Abington and Pennsbury will be in action in Wednesday’s second round of the PIAA Class AAAA Tournament.
By Scott Huff
Pennsbury and Abington each cleared the first round PIAA Quad-A hurdle with victories. And if both the Falcons (23-5) and Ghosts (23-5) can clear the enormous second round hurdles – the two elite Suburban One League National Conference teams would face each other in the quarterfinal round on Saturday (3/15/14).
But both Pennsbury head coach Bill Coleman and Abington head coach Charles Grasty caution that it is a huge if and will not allow their talented teams to look ahead.
“We don’t talk about it, but the players do,” said Coleman as his Falcons prep for Martin Luther King (24-6) on Wednesday. “But we know that we have to focus on beating Martin Luther King – and we can’t worry about what Abington does. We can’t play them if we don’t win our game.”
“This is a very special team that wants the season to keep on going,” said Grasty as his Ghosts prep for York (23-6) on Wednesday. “We have smart kids on this team – and we know what is ahead of us.”
Abington and Pennsbury met in January and February with the Ghosts capturing wins in both games. Abington won the January 10game with a nail biting 62-61 victory at Pennsbury, while Abington won the February 4game with a 63-55 victory at Abington.
And both tradition rich programs would love nothing better than to have that PIAA Quad-A Quarterfinal date in the month of March.
And the beat goes on…
PIAA Quad-A State Second Round Games
Wednesday – March 12, 2014
(1-2) Pennsbury Falcons [23-5] vs. (12-2) Martin Luther King Cougars [24-6]
@ Plymouth Whitemarsh High School – 7:30 pm
Last Game: Pennsbury advanced to the second round of the state playoffs with a 65-43 victory over Wilson. 
The Falcons broke open a 22-22 halftime deadlock by outscoring Wilson 29-9 in the third period. Cameron Jones was the leading scorer for Pennsbury with a terrific 21-point scoring performance, while Mekhi Bryant (15) and Steve Ciotti (13) also scored in double digits. Derrick Woods scored eight points and was a presence in the paint, while Nigel Johnson chipped in with six points. Martin Luther King advanced to the second round of the state playoffs with a 57-43 victory over Cumberland Valley. The Cougars broke open a close game by outscoring Cumberland Valley 15-7 in the final period. MLK featured a balanced scoring attack that showcased Jahmir Taylor (14), Chase Rodgers (14), Gregg Bennett (10), Sammy Foreman (10), and Jabri McCall (9).
District Playoff Resume: Pennsbury advanced to the District One championship game at Villanova and lost to Chester – 52-49. The Falcons had advanced to the title game with wins over Academy Park (81-68), Spring-Ford (69-52), and Conestoga (58-36). Martin Luther King advanced to the City Championship Game (District 12 title) and lost to Roman Catholic – 58-55. The Cougars had advanced to the title game with wins over Central (50-48), Math, Civics, & Sciences (75-56), and Constitution (46-44).
Pennsbury head coach Bill Coleman says: “Martin Luther King is a very balanced team with two good inside players and three good shooters. They all can attack the basket, rebound, and are very aggressive on defense. They are going to be a handful for us to deal with. We started off slow against Wilson, but we played a great third quarter and were able to come away with the win. We started to make shots – and when we make shots, we can press after baskets. We seem to feed off our transition game, and we want to make teams play faster. Ball pressure is the key to our success. We have gone over every detail and we will be ready.”
Winner Gets: The winner of this game will play the winner of the (3-1) York vs. (1-6) Abington game on Saturday (3/15/14) in the PIAA Quad-A Quarterfinals.
(3-1) York (William Penn) Bearcats [23-6] vs. (1-6) Abington Ghosts [23-5]
@ Coatesville High School – 7:30 pm
Last Game: York advanced to the second round of the state playoffs with a 67-49 victory over Haverford. The 
Bearcats broke out to an 18-7 first period lead and were never challenged. Jahaire Wilson led York in scoring with a 21-point effort, while Brandon Smallwood scored in double digits with 10 points. Trey Shifflett, Kristopher Johnson, and D’montie Shaw round out the starting lineup. Abington advanced to the second round of the state playoffs with a 65-52 victory over Emmaus. The Ghosts scored a season high 24 points in the first period and coasted to the win. Amir Hinton led the Abington scoring with a 21-point scoring performance, while Anthony Lee (17) and Matt Penecale (15) also scored in twin digits. Laz Mackrides and Jordan Neely also played key roles in the win.
District Playoff Resume: York captured the District 3 championship with a 54-52 victory over Cedar Crest. The Bearcats advanced to the title game with wins over McCaskey (78-64), Wilson (53-47), and Hershey (69-58). Abington split a pair of District One playoff games to earn the 6th seed. The Ghosts opened with wins over both North Penn (61-44) and Haverford (53-44), but the Ghosts followed with district losses to Chester (63-51) and Lower Merion (53-42).
Abington head coach Charles Grasty says: “The players were excited to beat Emmaus because it was the first state playoff win at Abington since 1988. We got off to the great start shooting the ball – we really attacked the glass. Defensively, we made them take tough shots, and that helped us in transition. York is very similar to us in that they shoot the ball well, they like to play man-to-man full court defense, and they keep coming at you the entire game. They play with a lot of energy, and you have to play with the same energy to compete with them. We are excited that we get to play the game at Coatesville – it will give our fans a short drive to see us play.”
Winner Gets: The winner of this game will play the winner of the (1-2) Pennsbury vs. (12-2) Martin Luther King game on Saturday (3/15/14) in the PIAA Quad-A Quarterfinals.
Exit Door
Central Bucks West was shown the exit door in the first round of the PIAA Quad-A state playoffs with a 63-51 loss to District 11 champion Parkland. The Bucks held a 13-10 first period lead but saw its successful district playoff run end in defeat. CB West was led in scoring by the wonderful backcourt tandem of Jared Kelly (team-high 15 points) and Pat Kelley (14). Kyle Salvitti and Kyle Schechter each scored 8 points for West in a losing effort.
Suburban One Sports.com
Top Ten
1. Pennsbury Falcons (23-5)
2. Abington Ghosts (23-5)
3. Plymouth Whitemarsh Colonials (20-5)
4. Central Bucks West Bucks (15-13)
5. Wissahickon Trojans (15-10)
6. Souderton Indians (15-10)
7. Pennridge Rams (15-8)
8. Central Bucks South Titans (13-10)
9. Norristown Eagles (12-11)
10. Central Bucks East Patriots (12-11)
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