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By Scott Huff
WEST NORRITON – Norristown seniors Khalif Wyatt and Lorenzo Christmas may not sit in the same Chemistry classroom at Norristown Area High School, but the talented duo showcased chemistry on the basketball court as the host Eagles (19-5) flew to a 62-41 PIAA District One playoff game over West Chester Rustin (21-3).The victory – sparked by a pair of outrageous dunks along the baseline by Christmas on a couple of gorgeous Wyatt assists – will thrust Norristown back into the PIAA state tournament.
“We work on that on the court chemistry in practice,” smiled Wyatt who scored 20 points. “Lorenzo is so athletic, all you have to do is get the ball near the rim.
“The crowd really feeds off plays like that,” added Wyatt. “It’s great to hear them go a little crazy.”
“We just seem to know what each other is going to do,” said Christmas who scored a game-high 21 points. “The dunks seemed to give us momentum, and we had our intensity rise.”
The fact that the Eagles had a home game at all in the second round came as somewhat as a surprise.
The tournament began with Norristown as the #9 seed and Rustin as the #8 seed – and after the Eagles beat Spring-Ford and the Golden Knights topped Central Bucks East – it appeared that the second round contest would be at West Chester Rustin.
However, a math ‘do-over’ proved that Norristown was indeed the #8 seed, and the game was played on the Eagles home floor.
“It was a real bonus getting to play a home game,” said Norristown head coach Michael Evans. “We found out about the mistake, and it was corrected.”
The Eagles soared to a 20-11 first period lead to take control of the game. Christmas was huge in the initial period with 10 points, while James Ramsey and Wyatt each scored five points each.
“We focused real hard in practice about getting out to a quick start,” said Wyatt. “We played with a lot of energy early, and we got into a flow of the game.”
“In most of the games we lost, we came out sloppy at the beginning of the game,” said Christmas. “We played well early.”
WC Rustin came into the game with some gaudy numbers that included the 21 wins and a 70-point plus scoring average.
At halftime, the Golden Knights trailed 33-15.
“We played some Norristown defense tonight,” said Evans. “You can always bring your defense to the game.”
Wyatt – who played for most of the game in foul trouble that kept him off the floor for chunks of time – scored nine points in the second period.
“It was real frustrating not being on the floor,” said Wyatt. “And the worst part was that most of the fouls came about due to a mental lapse.”
“When Khalif goes out of the game like that, we have to help out,” said Christmas. “I am the second leading scorer, and it is my job to carry the scoring load.”
“When Lorenzo can step up like that, it takes a lot of pressure off Khalif,” said Evans. “Zo can score and that makes us that more dangerous.”
Junior Sheldon Mayer drained a trey to boost the Eagle lead to 40-17, but Rustin went on a run to close to within 44-32 early in the fourth period.
“I don’t really know what happened there,” said Evans. “But I know that it wasn’t good.”
What was good was the both Wyatt and Christmas, along with Tom Smith, played well in the fourth period to help Norristown coast to the win.
The victory will thrust the Eagles into the PIAA District One quarterfinal round against - #1 seeded Chester. The defending state champion Clippers rallied from 11 points back to defeat Souderton, 66-58.
“I am 0-3 playing against Chester, and it is going to be a big game,” said Wyatt. “We’ll have to be both physically and mentally prepared.”
The only losses Norristown suffered last season were to Chester – in the District One Final at Villanova – and in the State Final at Penn State University.
“Last year’s run is about last year’s team,” said Evans. “We have to keep our focus. We still have things that we want to achieve.”
West Chester Rustin 11 4 12 14 - 41
Norristown 20 13 7 22 - 62
West Chester Rustin: Chris Cowles 1 0-0 3; Cory Blake 6 1-2 13; Rondell White 0 3-5 3; Rahmir White 1 0-0 2; Anthony Register 2 0-0 5; Anthony Nash 2 1-2 5; Max Schubert 2 0-0 5; Lazaar Asparagus 2 0-0 4; Trent Toney 1 0-0 2. Totals 15 5-9 41.
3-point field goals – Cowles, Schubert.
Norristown: Sheldon Mayer 2 2-2 7; Khalif Wyatt 8 2-4 20; Chris Davis 0 1-2 1; Lorenzo Christmas 7 2-2 21; Jarrell Gardner 0 0-2 0; Jaquil Hargrove 1 0-0 2; James Ramsey 2 0-0 5; Tom Smith 1 3-3 5; Aaron Webb 0 2-2 2. Totals 21 12-17 62.
3-point field goals – Wyatt (2), Christmas (2), Mayer.
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