PW, Pennsbury and Pennridge will be in action in Wednesday’s second round of the PIAA Quad-A Tournament. Check back for recaps of both games.
By Scott Huff
The first round of the PIAA Quad-A State basketball playoffs saw three of the four Suburban One League teams survive.
Ironically, it was SOL National Conference champion, SOL Tournament Champion and PIAA Quad-A District One champion Abington that failed to advance to the second round. The Ghosts were jettisoned from the playoffs in a 71-66 loss to Lancaster McCaskey.
Plymouth Whitemarsh rebounded from its loss in the district final to Abington to win its opening round state game. The Colonials marched to a 71-46 victory over Northeastern. Pennridge went into the hostile environment at Reading to play its first-ever state tournament game. The Rams shocked the pundits with a 61-59 victory over the Red Knights. Pennsbury moved on to the second round with an impressive victory in the first round. The Falcons soared to a 73-53 victory over Cedar Cliff.
And the beat goes on…
PIAA Quad-A State Playoffs – Second Round
Wednesday – March 11, 2015
[1-2] Plymouth Whitemarsh Colonials (26-2 ) vs. [1-5] Pennridge Rams (26-4 )
@ Spring-Ford High School – 7:00 pm.
Season Resume:
Plymouth Whitemarsh: The Colonials finished the regular season as the champion of the Suburban One League American Conference.
Pennridge: The Rams finished the regular season as the champion of the Suburban One League Continental Conference.
District Playoff Resume:
Plymouth Whitemarsh: The Colonials finished the District 1 playoffs as the # 2 seed. Plymouth Whitemarsh opened with four consecutive wins to advance to the district final. The Colonials defeated Cheltenham (73-33), Springfield-Delco (49-35), Lower Merion (47-36), and Ridley (44-41). PW lost in the District One final to Abington (53-35).
Pennridge: The Rams finished the District 1 playoffs as the # 5 seed. Pennridge opened the playoffs with a pair of wins over Spring-Ford (78-54) and Coatesville (53-47). The Rams lost in the district quarterfinals to Abington – 58-49. Pennridge closed out district play with wins over both Methacton (90-79 in 3 overtimes) and Lower Merion (58-36).
Last Game:
Plymouth Whitemarsh: The Colonials captured a 71-46 win over [3-6] Northeastern in the first round of the PIAA Quad-A State playoffs. PW was led in scoring by Xzavier Malone who scored a game-high 20 points. Devon Monterio-Gray (17), Andre Mitchell (17) and Jimmy Murray (13) also scored in double digits for the winners.
Pennridge: The Rams captured a 61-59 victory over [3-3] Reading in the first round of the PIAA Quad-A State playoffs. Pennridge was led in scoring by Zach Muredda and Joey Molettiere who each scored a game-high 18 points. Dan Long also scored in twin digits with 14 points.
Projected Starting Lineup:
Plymouth Whitemarsh: Xzavier Malone [6-4 – Junior – Guard – 15.1 ppg], Andre Mitchell [6-1 – Senior – Guard – 14.2 ppg], Jimmy Murray [6-0 – Senior – Guard – 14.3 ppg], Cameron Johnson [6-2 – Senior – Forward – 8 rebounds per game], and Devon Monteiro-Gray [6-4 – Senior – Forward – 7.5 ppg].
Pennridge: Joey Molettiere [6-2 – Senior – Forward – 16.2 ppg], Zach Muredda [6-0 - Senior – Guard- 15.1 ppg], Danny Long [5-11 – Junior – Guard – 17.3 ppg], Joe Unangst [5-9 – Senior – Forward – 8.5 ppg], and Ryan Cuthbert [6-0 – Sophomore – Guard – 5.5 ppg].
Plymouth Whitemarsh Head Coach Jim Donofrio says: “I’ve seen Pennridge play twice live, and I love the way they play the game. It is a team that believes in itself – a team that is very unselfish – and a team that is extremely fun to watch. They have some great shooters, and even though they are not big, they get to the rim. I have as much respect for them as any team that we have played all year – Dean (Behrens) has done a great job with that program. We played our worst game of the year against Abington in the district final [53-35 loss] but we came back with a championship spirit against Northeastern. I think the loss might have put the kids back in tune to what we have to do to be successful. We are playing with a serious hunger – and it’s all about winning the next game.”
Pennridge Head Coach Dean Behrens says: “We got a chance to see them live – and I think that was very important. They have some excellent players in (Andre) Mitchell, (Xzavier) Malone, and (Jimmy) Murray. Mitchell is the glue that holds that team together – Malone can go off and score a bunch of points, and Murray is a nice point guard. They are a tremendously skilled team. (Cameron) Johnson is tough under the boards – he might not score a lot but he is really impressive. This all a new experience for our kids and our program. But to be honest, the kids don’t worry about anything. I know the tradition of a PW – but the kids really don’t seem to care. It’s a great group of kids, and all they care about is each other.”
Winner Gets:
The winner of this game will play the winner of the game between [3-1] York (26-4) vs. [12-2] Martin Luthur King (20-8) on Saturday – March 14, 2015 – at a site to be determined.
[1-3] Pennsbury Falcons (24-6) vs. [11-1] Parkland Trojans (28-1)
@ Souderton Area High School – 7:30 pm.
Season Resume:
Pennsbury: The Falcons finished the regular season as the second place finisher in the Suburban One League National Conference.
Parkland: The Trojans finished the regular season as the champion of the Skyline Division of the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference.
District Playoff Resume:
Pennsbury: The Falcons finished the District 1 playoffs as the # 3 seed. Pennsbury opened the district playoffs with three wins over Central Bucks South (70-53), Downingtown West (55-41), and Methacton (68-58). The Falcons lost in the district semifinals to Abington (49-40) and followed with a win over Ridley (65-51) to secure the # 3 seed.
Parkland: The Trojans captured the District 11 title with three consecutive victories in district play. Parkland – the top seed – received a first round bye. The Trojans followed with wins over Pocono Mountain West (38-30), William Allen (59-52), and defeated Whitehall (46-38) in the District 11 championship game.
Last Game:
Pennsbury: The Falcons captured a 75-53 victory over [3-4] Cedar Cliff in the first round of the PIAA Quad-A State playoffs. Senior guard Cameron Jones scored a game-high 28 points to lead the Black & Orange. Derrick Woods had 22 points and 22 rebound for the Falcons, while Mekhi Bryant chipped in with 19 points.
Parkland: The Trojans captured a 53-42 victory over [1-8] Conestoga in the first round of the PIAA Quad-A State playoffs. Sophomore Sam Iorio led Parkland to the win with a 24-point performance. DeVante Cross scored in double digits with a 12-point effort.
Projected Starting Lineup:
Pennsbury: Cameron Jones [6-3 – Senior – Guard – 15.5 ppg] * Derrick Woods [6-8 – Senior – Center – 16.4 ppg] * Mekhi Bryant [5-11 – Senior – Guard – 13.1 ppg] * Nick Cereby [6-4 – Senior – Forward – 3.8 ppg] * Rob Daly [5-11 – Junior – Guard – 3.3 ppg].
Parkland: Sam Iorio [6-6 – Sophomore – Forward – 15.3 ppg] * DeVante Cross [6-1 – Junior – Guard – 14.0 ppg] * Kyle Stout [6-6 – Junior – Guard – 11.5 ppg] * Kenny Yeboah [6-6 – Junior – Forward – 8.5 ppg] * and Jack Dreisbach [6-4 – Junior – Guard – 4.2 ppg].
Pennsbury Head Coach Bill Coleman says: “Parkland is an outstanding team with outstanding shooters. We are going to have to be aware of them shooting 3-pointers – and they have three legit 3-point shooters. They are very quick – and very athletic. They can score both inside and outside – they have a lot of different weapons. They are very young – but they have size and are very talented. We are going to want to continue to play our up-tempo game. Our three senior leaders – Cameron (Jones), Derrick (Woods), and Mekhi (Bryant) are going to have to play their game. Our game plan is going to be the same – pressure. We need to do what we do best.”
Winner Gets:
The winner of this game will play the winner of the game between [12-1] Roman Catholic (25-2) vs. [3-2] Cedar Crest (27-3) on Saturday – March 14, 2015 – at a site to be determined.
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