Abington and Pennsbury advanced to the second round of the PIAA Class AAAA Tournament with wins on Saturday.
1-2 PENNSBURY 65, 3-5 WILSON WEST LAWN 43
Cameron Jones had just buried his fourth three-pointer of the third quarter – this one from the top of the circle in transition to give the Falcons a 43-27 lead.
A spectator, dazzled by the Falcons’ offensive arsenal said, “I’m a Wilson fan, but boy, those kids can shoot.”
On this day, no one shot the ball better than Jones, whose glittering 14-point outburst sparked a 29-9 third quarter tear that turned a tightly-contest game into a rout. Jones finished with a game-high 21 points.
“If Cameron’s on – hey, it’s a beautiful thing,” coach Bill Coleman said. “You see the guys just feed off it, and our defense gets turned up. That made the biggest difference.”
Junior Mekhi Bryant contributed 15 points while senior Steve Ciotti added 13 and provided steady leadership at point guard. Derrick Woods had eight points, and Nigel Johnson had six as everyone got a piece of the action.
“Made shots allow us to press, and that’s the biggest difference,” Coleman said. “If we’re pressing, it’s very difficult. We speed up the game. I know Wilson likes to run, but if we can get them going at a pace where they’ve never played before, it’s in our favor.”
Things were certainly working in Pennsbury’s favor in the second half but not so much in a first half that saw the Falcons struggle to find their stride. The trailed 8-4 early but took a 9-8 lead after Ciotti buried a three-pointer and then turned a steal into an easy bucket. That lead grew to 11-8 after a Bryant drive late in the quarter.
Wilson opened the second quarter with a 6-0 run to go on top 14-11. A putback by Woods pulled the Falcons to within one, and out of a Falcon timeout, Jones buried a three-pointer off a screen to put the Falcons on top 16-14.
The Bulldogs came back to take a 22-20 lead, but a putback by Jones in the closing seconds of the quarter made it a 22-22 game at halftime.
“We were a little sluggish,” Coleman said. “There were a variety of factors that played into it – the Chester (district title) game, the Junior Prom last night, having a half hour practice yesterday to allow the kids to go to the prom, having practice today to make up for the lack of practice yesterday, so there were a lot of factors.
“I knew as long as the energy is high we would be okay.”
The energy was sky high in the third quarter, and it all started with Jones burying an NBA trey on the Falcons’ opening possession. A Wilson turnover set the stage for a Johnson three-pointer, giving the Falcons a 28-22 lead less than a minute into the second half.
The Falcons led 30-23 when Ciotti scored on a drive, and after Wilson’s Travaun Coad scored to make it a five-point game, Jones began working his magic. First he scored on a mid-range jumper off a dribble and then – after a Wilson miss – Woods turned an offensive rebound into a dunk. Yet another Wilson miss set the stage for a long range trey by Jones, giving the Falcons a 37-25 lead and prompting the Bulldogs to call a hasty timeout.
It didn’t help.
The Bulldogs came up empty on their possession out of the timeout, and Jones countered with another three-pointer.
“In the third quarter, they left me open for one shot, and I made it, and I started going from there,” Jones said.
Wilson broke the Falcons’ run with a bucket, but the Jones’ trey in transition gave the Falcons a 16-point lead. By this time, Jones was making it look easy.
“I would like to thank my coaches because they give me the green light,” he said. “After I make a couple of shots – shots like that in transition, I have to shoot it if they leave me open.”
When Bryant buried a pair from the foul line in the closing seconds of the quarter, the Falcons led 51-31, and the fourth quarter was little more than a formality.
“The first half was all mainly (about) effort,” Jones said. “Our offense comes from our defense, but our defense wasn’t great in the first half.
“In the second half, we came out and played very good defense, and that contributed to our offense.”
For those concerned that the Falcons might not recuperate from their heartbreaking loss to Chester in the district title game, the Falcons put those concerns to rest with their 43-point second half.
“That motivated us,” Jones said of the loss to Chester. “We had that game. People know we had that game. Obviously, I feel like we should have won, but I feel like that motivates us for the future. We want to see them again in states.”
Pennsbury (23-5, 12-2 SOL) will take on Martin Luther King in a second round game on Wednesday at a site to be determined. The District 12 runner-up defeated Cumberland Valley (3-6) 57-43.
Wilson West Lawn 8 14 9 12-43
Pennsbury 11 11 29 14-65
1-6 ABINGTON 65, 11-2 EMMAUS 52
Abington – looking anything but the part of the district’s sixth seed – came storming out of the gate to score 24 first-quarter points, connecting on 10-of-16 shots and effectively setting the tone.
“We shot well,” coach Charles Grasty said. “They were good shots.
“They started in a match-up zone, and we were able to attack the basket a little bit. We got some open three’s. We just shared the ball, and our guys were able to get good looks. They weren’t lucky shots. They were good shots off the extra pass. It was a good start.”
The Ghosts led 24-17 after one quarter and took a 37-31 lead into halftime. Any doubts about the outcome were all but put to rest when they outscored the Green Hornets 17-10 in the third quarter to go into the final frame with a 54-41 lead.
“I don’t think Emmaus ever led,” Grasty said. “They tied it a couple of times.
“We jumped out and shot it well early, and our length gave their guards a hard time. They forced a couple of shots, and we were able to get some runouts.”
Amir Hinton led the Ghosts with 21 points. Anthony Lee added 17 and Matt Penecale had 15.
“It was kind of like pick your poison,” Grasty said. “They would deny one guy the ball, and our guys would just pass it.
“They were very unselfish, and I told our guys – if they play this way, we’ll be hard to beat. We were getting it inside and outside. We definitely attacked the basket a lot, and we were 5-for-14 from the three-point line.”
Kyrie Jefferson led the Ghosts under the backboards with seven rebounds. Laz Macrides had six.
“Laz didn’t play a lot tonight,” Grasty said. “He was coming off the flu. He had the flu all week, but then he got in and played well.”
Saturday’s win was the program’s first state win since 1988.
“The guys know – they heard about it,” Grasty said. “It was important that we jumped out early.
“This is a special group. We went 14-0 in the league and didn’t achieve the district championship everyone sets out for. There’s another goal we’re trying to reach, and they came out and played well.”
The Ghosts (23-5, 14-0 SOL) will face District 3 champion York in a second round game on Wednesday. York defeated Haverford 67-49 on Saturday.
Abington 24 13 17 11-65
Emmaus 17 14 10 11-52
11-1 PARKLAND 63, 1-8 CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 51
The Bucks led 13-10 after one quarter but found themselves on the short end of a 28-23 score at the intermission. Parkland outscored West 35-28 in the second half.
Jared Kelly led the Bucks with 15 points while Pat Kelley added 14. Kyle Salvitti and Kyle Schechter both had eight points.
The Bucks closed out their season with a 15-12 record (8-6 SOL).
Central Bucks West 13 10 12 16-51
Parkland 10 18 15 20-63
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