Take a minute to check out the video submitted of the miracle finish to the Pennridge-Quakertown regular season finale by clicking on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/videos/all/147
By Scott Huff
The opening round games of the PIAA Quad-A District One Playoffs were played Friday, and the upset was that there was not an upset in the first round – unless you count Springfield Delco’s 56-55 overtime win over host Cheltenham. The victorious Cougars were a #17 seed – while the Panthers were a #16 seed.The mathematical formula that put together the brackets got it right – at least for one night. With the exception of Cheltenham, all the home teams in the district were able to send their respective home crowds home happy. And some wins were more homely than others.
“I told the kids after the game that first round games are tough to play,” said Neshaminy head coach Jerry Devine after his Redskins defeated Central Bucks East – 55-43. “The higher seed goes into the game with certain expectations, and things don’t always go as planned. The games either tend to be blowouts or very close.”
“We went into the game very tight,” said Bensalem head coach John Mullin after his Owls defeated Strath-Haven – 53-37. “We were down at the half (22-20), and we lost our focus a bit on the offensive end. First round playoff games can do that to you.”
“It was nice to get a win, but we didn’t play our best basketball game,” said Wissahickon head coach Kyle Wilson after his Trojans held off Spring-Ford for a 47-43 win. “We gained some playoff experience tonight for our younger kids, and we need that if we want to be successful.”
“We were very shaky in the first half,” said North Penn head coach Ron Hassler as his Knights erased a five-point intermission deficit to defeat Upper Dublin – 49-38. “Playoff basketball is different than the regular season, and once we got settled we played a pretty good second half.”
The field of 32 has been sliced in half – and the Sweet 16 will continue play next Tuesday with the higher seed hosting the game.
And the Winners Are …
Pennridge (18-5) won the first home playoff game in school history as the Rams gunned down visiting West Chester Henderson (15-8) – 74-54.
Senior guard Mike Guldin ran the effective Ram offense and scored a game-high 24 points. Junior backcourt mate Tim Abruzzo and senior guard Rocky Ferrier each scored 13 points for the winners.
“District playoff wins are tough to come by for us,” said Pennridge head coach Dean Behrens. “We’re not Chester or Plymouth Whitemarsh – they consume playoff wins like I eat cupcakes. I thought we executed extremely well, and now we get a chance to show what we can do at the next level.”
Pennridge will travel to Plymouth Whitemarsh (19-4) to meet the defending PIAA Quad-A state champions. The Colonials ripped Interboro 78-42 in their first round game.
“We are excited to be going to PW, it is a great situation for our team to be in,” said Behrens. “We won the first school championship, we now have won more games than any other team in the history of the school, and we won a home district playoff game. This success couldn’t happen to a better group of kids.”
West Chester Henderson 6 12 17 19 * 54
Pennridge 12 18 23 21 * 74
Neshaminy (19-4) broke open a tight game in the fourth period to secure a 55-43 first round district playoff win over visiting Central Bucks East (11-12).
“It was a good game, but I thought it was going to be a good game,” said Neshaminy head coach Jerry Devine. “In the first half we were able to score, and we were able to pressure them after the scores. We couldn’t score in the third period – we couldn’t pressure – and they made a game of it.”
Neshaminy was led in scoring by their ‘bigs’ – Michael McGarry and Dwight Williams. McGarry scored a game-high 18 points, while Williams scored in twin digits with 16 points. Ryan Arcidiacono ran the offense to perfection in the fourth period and scored 14 points for the Skins.
The Patriots – who saw their season come to a close under first year head coach Erik Henrysen – were led in scoring by Steve Topley with 13 points.
Neshaminy will advance to the second round with a home contest against Glen Mills. The Bulls (16-7) edged Central Bucks West (14-9) in overtime – 29-28.
Central Bucks East 9 6 13 15 * 43
Neshaminy 15 11 6 23 * 55
North Penn (19-4) rallied from a first half deficit to defeat visiting Upper Dublin (11-12) – 49-38.
“We hung in there in the first half by playing good defense,” said North Penn head coach Ron Hassler. “And we were able to shoot the ball much better in the second half.
“Sean Brooks began to play well and shoot well from the perimeter,” added Hassler. “And Janeus Somers played a very good game inside. When you get help both inside and outside it takes some of the pressure off you.”
Sean Brooks ended as the leading scorer in the game with 17 points. Somers was the only other Knight in twin digits with 12 points.
Khalil Owens led the Flying Cardinals with a team-high 16 points, while Darrell Harrison added 10 points for UDHS in its season finale.
North Penn will advance to the second round of the playoffs and will host Bensalem (18-5). The Owls advanced to the round of 16 with a 53-37 win over Strath Haven.
Upper Dublin 13 9 10 6 * 38
North Penn 8 9 18 14 * 49
Bensalem (18-5) overcame a slow start to defeat visiting Strath Haven (14-9) – 53-37 – in a first round District One playoff game. The Owls had defeated Strath Haven earlier in the year – 66-52.
“We beat them in December, and that is a lifetime ago,” said Bensalem head coach John Mullin. “But sometimes it is hard to take that fact out of their heads.
“Leo (Vincent) came up with some big 3-pointers in the second half,” added Mullin of his sophomore guard. “And Chris McMullin played a strong game for us on the inside.”
Vincent led all scorers with 18 points.
Bensalem will now hit the District One Playoff road as the Owls travel to meet North Penn (19-4) in a second round game. The Knights won their first round game over Upper Dublin by a 49-38 margin.
Strath Haven 10 12 7 8 * 37
Bensalem 12 8 16 17 * 53
Wissahickon (14-8) got out to a comfortable lead but was forced to hold off a Spring-Ford comeback to defeat the visiting Rams – 47-43.
“We were up 10-12 points the entire game, but we let them hang around,” said Wissahickon head coach Kyle Wilson. “We are still learning what it takes to play in the playoffs, and to just come out of this game with a win is a good thing.”
Sophomore Anthony McKie led the Trojans with a 13-point scoring night, while Jordan Reed scored in twin digits for the winners with 11 points. Tanoh Kpassagnon – the 6-foot, 7-inch Wissy center – played a strong defensive game and scored nine points.
Wissahickon will also hit the District One Playoff road as the Trojans travel to Council Rock North (22-1). Rock North bested Great Valley – 43-28 – in its first round game.
Spring-Ford 12 6 7 18 * 43
Wissahickon 12 13 9 13 * 47
Plymouth Whitemarsh (19-4) broke open its game with Interboro (11-10) with a 28-point second period as routed the visiting Bucs – 78-42 – in an opening round contest.
Marcus Badger – the Colonial point guard – led the team in scoring with 18 points. Jaylen Bond added 17 points for PW, while Stephon Baker (11) and Sam Pygatt (10) also scored in double figures.
Plymouth Whitemarsh will now host Pennridge in a second round game. The Rams blasted West Chester Henderson – 74-54 – in their opening round contest.
Interboro 7 11 6 18 * 42
Plymouth Whitemarsh 13 28 20 17 * 78
Council Rock North (22-1) scored just two first period points but managed to defeat Great Valley (11-12) – 43-28.
The Indians placed two players in double figures to lead the attack. Arron Goodman scored a game-high 14 points for Rock North, while Aaron Morgan added 12 points for the winners. Charlie Anastasi scored eight points for the Indians.
Council Rock North will now host Wissahickon (14-8) in a second round game. The Trojans advanced with a 47-43 win over Spring-Ford.
Great Valley 6 5 8 9 * 28
Council Rock North 2 18 8 15 * 43
Norristown (19-3) trailed at intermission and struggled to a 47-41 first round victory over visiting Ridley (12-11).
The Eagles were led in scoring by Rasheed Johnson and Maleek Williams with 15 points each. Jahquan Hargrove added nine points for the winners.
Norristown will now host Coatesville in its next district game. The Red Raiders defeated Souderton 71-59 to advance to the second round.
Ridley 10 6 15 10 * 41
Norristown 10 5 18 14 * 47
Exit Door
Cheltenham (14-8) was shown the PIAA Quad-A District One Playoff door as the Panthers were defeated by visiting Springfield Delco (16-7) – 56-55 – in overtime.
The Panthers – who led by seven points at intermission – were led in scoring by Jarrell Haywood with 16 points. Lamont McLaurin added 12 points for Cheltenham, while Nafis Walker scored in twin digits with 10 points.
Springfield (Delco) 9 10 14 13 10 * 56
Cheltenham 10 16 9 11 9 * 55
Souderton (14-9) was shown the PIAA Quad-A District One Playoff door as the Big Red was defeated by host Coatesville (17-7) – 71-59.
Souderton was led in scoring by Luke Moyer with a game-high 24 points. Ryan Connolly added 14 points for the Big Red. The season in now history for both the Indians and first year head coach Dennis Stanton.
Souderton 17 10 17 15 * 59
Coatesville 15 14 17 25 * 71
Central Bucks West (14-9) saw its season come to an interesting close as the Bucks lost in overtime to Glen Mills (16-7) – 29-28. That’s right – 29-28.
West – which was held scoreless in both the fourth quarter and the overtime – was led in scoring by Kevin Sweet with 11 points. The season – a winning season for the Bucks – is now in the books for head coach Adam Sherman.
Central Bucks West 8 13 7 0 0 * 28
Glen Mills 9 6 11 2 1 * 29
‘Other’ District One Playoff Results
Defending PIAA Quad-A District One champion Penn Wood (16-7) destroyed Conestoga (13-10) in its first round game – 90-65.
Chester (22-1) – the number one seed in the tournament – torched visiting Perkiomen Valley (10-13) – 70-36.
Upper Darby (22-1) had little difficulty in defeating Kennett (13-10) – 71-37.
Lower Merion (16-7) held off Methacton (14-9) by a 63-57 margin to advance to the second round.
West Chester Rustin (20-3) came up with an easy 48-29 win over Penncrest (12-11).
Sweet 16
February 22, 2011
# 17 Springfield Delco Cougars (16-7) @ # 1 Chester Clippers (22-1)
# 9 Bensalem Owls (18-5) @ # 8 North Penn Knights (19-4)
# 13 Lower Merion Aces (16-7) @ # 4 Upper Darby Royals (22-1)
# 12 Glen Mills Bulls (16-7) @ # 5 Neshaminy Redskins (19-4)
#15 Wissahickon Trojans (14-8) @ # 2 Council Rock North Indians (22-1)
#10 Coatesville Red Raiders (17-7) @ # 7 Norristown Eagles (19-3)
# 14 Pennridge Rams (18-5) @ # 3 Plymouth Whitemarsh Colonials (19-4)
# 11 Penn Wood Patriots (16-7) @ # 6 West Chester Rustin (20-3)
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