Scott Huff recaps the state playoffs and also recognizes his choices for players of the year for each team.
By Scott Huff
Fly Eagles Fly!!!!
The Norristown Eagles are the only Suburban One League basketball team to survive the first round of the PIAA state playoffs that began last weekend. Norristown – which entered the Quad-A tournament as a # 9 seed from District One – played its finest game of the season as the SOL American Conference champion Eagles (22-4) soared to a 79-66 victory over District 12 champion Roman Catholic (19-7).
Abington and Central Bucks South failed to survive the first round of the Quad-A playoffs as the Ghosts (22-6) were defeated by St. Joe Prep (22-5) by a 48-33 margin, while the Titans (17-11) were eliminated by District 3 champion Harrisburg (25-2) – 87-41. Upper Moreland was jettisoned from the Class AAA playoffs as the undermanned Golden Bears (14-12) – playing without injured Matt Kohn - were gunned down by Susquehanna (23-4) – 62-42.
Norristown will advance to a second round date as the Eagles will face perennial District One power Coatesville (21-7). The Red Raiders upset Lancaster McCaskey (23-4) by a 52-51 score to advance to the second round. The Norristown/Coatesville game will be played Wednesday (3/13/13) at Spring-Ford High School.
The Eagles needed to take care of business against Roman, though, to earn that second round encounter. And the Eagles saved their finest game of the season to put a hurtin’ on the District 12 champion Cahillites. Norristown erupted for 28 first period points to decide the issue early.
“We got some key stops early in the game, and we were able to get some easy baskets in transition,” said Norristown head coach Michael Evans. “It was by far and away our best start of any game this year, and it was the best overall game we have played. And it was by far and away the best game that Josh Johnson has played this season.”
Johnson was a monster in the middle for the Eagles with 18 points, 21 rebounds, and six blocked shots.
However, Johnson was not the leading scorer for Norristown. That honor went to senior guard Luke Kelley who scored a game-high 28 points that included 8-of-9 free throws in the final period. Jahbri Hargrove and BJ Gordon also scored in twin digits with 10 points each, while Marquis Bryant added nine points, 10 rebounds, and two blocked shots.
“We played the game as a team, and we won the game as a team,” said Evans. “We knew that in order to win we were going to have to control the boards and shoot the ball well. And we did both.”
Norristown Eagles 28 14 17 20 - 79
Roman Catholic 18 11 18 19 - 66
Norristown: Luke Kelley 28; Josh Johnson 18; Jahbri Hargrove 10; BJ Gordon 10; Marquis Bryant 9; Jahad York 2; Daquan Holcomb 2. Total – 79.
Roman Catholic: Shep Garner 18; Rashaan London 13; Traci Carter 11; Carnell McGirt 10; Manny Taylor 7; Trevaughn Wilkerson – 7. Total – 66.
PIAA Quad-A State Basketball Preview
Norristown Eagles (22-4) vs. Coatesville Red Raiders (21-7)
Wednesday – March 13, 2013
@ Spring-Ford High School
Playoff Resume: Norristown has won five of six postseason games this season as the Eagles soared to wins over Plymouth Whitemarsh (63-51), Penn Wood (73-59), Harriton (67-45), Central Bucks South (47-42), and Roman Catholic (79-66). The lone setback came against Ridley in overtime – 64-61. Coatesville has won five of six postseason games this season as the Red Raiders collected wins over Kennett (58-47), Hatboro-Horsham (65-57), Methacton (63-46), Upper Darby (76-43), and McCaskey (52-51). The lone lost came in a 73-63 loss to Lower Merion.
Players To Watch: Norristown showcases the talents of Luke Kelley, Josh Johnson, Jahbri Hargrove, BJ Gordon, Marquis Bryant, Curt Lever, Jahad York, and Daquan Holcomb. Coatesville showcases the talents of Emmett Hunt, Andre Boggs, Leroy Hoggard, Jaquan Hollingshead; Chris Jones, and Howard Sellers.
Last Meeting: Norristown defeated Coatesville in the third game of the 2012-2013 season as the Eagles bested the Red Raiders 64-59. Luke Kelley led Norristown with a team-high 24 points, while Howard Sellers scored a game-high 25 points for Coatesville.
Norristown head coach Michael Evans says: “We were able to beat them earlier in the season, but they didn’t have (Emmett) Hunt in that game because he was still playing football. But we were just getting Josh (Johnson) back and he only scored two points. Neither team is really the same team that will be playing in this game. They like to pressure the ball and play fast – but we are comfortable with playing that way. If we take care of the basketball and work the ball into our bigs, we should be okay. Coatesville might be the hottest team around, and we are going to have to play like we played against Roman if we want to beat them.”
Winner Gets / Loser Goes Home: The winner of the Norristown/Coatesville game will play the winner of the St. Joe Prep (22-5)/York (24-3) game in a quarterfinal game to be played on March 16, 2013.
Exit Door
Abington was shown the exit door in the first round of the PIAA Quad-A state playoffs as the Ghosts (22-6) were defeated by St. Joe Prep (22-5) at William Tennent High School – 48-33. It was the lowest point output of the season for the SOL National Conference champion Ghosts who were led in scoring by Anthony Lee with 13 points.
“We gave up a couple of easy looks for them, and we didn’t go very deep into our bench,” said Abington head coach Charles Grasty. “St. Joe Prep is a very good team, and they forced us to take some tough shots.
“I just told the guys after the game to keep their heads up,” added Grasty. “We had a great two-year run. We won our league this year, and we had a fun run through the playoffs.”
St. Joe Prep Hawks 9 13 8 18 - 48
Abington Ghosts 8 5 14 6 - 33
St. Joe Prep: Stephen Vasturia 27; PJ Kelly 10; Miles Overton 4; Chris Clover 3; Dan Sherry 2; Kyle Thompson 2. Total – 48.
Abington: Anthony Lee 13; Anthony Durham 10; Jiere Morrisey 4; Matt Penecale 4; Khalid Gibson 2. Total – 33.
Central Bucks South was shown the exit door in the first round of the PIAA Quad-A state playoffs as the Titans (17-11) were overwhelmed by District 3 champion Harrisburg (25-2) - 87-41. CB South – which trailed the powerful Cougars by a 14-13 margin in the first period – was led in scoring by Dan Giaquinto with eight points.
“Harrisburg had 12 very athletic players that took us out of our half-court game,” said Central Bucks South head coach Jason Campbell. “We played a great first quarter, but we had a lot of problems with them after that.
“I thought our path to the state playoffs might have different if we were able to win our (conference) championship,” added Campbell as the Titans placed third in the SOL Continental Conference behind co-champion Hatboro-Horsham and Souderton. “But there is no easy path in the playoffs. These seniors wanted to be the first group to get back to states since the ’09 team. In the end, we were very happy with our season.”
Harrisburg Cougars 14 25 32 16 - 87
Central Bucks South 13 12 11 5 - 41
Harrisburg: Proctor 17; Stoney 16; Shephard 12; Cooksey 12; Williams 11; Carter 8; Lewis 3; Strong 2; Ezell 4; Jackson 2. Total – 87.
Central Bucks South: Dan Giaquinto 8; Kevin Raymond 7; Ricky Dennis 6; Chase Vonder Schmalz 6; Bryce Dobisch 5; Matt Scamuffo 4; TJ Ohntrup 2; Kevin Doyle 2; Adam Tamny 1. Total – 41.
Upper Moreland was shown the exit door in the first round of the PIAA Class AAA playoffs as the Golden Bears (14-12) were defeated by Susquehanna (23-2) – 62-42. Upper Moreland was forced to play the game without all-league senior point guard Matt Kohn who broke his wrist in the district title win. The Bears were led in scoring in the state playoff loss to the Indians by senior Mark Williams with 13 points.
“I am convinced, and so are a lot of other people, that it would have been a totally different game with Matt in the game,” said Upper Moreland head coach Brian Corrado. “I was proud of the way that the other players stepped up, but Matt was missed. “We were outscored 23-4 in that second quarter, and take that away we played them even over three quarters.
“It was tough to lose, but we can think back on this season and realize that we were the first team in Upper Moreland basketball history to win a district championship,” added Corrado. “Wow – what a season!”
Susquehanna Indians 8 23 23 8 - 62
Upper Moreland Bears 5 4 16 17 - 42
Susquehanna: Joe Marshall 17; Gabriel Mack 12; Jonas Page 9; Savalas Pope 6; Nehemiah Mack 6; Aldan Powers 2; Jordan Milberry 4; Laarry Holley 2; Quintin Ward 2. Total – 62.
Upper Moreland: Mark Williams 13; James Martin 8; Kevin McFall 8; Tommy Robinson 4; Damian LaRosa 4; Chris Corr 4. Total – 42.
Suburban One Sports.com
All-Class Teams
All Senior Team
Michael Brown – Hatboro-Horsham Hatters
Anthony McKie – Plymouth Whitemarsh Colonials
Merdic Green – Truman Tigers
Anthony Durham – Abington Ghosts
Josh Johnson – Norristown Eagles
2nd All Senior Team
John Kanas – Souderton Indians
Leo Vincent – Bensalem Owls
Christian Crane – Council Rock South Golden Hawks
Jordan Simmons – Abington Ghosts
Matt Kohn – Upper Moreland Golden Bears
Kevin Raymond – Central Bucks South Titans
All Junior Team
Chase Wilson – Wissahickon Trojans
Rip Engel – Council Rock North Indians
Zack Quattro – Hatboro-Horsham Hatters
Brendan Wagner – Souderton Indians
Matt Scamuffo – Central Bucks South Titans
All Sophomore Team
Horace Spencer – William Tennent Panthers
Cameron Jones – Pennsbury Falcons
Mekhi Bryant – Pennsbury Falcons
Zach Muredda – Pennridge Rams
Lucas Waters – Truman Tigers
Suburban One Sports.com
Final Top 24
# 1 – Norristown Eagles (24-4, 13-1)
Champion SOL American Conference
Player of the Year – Josh Johnson
Signature Win – defeated Roman Catholic 79-66
# 2 – Abington Ghosts (22-6, 13-1)
Champion SOL National Conference
Player of the Year – Anthony Durham
Signature Win – defeated Norristown 66-52
# 3 – Central Bucks South Titans (17-11, 10-4)
3rd place in the SOL Continental Conference
Player of the Year – Kevin Raymond
Signature Win – defeated Souderton 54-40
# 4 – Hatboro-Horsham Hatters (18-7, 11-3)
Co-Champion SOL Continental Conference
Player of the Year – Michael Brown
Signature Win – Defeated Downingtown East 61-51
# 5 – Souderton Indians (15-9, 11-3)
Co-Champion of the SOL Continental Conference
Player of the Year – John Kanas
Signature Win – Defeated Hatboro-Horsham 49-46
# 6 – Council Rock North Indians (17-6, 11-3)
2nd place in the SOL National Conference
Player of the Year – Rip Engel
Signature Win – Defeated Benaslem 74-59
# 7 – Cheltenham Panthers (12-9, 10-4)
2nd place in the SOL American Conference
Player of the Year – Aaron McGlawn
Signature Win – defeated Coatesville 64-52.
# 8 – Wissahickon Trojans (13-11, 10-4)
2nd place in the SOL American Conference
Player of the Year – Chase Wilson
Signature Win – defeated Norristown 55-54
# 9 – Pennsbury Falcons (15-9, 8-6)
3rd place in the SOL National Conference
Player of the Year – Camreon Jones
Signature Win – Defeated Cheltenham 60-47
#10 – Bensalem Owls (12-10, 8-6)
3rd place in the SOL National Conference
Player of the Year – Leo Vincent
Signature Win – Defeated Glen Mills 63-56
# 11 North Penn Knights (11-10, 7-7)
4th place in the SOL Continental Conference
Player of the Year – Mike Swanson
Signature Win – Defeated Hatboro-Horsham 64-57
# 12 Truman Tigers (11-12, 7-7)
5th place in the SOL National Conference
Player of the Year – Merdic Green
Signature Win – Defeated Council Rock North 48-45
# 13 Plymouth Whitemarh Colonials (10-11, 8-6)
4th place in the SOL American Conference
Player of the Year – Anthony McKie
Signature Win – defeated Church Farm 50-47
# 14 Upper Moreland Golden Bears (14-12, 7-7)
5th place in the SOL American Conference
Player of the Year – Matt Kohn
Signature Win – defeated Pope John Paul II 57-49
# 15 Central Bucks East Patriots (11-11, 6-8)
5th place in the SOL Continental Conference
Player of the Year – Matt Stauffer
Signature Win – Defeated Central Bucks South 59-58
# 16 William Tennent Panthers (9-13, 5-9)
6th place in the SOL National Conference
Player of the Year – Matt Alden
Signature Win – Defeated Pennsbury 72-52
# 17 Central Bucks West Bucks (8-14, 6-8)
5th place in the SOL Continental Conference
Player of the Year – Jared Kelly
Signature Win – Defeated Central Bucks South 51-47
# 18 Upper Dublin Flying Cardinals (7-12, 5-9)
6th place in the SOL American Conference
Player of the Year – Andrew Carber
Signature Win – defeated Cheltenham 49-46
# 19 Pennridge Rams (9-13, 4-10)
7th place in the SOL Continental Conference
Player of the Year – Jeff Garner
Signature Win – Defeated CB East 40-39
# 20 Council Rock South Golden Hawks (7-14, 4-10)
7th place in the SOL National Conference
Player of the Year – Christian Crane
Signature Win – Defeated Abington 67-54
# 21 Upper Merion Vikings (8-14, 2-12)
7th place in the SOL American Conference
Player of the Year – Justin Lewis
Signature Win – defeated Harriton 46-45
# 22 Quakertown Panthers (4-14, 1-13)
8th place in the SOL Continental Conference
Player of the Year – Brett Wolf
Signature Win – Defeated North Penn 37-32
# 23 Springfield Spartans (6-16, 1-13)
8th place in the SOL American Conference
Player of the Year – William Dahm
Signature Win – defeated Upper Merion 62-56
# 24 Neshaminy Redskins (0-20, 0-14)
8th place in the SOL National Conference
Player of the Year – Jaylen Pickett
Signature Win - none
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