Wissahickon defeated Strath Haven in Wednesday’s opening round of the District One 5A Tournament. Game photos provided courtesy of Kim Supko. Check back for a gallery of photos.
#1-4 WISSAHICKON 67, #1-13 STRATH HAVEN 48
Zach Reiner had big night for the Trojans, connecting on 8-of-10 shots from the field en route to a game-high 17 points. He also handed out eight assists and pulled down five rebounds
“He’s had a couple of really nice games for us down the stretch,” coach Kyle Wilson said. “He’s not a guy that looks to put up a ton of points. He’s such an unselfish player.
“We played a pretty close half against Upper Moreland in one of our final regular season games, and he went for 26 in that game. He’s good at knocking down his threes and taking more perimeter shots and being a little more aggressive offensively instead of just looking to pass, and it’s made a huge difference because we knew coming down the stretch into the playoffs – teams are probably going to key on Eddie (Fortescue) and key on Max (Rapoport). It’s tough to key on them when you have a four-year starter out there who can also put up some points. He makes it easy for all the guys around him.”
The Trojans jumped out of the gate to a 19-9 lead early in the second quarter, but the Black Panthers rallied to make it a 23-17 game at the intermission. Eddie Fortescue and Max Rapoport each scored eight points in the half to lead the Trojans.
“We had control early, and midway through the second quarter, we had a couple of careless turnovers, and they cut it to six going into halftime,” Wilson said. “We just had a really strong second half, and that was the difference.”
Reiner had the hot hand in the second half, burying a pair of threes in a 17-point third quarter. He had six more points in the final frame. Anthony Lawrence – who was a perfect 5-for-5 from the field – and Carmen Ostrowski each scored eight points in the second half as the Trojans received contributions up and down their lineup.
Lawrence finished with 10 points while Ostrowski had eight.
“I look at Anthony (Lawrence), who was 5-for-5 tonight, and I think three of his scores came off Reiner’s assists,” Wilson said. “Carmen Ostrowski almost hit double figures, and a lot of those came either off of hustle plays or cutting and Reiner finding him underneath.
“That tone of sharing the rock and moving the ball – it’s contagious, and it starts with Zach.”
Rapoport (13 points) and Fortescue (12 points) also finished the game in double figures.
“We’re a team that sometimes puts up seven to 13 threes in a game, and I don’t think we had a single three in the first half,” Wilson said. “I truly think the teams we play and the conference we play in, playing the PWs, playing the non-league games against Pennridge and CB West – we found out how to play a slow grind-it-out game. We know how to play fast and play against pressure.
“It was nice in the first half when shots weren’t falling we found ways to get interior baskets from our big guys. When Eddie (Fortescue), Donovan Oliphont, Cole (Hirsch) and Max (Rapoport) weren’t hitting threes, we were able to go inside and still get baskets. I always tell the guys why we want to be so versatile during the 
season is when you get to the playoffs you never know who you’re gong to face, and you don’t just want to be a man-to-man team if you face a team that plays zone, and you don’t want to just be a team that beats zones when you get a team that plays solid man-to-man. It was nice to see us very balanced across the board with the scoring, especially our inside guys picking up the slack.”
Wissahickon (17-6, 11-3 SOL) will host fifth-seeded Great Valley in Saturday’s quarterfinal round. The winner will advance to the semifinals at Temple University and earn a berth in the state tournament.
“We were there last year,” Wilson said. “We ended up playing Penncrest at Penncrest (in the quarterfinals) and were a game away – lost in overtime and had a great opportunity to do it. Hopefully, this is the year the guys can get over the hump.”
Strath Haven 8-9-13-18 48
Wissahickon 13-10-17-27 67
Strath Haven (48) – Graves 5 5-9 16; Santisi 0 1-2 1; Pio 1 0-0 2; J. Morris 1 2-2 4; Rosini 1 0-0 3; Driscoll 4 3-4 11; R.Morris 3 2-5 9; Carmichael 0 2-2 2; TOTALS 15 14-20 48.
Wissahickon (67) – Donovan Oliphont 1 0-1 3; Eddie Fortescue 5 2-2 12; Harrison Williams 0 2-2 2; Maurice Willis 1 0-0 2; Max Rapoport 6 0-0 13; Ethan Saffier 0 0-2 0; Anthony Lawrence 5 0-0 10; Carmen Ostrowski 1 6-6 8; Zach Reiner 7 1-1 17; TOTALS 26 11-14 67.
3-point goals: Wissahickon – Zach Reiner 2, Donovan Oliphant, Max Rapoport; Strath Haven – Graves 2, Rosini, R.Morris.
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