Pennsbury defeated top-seeded Conestoga to earn trip to the district final at Villanova University. To view photos of all the action, please visit the Photo Gallery.
By Scott Huff
Philadelphia - “Our goal all year has been simple – get to Villanova,” said Pennsbury head coach Bill Coleman after the #5 Falcons soared to a 58-36 PIAA Quad-A District One semifinal win over #1 seed Conestoga at Temple University. “We have been talking about moving on to the district final ever since March, and the players have been relentless in working toward that goal.”
“Now it is going to be the Battle of the Black and Orange,” said Pennsbury guard Mekhi Bryant in reference to the Falcons opponent in the district championship final – Chester – who defeated West Chester Rustin 72-56 to advance to Villanova. “We have to stay focused and mentally prepared to play a team like Chester. This is going to be the longest three days of my life waiting for this game.”
“Finally I will get to play against players my own size,” smiled 6-8 Pennsbury junior center Derrick Woods who scored a team-high 15 points. “Chester is going to be a great test for me and a great test for the team. The pace of the game should be a lot different than it was tonight.”
It will be.
Pennsbury – which lost to Conestoga 53-42 earlier in the season in a non-conference game – avenged its poorest game of the season against the #1 seeded Pioneers. The ‘Falcons Nest’ fans began chanting ‘overrated’ early in the second half – and those fans appeared to be right on the mark.
“We underestimated them the first time,” said Woods. “But we came out here hyped to play tonight.”
“The first time we played them, we really played with no energy,” said Coleman. “We knew that we had to control the tempo in order to beat them, and I felt we did a good of that.”
“We were able to control the tempo and get some easy baskets with transition from defense to offense,” said Bryant who scored 10 points for the Falcons. “We accomplished what we wanted to do.”
Conestoga – the Central League champion – led 7-6 early in the game. But the Falcons went on an 11-2 tear to end the period and were never seriously challenged the remainder of the game. Woods, Bryant, and Cameron Jones fueled the scoring binge for Pennsbury. Jones would join Woods and Bryant in double figures with 15 points.
“One of the keys to the win was how well we played defensively,” said Coleman as the Falcons played a suffocating straight man-to-man defense. “If we want to be able to continue to win games, we are going to have to continue to play the type of defense we played tonight.”
The game was played before a vocal contingent of Pennsbury fans across from the Falcon bench.
“Their support all year has been spectacular,” said Bryant. “They are our sixth man on the court.”
And now those rabid Falcon fans will have to reset their GPS. Erase Temple University – program Villanova University.
“Chester has size, Chester is athletic, and Chester has Chester on the front of its uniform,” said Coleman. “They are the King of District One – and Villanova is part of their Empire. We look are looking forward to the game.”
And the 2013-2014 Falcons have been looking forward to this game for months – and at 9 pm this Friday at Villanova the Pennsbury hoop dream will become a reality.
Pennsbury Falcons 17 12 16 13 - 58
Conestoga Pioneers 11 5 11 9 - 36
Pennsbury Falcons: Derrick Woods 15; Cameron Jones 15, Mekhi Bryant 10; Nigel Johnson 7; Steve Ciotti 6; Lewis Troh 2; Walter Allen 2; Bobby Wagner 1. Total – 58.
Conestoga Pioneers: Andrew Diehl 10; Daryl Caldwell 9; Martin Dorsey 6; Dan Vila 3; Andrew Utter 2; Tyler Knight 2; Chris Novak 2; Zach Yonda 2. Total 36.
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