Scott Huff previews the four state games featuring SOL boys' basketball teams. Check back for a report on all four games.
By Scott Huff
Let the March Madness begin.
The Suburban One League will showcase four of the top five teams from District One as the PIAA Quad-A State Basketball Playoffs begin on Saturday.
# 1 Abington, # 2 Plymouth Whitemarh, # 3 Pennsbury, and # 5 Pennridgewill all represent both the SOL and District One in first round play. And that foursome will all clash with District Three opponents in opening round games – # 8 JP McCaskey, # 6 Northeastern, # 4 Cedar Cliff, and # 3 Reading.
And the beat goes on..
PIAA Quad-A State First Round Basketball Playoffs
Saturday – March 7, 2015
[1-1] Abington Ghosts (26-3) vs. [3-8] JP McCaskey Red Tornado (20-9)
@ Cheltenham High School – 1 pm
Season Resume:
Abington: The Ghosts finished the regular season as the champion of the Suburban One League National Conference.
JP McCaskey: The Red Tornado finished the regular season as the second place finisher in the Lancaster-Lebanon Section (1).
District Playoff Resume:
Abington: The Ghosts began the District One playoffs as the # 6 seed and captured the D-1 championship with a run of five straight victories. Abington defeated North Penn (59-58), Chester (55-47 overtime), Pennridge (58-49), Pennsbury (49-40), and Plymouth Whitemarsh (53-35).
JP McCaskey: The Red Tornado began the playoffs as the # 4 seed from District Three and won one of four playoff games. McCaskey opened the playoffs with a 76-54 victory over Center Valley and followed with losses to Reading (56-50), Harrisburg (60-48), and Central York (65-49) to earn the eighth seed from the district.
Last Game/Players To Watch:
Abington won the District One title with a 53-35 destruction of Plymouth Whitemarsh. In the victory over the Colonials, Amir Hinton scored his 1000th point of his career and led the Ghosts with 20 points. Matt Penecale added 13 points, while freshman Robbie Heath chipped in with eight points.
JP McCaskey dropped its third straight D-3 playoff game with a 65-49 loss to Central York. The Red Tornado’s leading scorer for the season – Kobe Gantz – led McCaskey in scoring with 16 points. Tyler Owens added nine points for the Red Tornado, while Randolph Speller scores seven points.
Winner Gets:
The winner of this game will play the winner of the game between [11-2] Whitehall and [1-7] Methacton on Wednesday – March 11, 2015 – at a time and site to be determined.
[1-2] Plymouth Whitemarsh Colonials (24-3) vs. [3-6] Northeastern Bobcats (23-4)
@ Upper Dublin High School – 1 pm
Season Resume:
Plymouth Whitemarsh: The Colonials finished the regular season as the champion of the Suburban One League American Conference.
Northeastern: The Bobcats finished the regular season as the champion of the York-Adams Division II.
District Playoff Resume:
Plymouth Whitemarsh: The Colonials began the District One playoffs as the # 4 seed and advanced the D-1 title game before losing to champion Abington – 53-35. PW opened the playoffs with four wins that included victories over Cheltenham (73-33), Springfield-Delco (49-35), Lower Merion (47-36), and Ridley (44-41).
Northeastern: The Bobcats began the District Three playoffs as the # 7 seed and split a pair of D-3 playoff games. Northeastern opened the playoffs with a 56-49 victory over Carlisle – lost to Cedar Cliff (50-48) – defeated Central York (74-70) – and lost to Harrisburg (58-57).
Last Game/Players To Watch:
Plymouth Whitemarsh was routed in the D-1 championship game by Abington – 53-35. The Colonials were led in scoring by Andre Mitchell with a team-high 15 points, while Xzavier Malone was held below his scoring average with seven points. High scoring Jimmy Murray was held to just two points.
Northeastern suffered a tough loss in its final D-3 playoff game in a 58-57 loss to Harrisburg. The Bobcats were led in scoring byDeArierous Brown with 16 points, while Derrick Hoffman added 11 points. The Northeastern leading scorer for the season – (6-5) Kobi Nwandu scored in double digits with 12 points.
Winner Gets:
The winner of this game will play the winner of the game between [3-3] Reading and [1-5] Pennridge on Wednesday – March 11, 20156 – at a time and site to be determined.
[1-3] Pennsbury Falcons (23-6) vs. [3-4] Cedar Cliff Colts (24-3)
@ Council Rock South High School – 1 pm
Season Resume:
Pennsbury: The Falcons finished the regular season as the second place finisher in the Suburban One League National Conference.
Cedar Cliff: The Colts finished the regular season as the champion of the Mid-Penn Keystone Conference.
District Playoff Resume:
Pennsbury: The Falcons began the District One playoffs as the # 7 seed and won four of five playoff games. Pennsbury opened the playoffs with a wins over Central Bucks South (70-53), Downingtown West (55-41), and Methacton (68-58). The Falcons lost in the district semifinals to eventual champion Abington (49-40) and closed the playoffs with a victory over Ridley (65-51) to secure the # 3 seed from D-1.
Cedar Cliff: The Colts began the District Three playoffs as the # 2 seed and split their four district playoff games. Cedar Cliff opened the playoffs with a wins over Central Dauphin (56-44) and Northeastern (50-48). The Colts closed the playoffs with losses to both eventual D-3 champion William Penn (60-55) and Reading (67-66 in double overtime).
Last Game/Players To Watch:
Pennsbury earned the # 3 D-1 seed with a 65-51 victory over Ridley. The Falcons were led in scoring by senior guards Cameron Jones (28 points) and Mekhi Bryant (17). Pennsbury played without the services of senior Derrick Woods who was suspended for the game after receiving two technical fouls in the loss to Abington. Woods will be back on the court with Jones and Bryant for the Cedar Cliff contest.
Cedar Cliff lost a difficult 67-66 double overtime loss to Reading in a playback game for the third and fourth place seeds in District Three. Owen Shenk scored a game-high 24 points for the Colts, while Tyler Hoagland (20) and Derek Ford (15) also scored in double figures for Cedar Cliff.
Winner Gets:
The winner of this game will play the winner of the game between [11-1] Parkland and [1-8] Conestoga on Wednesday – March 11, 2015 – at a site and time to be determined.
[1-5] Pennridge Rams (24-4) vs. [3-3] Reading Red Knights (24-5)
@ Wilson West Lawn High School – 1 pm
Season Resume:
Pennridge: The Rams finished the regular season as the champion of the Suburban One League Continental Conference.
Reading: The Red Knights finished the regular season as the champion of the Berks Division.
District Playoff Resume:
Pennridge: The Rams began the District One playoffs as the # 3 seed and won four of five playoff games. Pennridge opened the playoffs with wins over Spring-Ford (78-54) and Coatesville (53-47). The Rams lost in the D-1 quarterfinals to eventual champion Abington (58-49). Pennridge rebounded with playoff wins over both Methacton (90-79 in triple overtime) and Lower Merion (58-36).
Reading: The Red Knights began the District Three playoffs as the # 5 seed and won three of four playoff games. Reading opened the playoffs with wins over Warwick (58-50) and JP McCasky (56-50). The Red Knights lost in the semifinals to Cedar Crest (58-49) and rebounded with a win over Cedar Cliff (67-66 in double overtime) to earn the # 3 seed from D-3.
Last Game/Players To Watch:
Pennridge earned the # 5 seed from District One with a 58-36 victory over Lower Merion. The Rams were led by junior Dan Long who scored a game-high 18 points, while Zach Murreda (17) and Joey Molettiere (15) each scored in double figures for the winners. This is the first-ever state playoff appearance for the Rams.
Reading earned the # 3 seed from District Three with a thrilling 67-66 double overtime victory over Cedar Cliff. The Red Knights were led in scoring by Villanova recruit Lonnie Walker who scored 26 points. Tyree Gibson (16) and Khary Mauras (11) also scored in twin digits for the winners.
Winner Gets:
The winner of this game will play the winner of the game between [1-2] Plymouth Whitemarsh and [3-6] Northeastern on Wednesday – March 11, 2015 – at a site and time to be determined.
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