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LOWER GWYNEDD – Jack O’Neill allowed himself just a trace of a smile as his baseline three-pointer hit nothing but net midway through the second quarter of Tuesday night’s title game against Harry S. Truman.The Wissahickon senior knew that he’d reached a personal milestone even before the game was halted for an impromptu celebration recognizing him for reaching the prestigious 1,000-point plateau.
“It knew it was good,” O’Neill said of the shot. “And I knew it was going to be the thousandth point too. It felt good. It was a good way to hit the thousandth point.”
Actually, it couldn’t have been much better for the Trojans’ high scoring guard, who entered Tuesday night’s game needing just 10 points to reach the magical milestone.
O’Neill not only went on to score 25 points in a stellar performance, the Trojans also brought a halt to Truman’s four-game winning streak with a no-doubt-about-it 72-51 win to capture the tournament crown.
“It was a good victory for us,” O’Neill said. “We came out and played – I would say – three-and-a-half quarters of good basketball.
“That’s the longest good basketball we have played in an entire game. It was a good win for us. We have another streak going – two wins in a row, so it was good.”
The senior sharpshooter, who transferred from North Catholic this year, was named MVP of the tournament.
“The kid goes hard,” coach Kyle Wilson said. “What he’s brought to our program is an understanding that you play every play at 100 percent, and offensively, he brings that to our team.
“Offensively, he’s just a very gifted young man. Once you’re focusing on Jack, there are four experienced guys that were varsity players last year that you have to watch for.”
Joining O’Neill on the all-tournament team were Wissahickon teammate Jordan Reed as well as Truman’s Eddie Valentine and Quincy Palmer. Reed added 14 points while Mike Bundy had 16 points, which included three treys.
“Michael Bundy stepped up and hit some open threes,” Wilson said. “It was great having Tom Sweeney back on the floor after a one-game suspension.
“It was just neat seeing the guys rally around that type of performance – a thousand point game. It’s such a tremendous accomplishment for any player, so we’re very pleased that he was able to accomplish it and in a win.”Truman’s Eddie Valentine and Quincy Palmer also were named to the all-tournament team. Valentine – who found himself on the bench for a major part of the first half after picking up his second foul - followed his 39-point effort against East with 17 points while Palmer added 13.
Those weren’t the numbers that coach Alan Munford was talking about when it was over. Instead, the Tigers’ coach was pointing to his team’s 19 turnovers – 11 in the first half.
“A lot of those turnovers were unforced,” he said. “That was very frustrating.
“Considering the way we fought back last night and to come out and perform this way tonight is extremely frustrating.”
The Tigers looked as though they were picking up where they left off in their win over Central Bucks East the preceding day when Valentine came up with a steal off the opening tap and coasted in for a basket and a quick 2-0 lead.
A Trojan miss set the stage for an easy bucket by Palmer, and the Tigers led 4-0 before fans had settled in their seats, but momentum changed in a hurry.
Reed put Wissahickon on the scoreboard, and although the Trojans fell behind 8-3 after Valentine buried a tough shot over his defender, they were just getting warmed up.
O’Neill – who can do it all – pulled down a defensive rebound and took it coast-to-coast for a bucket to make it an 8-5 game. After O’Neill found Sweeney for a basket, Bundy buried one-of-two from the foul line to knot the score.
A bucket by Sweeney on the low post was followed by another Valentine basket, knotting the score 10-10. A dazzling pass by O’Neill after a steal set up an easy bucket for Keyshawn Watson, and when Reed scored on the putback of a missed foul shot, the Trojans led 14-12 late in the first quarter.The Tigers trailed by four after a Shawn Miller basket (20-16), but then the shots stopped falling.
Bundy scored a fast break basket off a Truman miss on a play set up by O’Neill’s rebound and outlet pass. Another Truman turnover set the stage for a one-handed jam by Reed, and the Trojans led 24-16.
“I think they did a good job of setting the tempo,” Munford said. “They kept the pressure on, and usually we handle pressure very well, especially the type of pressure they were applying, but today, we lost our focus and turned it over.”
At the 3:07 mark of the second quarter, O’Neill connected on his historic trey, putting the Trojans on top 27-16 and bringing a halt to the game as the senior star was presented with a commemorative basketball.
When play resumed, Palmer scored for the Tigers, but it was only a temporary reprieve. Bundy - who had seven points in the quarter - answered with a trey to put the Trojans on top 32-18.
“Even though Gio handles the point, Mike is our quarterback out there,” Wilson said of Bundy. “He sees the floor, he makes all the heady plays.
“He’s the one that probably best knows what I want out there on the floor – he and Tom. He did a real nice job of hitting the opening shots, being in the right spots, and I thought he did a nice job of helping lead us to a victory, which was our goal – to win our tip-off tournament and to win this tournament.”
The Trojans took a 36-25 lead into halftime, and not a whole lot changed in the second half.
It was a 40-29 game after a Valentine putback, but by the time Valentine connected on a trey nearly three minutes later, the Trojans had built up a 51-29 lead. The Trojans – sparked by eight points from Reed – outscored the Tigers 21-12 in the third quarter and took a 57-37 lead into the final quarter. In the second and third quarters, the Trojans outscored the Tigers 42-25.
“We were just running our offense, executing, and we were able to get easy buckets throughout the game,” O’Neill said.
Most impressive was the Trojans’ ability to handle Truman’s aggressive press.
“We faced Norristown, we faced PW – we see pressing teams, so I knew they’d come and do some of the things they think we might be vulnerable to,” Wilson said. “You put Jack (O’Neill) on one side of the press, and Jordan (Reed) is up front. Tom (Sweeney) is just a real solid middle man to break that press. I thought Gio (Atkins) and Mike (Bundy) did a nice job of moving the ball and making sure we got the ball in their hands.”
The win upped the Trojans’ record to 6-2 while the Tigers fell to 5-3. It was the third game in as many days for the Trojans, who faced St. Joe’s Prep on Sunday.
“Three games in three days – it’s like basketball boot camp,” Wilson said. “We’re a very athletic team. If we want to do well this year, we have to get smarter every game.
“I thought we did a better job of executing, moving the ball and playing smart basketball. If you can turn athleticism into smart play as well, you have great opportunities for some of the things I thought our guys did. You get caught up with the dunks and alley-oops – I’m like, ‘They’ll come in time. Relax and make the smart plays.’ I think we’re getting better at making those decisions. It was a nice win.”
WISSAHICKON 72, HARRY S TRUMAN 51
Wissahickon (72) – Keyshawn Watson 1 1-4 3; Bobby Beckett 0 0-0 0; Gio Atkins 1 1-4 3; Kevin Garrett 0 0-0 0; Jabari Kibbler 0 0-0 0; Mike Scheier 0 0-0 0; Kevin Hammond 0 0-0 0; Mike Bundy 6 1-2 16; Jack O’Neill 7 9-9 25; Jordan Reed 7 0-0 14; Ryan Loconsole 0 2-2 2; Tom Sweeney 3 3-4 9. TOTALS 25 17-25 72.
Wissahickon 15 21 21 15-72
Harry S Truman 12 13 12 14-51
3-point goals: Truman – Eddiei Valentine. Wissahickon – Jack O’Neill 2, Mike Bund 3.
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