Abington fell to Chester in Tuesday's semifinal while CB South and Norristown earned berths in the state tournament. To view photos of the Abington/Chester game, please visit the Photo Gallery.
By Mike Prince, Sportswriter
If ever a game qualified as an “upset” by definition standards, Abington defeating a team which it not only lost to by 36 points earlier in the season but which also had won 72 consecutive in-state games would be a good place to start.
And a few minutes after the two teams had a chance to stretch their legs and begin play, it appeared that the upset bid was a possibility.
Abington led by scores of 7-0 and 11-3 early in the first quarter, while controlling the tempo in the opening minutes, but Chester’s size and strength in the paint was just too much for the Ghosts to handle as the Clippers went on to defeat the Ghosts, 76-43, in a District One Class AAAA semifinal at Temple University’s Liacouras Center on Tuesday night.
While having problems containing Chester’s big men, Abington was forced to foul, and it was forced to do so often. The Clippers were sent to the line for 16 free throws in the second quarter alone as they took over the lead and eventually the game.
“We’ve come far,” Abington senior Jordan Simmons said, “but Chester is just a real good team. We were trying to play them on the run, and unfortunately, we couldn’t keep up with them.”
The Clippers led by as many as eight points in the second quarter before Abington cut the deficit to four, at 28-24, thanks to two late steals and two layups by sophomore Matt Penecale.
“I thought we played well in the first half and we definitely played OK, but we were still down four,” Abington coach Charles Grasty said. “They took 17 foul shots and I think we took three and had eight turnovers in the first half and we were still in the game. I thought we were more patient in the first half than in the second half.”
In the third, Abington came out firing yet again, making it a one-point game early on. But a 20-1 Chester run to end the quarter would put the Clippers up by 20, while an Abington team in serious foul trouble could only watch as its district title dream quickly faded. Chester put up 24 points in both the third and fourth quarters en route to the 33-point victory.
“I don’t think size was that big a problem, but every one of those guys bring a lot of pressure,” Simmons said. “I don’t think we did a good job of handling the pressure in the third and they just went on a run and that hurt us. We’re not scared of them and if we play them again, we won’t be hesitant to go at them again. It was a good learning experience.”
Abington was led by Penecale’s 14 points, six rebounds and two steals, while Simmons added 12 points, three rebounds and two steals. Senior Anthony Durham added seven points, all from the free throw line.
The Ghosts shot only 13-for-46 from the floor.
“Those guys (Chester) are big, they play hard and they play every possession,” Grasty said. “Chester is Chester. You have to limit your mistakes. You have to take your shots and be patient in the second half, I thought we took quick shots. If they get you down, they try to get you going and take the lead as much as they can and they did a good job with it. I thought we had an answer for some runs in the first half, but we turned the ball over in the second and Chester is going to take runs on you. That’s their game.”
Chester, the 16th-ranked team in the nation per MaxPreps.com, was led by Darius Robinson’s 21 points, The highly-touted Arizona-bound forward, Rondae Jefferson, finished with 13 points, 14 rebounds, four steals and two blocked shots.
Lower Merion defeated Great Valley, 61-35, in the other semifinal in the early game on Tuesday. Chester and Lower Merion will face each other this Friday at 9 p.m. at Villanova University.
Abington (43) – Durham 0 7-8 7; Simmons 3 5-8 12; Penecale 6 1-1 14; Morrisey 2 0-0 4; Lee 1 1-2 3; Griffin 0 0-0 0; Gibson 0 0-0 0; Bond 1 0-0 2; Neely 0 1-2 1; Stewart 0 0-0 0; Rice 0 0-0 0. Totals: 13 15-21 43.
Chester (76) – Jefferson 4 5-11; 13; Chambers 1 0-0 2; Robinson 6 6-6 21; DeJarnette 3 2-3 8; Warren 1 0-0 3; Williams 1 0-0 2; Granberry 5 0-2 10; Kirksey 2 5-6 9; Reason 2 1-1 5; Williams 1 1-2 3; Campbell 0 0-0 0; Watkins 0 0-0 0. Totals: 26 20-31 76.
Three-point goals: Robinson 3, Warren; Simmons, Penecale.
Abington 13 11 8 11—43
Chester 12 16 24 24—76
Ghosts Fall to Clippers
By Domonic Nokes, Intern
The Galloping Ghosts of Abington High School ran into the ultimate Ghost Busters as they lost by 33 points to the Chester High Clippers, 76-43.
Despite the superb shooting of sophomore guard Matthew Penecale, who shot 60 percent from the field and scored a team-high 14 points, the Ghosts were defeated due to the fact that they committed too many turnovers and weren’t able to contend with or overcome the height of the Clippers.
The first quarter offered up a very close contest, and the Ghosts prevailed with a 13-12 lead due to the fact that they played good defense and were able to take and cash in on good shots. As the second quarter got underway, the defensive pressure of the Clippers picked up, forcing the Ghosts into making some bad decisions, which led to turnovers. Despite their inability to score in the second quarter, the Ghost still remained competitive and had the lead within reach as they only trailed by four at halftime, 28-24.
As competitive as the first half of play was the second half turned out to be a completely different story as the Clippers set sail and never looked back. The third quarter brought nothing but disappointment for the Ghost as they were only able to muster up eight points while allowing the Clippers to have any and everything they wanted early and often en route to a 52-32 lead.
The Ghost struggled with ball control, which led to them turning the ball over 23 times throughout the course of the contest. The only thing that kept the Ghosts alive (although on life support) was the fact that they were able to shoot well from the free throw line, connecting on 15-of-21 attempts. Although the Ghosts continued to fight until the game ended, the Clippers second half total of 48 points was too much for the Ghost to handle as they were laid to rest by a final score of 76-43.
Although defeated, the Ghosts will look to once again rise and be ready to spook the competition in their Friday’s third place matchup against Great Valley in hopes of a win.
#4 NORRISTOWN 67, #25 HARRITON 45
The Eagles didn’t take the road they’d planned on taking when they were awarded the district’s fourth seed, but on Tuesday night, they punched their coveted ticket to the state tournament.
“This was real big,” coach Mike Evans said. “After that (second round) setback we had to Ridley, these guys went to practice and worked hard. They had a refuse-to-lose attitude. They wanted nothing more than to get to states, and they worked hard for it.
“I told them, ‘Every night you have to be on your game,’ and against Ridley, they went out and didn’t play their hardest until the last three minutes. I think they learned a lesson from that. They know they have to come out every night on top of their game because they’re the hunted.”
The Eagles came out on the attack on Tuesday, opening up a 22-16 lead after one quarter and taking a 38-26 lead into halftime.
“Luke Kelley opened up the game with three three’s in a row, and that opened it up,” Evans said. “From there, Josh Johson took over. He controlled the inside. He was an intimidating factor inside tonight.”
The Eagles outscored Harriton in each of the four quarters, but according to Evans, it was their strong start that was the key.
“That was important – get on them early, jump on them and just make them play our tempo and our style of basketball for the rest of the game. We controlled the tempo tonight, and that contributed to our win.”
Kelley led the Eagles (22-4) with 19 points to go along with six assists and five rebounds. Johnson added 18 points, six rebounds and four blocked shots. Bernard Gordon dished out seven assists for the Eagles, who will host Central Bucks South on Friday in a battle for ninth place.
#14 CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 46, #15 PENNCREST 41
The Titans rebounded from a tough ending to the regular season that saw a Continental Conference championship slip from their grasp to earn a berth in the state tournament, thanks to Tuesday’s hard-fought win.
“We have had some ups and downs, and part of the team had some issues,” coach Jason Campbell said. “We ended up bouncing back from that and had the opportunity to win the conference.
“Unfortunately, we just didn’t have our best two games. It was disappointing.”
Perhaps no one was more disappointed to see the conference crown slip away than senior point guard Kevin Raymond, whose 12-point fourth quarter on Tuesday propelled the Titans to the big win.
“We had to basically pick him up off the floor after the (loss to) CB East to shake hands and get him to the locker room,” Campbell said. “He was hurting. This is what he’s been playing for so many years. He loves the game.
“He has so much passion, and the passion is there every day at practice. He (practices) like it’s a game. I’ve never seen a kid that has that much love for the game, that much energy. He is the engine that could. I have never coached a player that never takes off a play. He even gets upset at practice if someone scores on him. I’ve never seen anything like it. He’s a tough, hard-nosed player.”
It was the tough hard-nosed play of Raymond on defense that may have been as important as his 15-point offensive performance.
“He had the big task of guarding (Eddie) Baxter, who is an outstanding shooting guard and runs the point,” Campbell said. “Kevin held him to seven points.”
Also coming up big for the Titans was Matt Scamuffo, who scored 10 points.
“Matt played really well,” Campbell said. “He had a couple of big three’s. My scorebook has him for 10, but we thought he had 13. He had a big game.
“Defensively, Ricky Dennis altered shots and denied the ball.”
The Titans trailed 17-15 at halftime but evened the score 26-26 heading into the final quarter when Raymond went on an offensive tear.
“He hit two big three’s and knocked down four-of-five foul shots,” Campbell said. “He’s great. He looks for his teammates, tries to get them involved. He looks for opportunities, and he adjusts well to how teams are playing.”
Despite the heroics of Raymond and Scamuffo, Campbell called the win a team effort.
“At the end of the day, when you look at the playoffs, it comes down to how well you play defense,” he said. “Everyone has a good scorer, everyone has size.
“These guys aren’t worried about how many points they score, they’re just worried about finding a way to win.”
The Titans (18-9) will travel to Norristown on Friday night for a contest for ninth place.
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