at Bryn Mawr Hospital for bumps and bruises.

Dylan Protesto scored three goals and dominated the faceoffs Tuesday afternoon as 14th-seeded Penncrest squeaked by No. 19 Wissahickon, 6-5, in the first round of the District 1 boys' lacrosse tournament. A junior midfielder, Protesto showed why he is one of the region's top faceoff players as he won 13 of his 15. Casey Brown sealed the win with eight saves, and Zach Kruzel, Will Manganiello, and Ethan Trust scored once each. Brooks Melvin and Tommy Monaghan had two goals each for visiting Wissahickon.

A Lower Merion Township woman who has been suffering from depression after the recent deaths of her husband and father is missing and police are seeking help finding her. Relatives told township police they hadn't heard from Joan Delorefice, 53, in about a week. Her brother-in-law and other relatives finally went to her Haverford home on Tuesday, and when she wasn't there, they reported her as missing. Delorefice's car was parked in her garage and police found no credit card or cell phone activity over the past week.

  Heidi Tirjan's schedule was packed. There were visits to a new bakery and a soon-to-open bookshop in Bryn Mawr, then off to Philadelphia to drop in on a couple of chic Northern Liberties retailers she thought should launch outlets in Lower Merion. She also found time to revel in a luscious victory: persuading the owners of the highly regarded Philadelphia restaurant Melograno to open another eatery on the Main Line. After years of wooing, Rosemarie Tran and Gianluca Demontis had succumbed to Tirjan's blandishments and their own desire, and are putting the finishing touches on Fraschetta, a restaurant they are opening near the Bryn Mawr Film Institute.

WITH THE departure of 6-10 senior Mouphtaou Yarou, who averaged 9.9 points and 7.8 rebounds last season, Villanova's basketball team needed to add a big man. Especially since 6-11 Daniel Ochefu, who averaged 3.5 and 4.1 in just under 18 minutes a game as a freshman, remained the only player on the roster over 6-6. Well, the Wildcats got some help Tuesday afternoon, when former Lower Merion High 6-8 power forward Darryl Reynolds, who is completing a...

Former Lower Merion boys' basketball player Darryl Reynolds commits to Villanova. Sports, D2 .

Baseball BICENTENNIAL INDEPENDENCE Holy Ghost Prep 7, New Hope-Solebury 2 Devon Prep 6, Lower Moreland 0 CATHOLIC LEAGUE Bonner-Prendergast 11, Conwell-Egan 0 Neumann-Goretti 7, Archbishop Carroll 4 Archbishop Wood 10, Bishop McDevitt 0 CENTRAL LEAGUE Penncrest 6, Lower Merion 1 Ridley 5, Springfield (D) 3 Harriton 4, Haverford High 3 Radnor 3, Garnet Valley 2 CHES-MONT LEAGUE Great Valley 13, Bishop Shanahan 3 Oxford 5, West Chester East 4 Sun Valley 5, Avon Grove 2 W.C. Henderson 10, West Chester Rustin 0 Downingtown West 9, Kennett 2 FRIENDS SCHOOLS LEAGUE George School 4, Friends Select 3 PENN-JERSEY LEAGUE Life Center 12, Mercy Vocational 1 PIONEER ATHLETIC CONFERENCE Spring-Ford 7, Upper Perkiomen 1 Phoenixville 4, Pottstown 1 Perkiomen Valley 4, Boyertown 3 PUBLIC LEAGUE DIVISION C Overbrook (Pa.)