High school basketball beat writers Kevin Cooney, Todd Thorpe and Scott Huff give their take on the upcoming District One AAAA Tournament in this first installment of the Intelligencer/Courier Times Playoff Preview. Cooney is the high school basketball writer for the Bucks County Courier Times while Thorpe covers high school basketball for the Intelligencer. Huff is the basketball beat writer for SuburbanOneSports.com. Check back for their predictions and perspectives before each round.
SuburbanOneSports.com: Share your thoughts about Friday night’s quarterfinal and playback games.
Kevin Cooney: I think the one thing Abington showed in its win is that they were able to match every bit of the intensity of Coatesville. We have seen a lot of teams go to Coatesville and get kind of snowed under by a run or because of the atmosphere of the school. That’s not what happened. Abington really did a good job of playing kind of a reserved game, never getting rattled, never looking like they were out of sorts, and they ended up winning a critical game on the road. Now they go play Lower Merion, and it’s a different kind of challenge.
Jordan Simmons was disciplined early in the game. He came out and played with a lot of conviction, a lot of heart. Anthony Durham is sneaky quick, and Jiere Morrisey gave them some big points in the second half. Matt Penecale comes in and hits two three’s early in the second half. That was kind of big. They have different weapons. Defensively, they allowed 26 points in the fourth quarter, and they can’t do that down the stretch. They’re going to have to have a little more defense against Lower Merion.
Norristown had more turnovers than points at one point of the first half against Chester. We have said this – it’s Chester’s tournament. There’s nothing more you can say. Plus the thing about the quarterfinals is that you can get a little soft because you know you have a state berth clinched. Maybe that’s what happened, and mentally you have a letdown, but Chester is that good, and it’s a tough atmosphere to play in.
I was surprised by the CB West-Wissahickon game because I thought West would have trouble with Wissahickon’s two big men. It turned out they were kind of able to battle them. West is tough.
Souderton played Lower Merion close, and if you’re Abington, you’re looking at the tape of that game and hoping something Souderton did can be picked up.
I think I’m surprised Bensalem lost, but Cheltenham is playing with a little bit of fire at this point.
Todd Thorpe: The playoffs definitely hit fifth gear Friday night, as three of the four quarterfinals were close, one was a big upset and another was a double-overtime classic.
Let's get No. 1 Chester out of the way first. The Clippers led 41-10 at halftime and won by an 81-31 final. Enough said. The team that beats them the rest of the way, either in districts or in states, is going to have to be really, really good.
What a game between No. 4 CB West and No. 5 Wissahickon. Back and forth the two teams went, shots in the waning seconds forced overtime and double-overtime, and in the end, the Trojans' 60-56 win was as much about outlasting the Bucks as it was about beating them. The best high school basketball game I've seen in years.
No. 10 Souderton wasn't supposed to be competitive with No. 2 Lower Merion, but on the road, the Indians were that and then some. Lower Merion won by six, but the Indians showed something in defeat.
As for No. 11 Abington's road upset of No. 3 Coatesville, while I didn't predict it, I'm not all that surprised either. The Ghosts have hit their stride here in districts and have played very well.
Scott Huff: I was lucky enough to be at the Wissahickon-Central Bucks West game that went double overtime with Wissahickon moving on to Temple with a 60-56 win. The atmosphere at West was incredible with a packed house made up of great student sections. It was so hot in the building that it literally rained on the court due to the condensation created by players and fans. CB West made the Trojans play their game in terms of pace, but Wissahickon was able to make the plays at the end of the regulation and again in the second overtime to allow them to come out with the win. Chase Wilson – son of Trojan head coach Kyle Wilson – is only a sophomore but played with the composure of a senior. His three-point field goal sent the game into overtime, and his free throws in the second overtime sealed the win. The best player on the floor, though, might have been Tyler Schechter of CB West. His motor on the floor never stopped running and along with Derek Dyer made West an extremely difficult team to beat.
The Abington story continues to be a wonderful story. The Ghosts are the first #11 seed to get to the Final Four of the districts, but I had a feeling all along that Abington was going to get there. I loved both the seed they received and the bracket the Ghosts competed in. Of the eight teams in the Abington bracket, only Truman (#30 seed) competed in the Suburban One League. Head coach Charles Grasty has done a remarkable job of leading the Ghosts. Abington starts just one senior – Chris Ruhl – and gets the bulk of its scoring from juniors Anthony Durham and Jordan Simmons. The win over Coatesville featured 25 lead changes and 12 ties – and it was the youthful Ghosts that came up with the game changing plays at the end of the game.
Souderton lost to Lower Merion in a game that I seriously thought the Big Red had a chance to win. The Indians had the game tied in the final minute, but the Aces came up big in crunch time to seal the deal. Luke Moyer was fabulous for Souderton with a 26-point scoring effort, and the Indians still have a state bid in their pocket. If the Indians can get a five or six seed, they could go a game or two into the state tournament. Ryan Connolly and Mark Wonderling are both prime-time high school basketball players.
The fact that Norristown lost to Chester was no surprise – but the 81-31 final score was sure an eye catcher. Chester and Norristown have been two of the elite programs in District One for years, and I think the Clippers wanted to make a statement of actually how good they are this year. A 27-4 lead after the first period against a Norristown team that was co-champion of the SOL American Conference along with Wissahickon will get everyone’s attention. Norristown will have to put that game in the rear view mirror and make a very difficult trip to Doylestown to improve its seed in the state tournament.
In the 9th seed a playback, the one ‘upset’ was a game that I actually picked in my selections was Cheltenham’s win over Bensalem. Cheltenham may have nine losses – but the Panthers are an excellent basketball team and could give Pennsbury more than a game in the next round. Pennsbury had too much of everything for Methacton to handle in its win. Council Rock North should be the best in this bracket, and the Indians played well enough to move on in their win over Plymouth Whitemarsh. Great Valley is Greatly Overrated and could not compete with #14 seed Penn Wood.
SuburbanOneSports.com: What are your thoughts about Tuesday’s semifinal and playback games.
Kevin Cooney: I think it’s pretty obvious that the closer game on Tuesday night at Temple will be Lower Merion/Abington. I think that game is going to depend on tempo. I think Lower Mreion coach Gregg Downer will try and slow it down. If Abington gets out in a fast break game, that fits their style. Abington has got to play defense. It all comes down to how Abington shuts down Lower Merion’s scoring. I think Abington has a puncher’s chance, but I’m going to take Lower Merion.
No disrespect to Wissahickon, but I think right now it’s Chester and everybody else. I think Wissahickon will have trouble matching up. Wissahickon has to stay out of foul trouble with their two big inside guys. They need Chase Wilson to come out and shoot the lights out, and that’s just to hang in there. They need to play the perfect game, and I generally have a golden rule that if you need to have a team play a perfect game to win you can’t pick them. I think Chester wins probably by 15.
Council Rock North gets Penn Wood, and that’s a tough matchup because which Rock North team is going to show up. Is it the one that went out to a 17-point lead against Plymouth Whitemarsh or the one that coughed it up? Even within the game, Rock North has trouble. It all depends on which Rock North team shows up. If they play the way they played most of the game against PW, then Rock North should be playing on Friday night for a chance to go to states again. If they decide they’re going to play 10 minutes and take off five minutes, then they’re going home. I’m picking Penn Wood because I think Rock North is too inconsistent right now.
Pennsbury is a little bit like Rock North right now. They have some very good moments. It was a nice comeback against Methacton, but the key question is why were they down that much against Methacton. They had to make a big run late. Basically, Pennsbury needs to have its best players play like their best players. They need Bolger, they need Burke to play well. Cheltenham is a tough matchup, but I’m picking Pennsbury to win.
Todd Thorpe: Wissahickon has a herculean task ahead of it if it wants to be competitive with Chester. The Trojans are a very good team, they've proved that, but the Clippers probably win this by at least 20.
I won't pick another upset for Abington against Lower Merion. Lower Merion had its bad game against Souderton and Abington can't possibly do it again, can they?
As for the playback games, they're very important in terms of seeding for the state playoffs. CB West and Coatesville have to be favorites in their home games, but both are coming off emotional losses. Exactly how much will each have left in the tank?
As for the "ninth-place bracket,” I think Council Rock North is the team to beat, as it rebounded from its second-round loss to Souderton to beat Plymouth Whitemarsh, but will get a tough test against Penn Wood. Pennsbury-Cheltenham looks to be a toss-up.
Scott Huff: In the Final Four at Temple, it is going to be a tough draw for both Suburban One League teams. Wissahickon has the worst of the draws in #1 Chester, and the Clippers have proven to be the elite team in District One – by far. Abington is an #11 seed and gets #2 seed Lower Merion – and the if these teams played 10 times – Abington might win five times. The Ghosts are playing at their best right now.
Central Bucks West is tremendously difficult to beat on their home floor, and Norristown may still be reeling from the pounding it took against Chester. Souderton might be the sleeper – again – when the Big Red travels to Coatesville.
The survivor round has an SOL match between Cheltenham and Pennsbury – and I like the way the Panthers play against the best teams in the area. Council Rock North should be able to preserve its home court advantage in its game with Penn Wood.
SuburbanOneSports.com: Pick the winners in Tuesday’s games.
Kevin Cooney: Chester, Lower Merion, Penn Wood, Pennsbury, Coatesville, CB West
Todd Thorpe: Chester, Lower Merion, CB West, Coatesville, CR North, Pennsbury
Scott Huff: The games on Tuesday are extremely competitive this week, and I might not be 8-0 as I was last week. (No humility here) ---- Chester – Abington – Central Bucks West – Souderton – Cheltenham – Council Rock North.
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