PW advanced to Saturday’s District 1 6A title game at Temple University against top-ranked Spring-Ford with its win over second-seeded Lower Merion. Photos provided courtesy of Michael Rice. Check back for a gallery of photos: https://solsports.zenfolio.com/f582224377
#3 Plymouth Whitemarsh 64, #2 Lower Merion 58
LOWER MERION - To get there, it was going to take a lot.
A lot of effort and a lot of contributors.
There was the three-headed scoring monster of senior Qudire Bennett and juniors Chase Coleman and Jaden Colzie, who combined for 46 points. 
There was the baseball pitcher turned center, who dominated on the glass in the second half.
And Tuesday for Plymouth Whitemarsh, there were two huge free throws from a bench player at the most critical of time.
With their 64-58 win at second-seeded Lower Merion, the third-seeded Colonials earned a spot in Saturday’s PIAA District One Class 6A championship game at the Liacouras Center at Temple University against No. 1 seed Spring-Ford. It is their first trip to the district title game since 2018.
“It’s been five years since we had this level,” said PW coach Jim Donofrio, whose team fell to Abington 73-71 in its last trip. “I’m just really happy that they’ve got the confidence to take the coaches along for this ride because I feel like they’re kind of carrying me sometimes, which is fun.”
And while at times Tuesday’s game wasn’t pretty, the road win before a packed house at the Bryant Gymnasium couldn’t have been any sweeter for these PW players.
“Oh my gosh, we’ve been talking about it this whole season,” said senior center Lincoln Sharpe. “We have a lot of seniors that have been on the team for four years and haven’t gotten to Temple.
“We were going in there at halftime up nine (points). The second half was all about wanting it. We could taste it and we went and grabbed it.”
The Improbable Hero
Ben Marsico doesn’t play a ton for PW. A junior guard, he has enjoyed the ride with his teammates, but mostly from the bench. In crunch time, in the biggest game of the season, he wasn’t expecting to hear his name called.
When Marsico made his way over to the scorer’s table late in the fourth quarter, the Colonials had seen what was once a 14-point lead in the third quarter shrink and shrink, as the host Aces turned up the defensive pressure and PW - 10 for 23 for the game - was struggling mightily from the foul line.
“Coach (Xzavier Malone) told me to be ready,” Marsico said. “Two seconds later, he called me in. It was an uncharacteristic day for us (from the free throw line), but whatever helps us win. I’ll just do whatever it takes to help us win and help us get to Temple.“
And with less than a minute to play and holding just a three-point lead, Marsico figured the ball would find a way into his hands and it did.
PW led 61-58 with 38 seconds remaining when Marsico was fouled and went to the line.
With the home crowd screaming, his first throw rattled around and found its way through. The second hit nothing but net.
The lead was back to five. PW (now 25-2) had taken Lower Merion’s best shot and was able to put the game away.
“I kind of knew the ball would find me,” Marsico said. “I was a little bit nervous at the table, but I tried to drown out all the noise.
“I saw the first one rattle in, and, after that, I was fine. I just needed to see one go in and I was good.”
The fact that the junior reserve delivered didn’t surprise his coach.
“Benny has gotten in games for us before and just been a knock-down 3-point shooter, and he’s steady,” Donofrio said. “That is not easy to do what he did. His foul shots put it back to two possessions.
“I heard people say after the game – you have to work on your press offense, you have to work on your foul shots. Our press offense was pretty good, and we did all the right things. These kids have not been in this situation before. This is more emotional. We moved the ball well in press offense – we did the right things, we got fouled – but we went 10-for-23 from the foul line.
“That’s just human beings being faced with a moment that all human beings react in the same kind of way – Are we deserving of this? Is this really happening? That’s all, and you’ve got to get through it. We’ve had plenty of seasons we’ve coached where the ball didn’t bounce your way. If you’re going to put yourself in a position to win championships, the ball has to bounce your way, and you have to be able to understand that.
“With two minutes and 35 seconds to go, we’re jumping around like we’ve won the NBA world title. They’re kids, and I’m calmly looking at them saying, ‘There’s a lifetime to go here, but okay. Celebrate and can we please focus.’ I just love how the kids played. They play to win basketball games.”
The Baseball Player
Most of Lincoln Sharpe’s athletic attention while in high school at PW has been on the baseball diamond, where he’s a standout pitcher for the Colonials.
But he loves basketball and decided to give it a shot as a senior.
“I played my freshman and sophomore years at the JV/freshman level,” Sharpe said. “And then I went and played CYO ball (as a junior). I just found a passion for it while playing baseball. So, I said, why not go out this year and see what I can do.
“I wasn’t expecting much at all. Going into the season, I was thinking practice player. I’m just going to play the game I wanted to play in practice. The fact that I’m able to play and start in the playoffs is unimaginable.”
The 6-foot-6 center has been a critical ingredient for this very talented team, but Tuesday, he was in foul trouble and didn’t play a lot in the first half. In the second half, however, especially the fourth quarter, he showed why he’s so valuable, grabbing five rebounds and contesting in the paint on every defensive possession.
“When they’re shooting, in my head, all I’m thinking about is winning,” Sharpe said. “So when the ball goes up, I forget about fatigue and all of that. I just try to get to the ball. That’s my mindset, going after every ball at the hoop.”
Sharpe has gone from a newcomer to the varsity to key contributor.
“I knew Lincoln Sharpe when he was in third grade, and he came to our summer camps, and he played with my nephews in the youth league, but then he leaned toward baseball,” Donofrio said. “In 10th grade, he played for the jayvee team and just decided to take the year off from (high school) basketball as he leaned toward baseball, but I knew he grew up on basketball.
“When he decided to come back out at 6-5, 200 pounds – he’s an athlete, he’s a baseball pitcher, he’s got great size for an athlete. He’s got very good athleticism. The gift we had with Lincoln is – you take a year off and you come back a little humble, and that humility creates a work ethic that becomes infectious.”
Finding a way
It wasn’t exactly a banner offensive night for PW senior Qudire Bennett, the team’s leading scorer who has amassed over 1,000 points in his four-year high school career. He picked up two offensive fouls in a first half that saw him score just two points.
Fortunately, teammates Coleman (team-high 19 points) and Colzie (16 points) turned on the light-switch for the Colonials in a 20-point second quarter that saw them go from down five points to a nine-point halftime advantage. Coleman accounted for 11 of those points while Colzie had seven, including a pair of 3s.
In the second half, Bennett stepped up - in the paint, on the offensive and defensive glass and defensively. He finished with 11 points and seven rebounds, and led the way with his sheer will to see his team to victory.
“It means a lot to me as a senior,” he said. “We didn’t make it my freshman year (or) my sophomore year. We came up short my junior year. I just knew this year was our time.”
He and his teammates were determined to get to Temple for the district final, and they were going to do whatever it took to withstand Lower Merion’s furious fourth-quarter comeback attempt.
“After we lost to Cheltenham (in last year’s District One quarterfinal), me and Jaden were like, next year, we’re getting there,” Bennett said. “I just know that no other team in District One has the heart that we do.”
Contrasting styles
Lower Merion senior Sam Brown, a University of Penn commit, is the undisputed go-to player for the Aces. On Tuesday, he led all scorers with 25 points.
“Sam Brown can flat out play,” Donofrio said. “We had three or four guys that we could throw at him. We are a very well put together athletic up-tempo team that can play very smart defenses without having to go 90 feet.
“Coach (Gregg) Downer and I have gone against each other seven, eight, nine times, and they’re always different. This was two days of classroom stuff. I’m just really proud of how the kids did their best to listen. We haven’t played them this year. When they go to their spread offense, they can just control a game. They can slow the game down to a crawl. They truly are the immovable object against our irresistible force. We’re not stopping moving, and they don’t’ want to move. They want to slow it to a crawl and have Sam Brown pick people apart one-on-one.
“Our closeout speed is high level, and that’s the difference. A lot went on Sam’s shoulders tonight. You just got to hope after 32 minutes you exhaust them. If we make six more foul shots, I’m not as stressed, but the kids played to win the game. They looked a little down when they cut it to three, but in that moment, you have to be positive because that’s basketball. You’ve done everything you can to earn the win. Just finish it off. I’m just happy for the kids. The joy on their faces and of the fans. It’s just nice to see basketball being back, to play Lower Merion in Lower Merion’s gym, and to get a win there – you appreciate it, it’s humbling, it’s great high school basketball.”
Extra shots: Coleman’s 19 points led the Colonials. Colzie added 16 – five to jumpstart the Colonials in the opening quarter. Bennett scored nine of his 11 points in the second half. Sharpe added nine points while Jah Sayles had seven and also played a key role in defending Brown…PW will face Spring-Ford at Temple University on Saturday at 6 p.m.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (64)
Jaden Colzie 5 3-7 16; Chase Coleman 8 3-3 19; Qudire Bennett 5 1-3 11; Jah Sayles 3 0-5 7; Lincoln Sharpe 4 1-3 9; Ben Marsico 0 2-2 2. Totals 25 10-23 64.
Lower Merion (58)
Sam Brown 9 3-3 25; Sam Wright 4 2-2 11; Jordan Meekins 1 0-0 2; Justin Poles 3 0-1 6; Teddy Pendergast 0 3-5 2; Owen McCabe 1 0-1 2; John Mobley 3 3-3 9. Totals 21 11-15 58.
PW 14 20 13 17 – 64
LM 16 9 11 22 – 58
3-point goals: PW-Colzie 3, Sayles; LM-Brown 4, Wright
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