Four SOL boys’ teams will be in action in this weekend’s PIAA Tournament.
By Scott Huff
Let the March Madness begin.
The Suburban One League will send four teams into the wacky world of PIAA scholastic basketball this week as three Quad-A teams - Abington, Norristown, and Central Bucks South and one Class AAA team – Upper Moreland – begin the journey into state playoffs. The road will be treacherous from the very beginning for the SOL Fab Four as all face extremely formidable opponents.
PIAA Quad-A State Basketball Playoffs
Saturday – March 9, 2013
[1-3] Abington Ghosts (22-5) vs. [12-3] St. Joseph Prep Hawks (21-5) @ William Tennent High School (3 pm)
Last Game: Abington earned the third seed from District One as the Ghosts rebounded from their loss in the district semifinals to defeat host Great Valley – 53-47. Michael Griffin was the leading scorer for the Maroon and White with 16 points, while Anthony Durham scored in twin digits for the winners with 10 points. St. Joe Prep earned the third seed from District 12 as the Hawks soared to a 70-42 victory over Bartram. Stephen Vasturia scored a game-high 32 points for the Prep, while Miles Overton added 12 for the winners.
Playoff Resume: Abington won four of five postseason games as the Ghosts defeated Oxford (84-53), Penn Wood (66-52), Ridley (46-40), and Great Valley (53-47). The lone loss came in a 76-43 defeat against Chester. St. Joe Prep won four of five postseason games as the Hawks defeated Conwell-Egan (63-31), La Salle (74-57), Roman Catholic (57-50), and Bartram (70-42). The lone loss came in a 60-42 defeat to Neumann Goretti.
Who beat the boys? Abington suffered losses this season to Chester twice (74-38 & 76-43), Atlantic City (65-51), Council Rock South (67-54), and Cheltenham. St. Joe Prep suffered losses this season to Neumann Goretti twice (60-42 & 67-43), Roman Catholic (62-58), Lower Merion (67-55), and Imhotep Charter (61-56).
Players To Watch: Abington – Jordan Simmons, Anthony Durham, Jiere Morrisey, Matt Penecale, Anthony Lee, and Michael Griffin. St. Joe Prep – Stephen Vasturia (Notre Dame), Miles Overton (Wake Forest), Chris Clover, Kyle Thompson, and PJ Kelly.
Abington head coach Charles Grasty says: “We had a week to prepare for this team, and we are going to have to look at a lot of tape. This is a very talented team with two players playing Division One basketball, and we are going to have to come up with something to slow them down. We haven’t been shooting the ball all that well lately, and that is going to have to change if we want to win this game. I think we can match up with them, though, and if we play well, we can win this game.”
Winner Gets / Loser Goes Home: The winner of the Abington/St. Joe Prep game will play the winner of the [3-2] York (23-3) / [1-7] Methacton (22-5) on March 13 in a second round game.
[1-9] Norristown Eagles (23-4) vs [12-1] Roman Catholic Cahillites (19-6) @ La Salle College High School (3 pm)
Last Game: Norristown earned the # 9 seed from District One as the Eagles defeated visiting Central Bucks South 47-42. Josh Johnson led Norristown with 11 points, while Jahbri Hargrove scored in double figures with 10 points. Roman Catholic won the District 12 title as the Cahillites defeated Martin Luther King High School 69-53. Shep Garner scored a game-high 21 points for Roman Catholic.
Playoff Resume: Norristown won four of five postseason games as the Eagles defeated Plymouth Whitemarsh (63-51), Penn Wood (73-59), Harriton (67-45), and Central Bucks South (47-42). The lone loss came in a 64-61 overtime loss to Ridley. Roman Catholic won four of five postseason games as the Cahillites defeated Cardinal O’Hara (71-39), Archbishop Ryan (46-32), Archbishop Wood (55-44), and MLK (69-53). The lone loss of the postseason came in a 57-50 loss to St. Joe Prep.
Who beat the boys? Norristown suffered losses this season to Abington (66-52), Math Civics & Sciences (54-46), Wissahickon (55-54), and Ridley (64-61). Roman Catholic suffered losses to Bullis (61-49), Archbishop Molloy (54-52), Berks Catholic (55-48), Neumann Goretti (68-52), Princeton Day (57-56), and St. Joe Prep (57-50).
Players To Watch: Norristown – Josh Johnson, Luke Kelley, BJ Gordon, Jahbri Hargrove, Curt Lever, and Marquis Bryant. Roman Catholic – Shep Garner, Manny Taylor, Raquan Brown-Johnson, Hezekiah Trahn, Matt Simon, and Traci Carter.
Norristown head coach Michael Evans says: “We played with Roman in our summer league, and we know how good they are. Shep Garner is a tremendous player and controls the game for them. We need to mix things up defensively – play some man and play some zone. When we play man – BJ Gordon will match up with Garner. We will study a lot of film, but there is no question that the players feel that we can play with them.”
Winner Gets / Loser Goes Home: The winner of the Norristown/Roman Catholic game will get the winner of the [3-3] JP McCaskey (23-3) / [1-5] Coatesville (20-7) game on March 13in a second round game.
[1-10] Central Bucks South Titans (17-10) vs. [3-1] Harrisburg Cougars (26-2) @ Hershey High School (6:30 pm)
Last Game: Central Bucks South fell to the final seed from District One as the Titans suffered a 47-42 loss to Norristown in a playback contest. CB South was led in scoring by Chase Vonder Schmalz, Adam Tamny, and Brennan Rudnick with eight points each. Harrisburg earned the District Three championship as the Cougars defeated William Penn 78-76 in overtime. Shaquon Sheppard scored a game-high 24 points for Harrisburg, while Jahaad Proctor added 17 points for the winners.
Playoff Resume: Central Bucks South won three of its five postseason games as the Titans defeated Wissahickon (63-55), Souderton (54-40), and Penncrest (46-41). CB South lost to both Great Valley (60-57 in overtime) and Norristown (47-42). Harrisburg swept through District 3 to earn the title with five wins over Susquehanna (93-73), Central Dauphin East (87-61), Cumberland Valley (68-43), Wilson (58-56), and William Penn (67-65).
Who beat the boys? Central Bucks South suffered losses this season to Norristown twice (61-37 & 47-42), Great Valley (60-57 in overtime), Central Bucks East (59-58), Souderton (39-35), Central Bucks West (51-47), Hatboro-Horsham (49-42), Council Rock North (51-45), Abington (79-67), and Spring-Ford (73-67). Harrisburg suffered losses this season to William Penn (67-60) and Cape Henry Collegiate (Va Beach – 67-65).
Players To Watch: Central Bucks South – Matt Scamuffo, Kevin Raymond, Brennan Rudnick, Chase Vonder Schmalz, Adam Tamny, and Ricky Dennis. Harrisburg – Shaquon Sheppard, Jahaad Proctor, Steven Stoney, Chris Britton, and Donald Ralls.
Central Bucks South head coach Jason Campbell says: “Harrisburg has size and can be very aggressive. The seniors on this team are excited to play in the state tournament, and we go into the game with the idea that we can continue the season. We don’t have Division One players, and we’re surely are not going to be as athletic as Harrisburg. But we have good chemistry and we play very hard. In 2009 people didn’t give us a chance to beat Roman Catholic in the first round, and we won that game. It can be done.”
Winner Gets / Loser Goes Home: The winner of the Central Bucks South/Harrisburg game will play the winner of the [11-2] Freedom (17-9) / [1-6] Upper Darby (18-8) game on March 13th in the second round.
PIAA Class AAA State Playoffs
Friday – March 8, 2013
[1-1] Upper Moreland Golden Bears (14-11) vs. [3-4] Susquehanna Indians (24-4) @ Plymouth Whitemarsh High School (8 pm)
Last Game: Upper Moreland captured the PIAA District One championship as the Golden Bears defeated Pope John Paul II by a 57-49 margin. Upper Moreland was paced by a 20-point performance by Kevin McFall, while James Martin (12) and Mark Williams (10) also scored in double digits. Susquehanna lost the playback game for the # 3 seed from District 3 as the Indians lost to Donegal – 66-55. Susquehanna was led in scoring by Jonas Page with 16 points, while Gabe Mack scored in twin digits with 14 points.
Playoff Resume: Upper Moreland was perfect in its post season as the Golden Bears captured wins over Pottstown (66-46), Octorara (60-55), and Pope John Paul II (57-49). Susquehanna struggled in the post season as the Indians lost two of three games with losses to Palmyra (68-58) and Donegal (66-55). Susquehanna defeated Northeastern (43-38).
Who beat the boys? Upper Moreland suffered losses this season to Norristown twice (69-56 & 49-37), Plymouth Whitemarsh twice (66-59 & 62-48), Wissahickon twice (72-62 & 74-64), Cheltenham (51-48), Lansdale Catholic (44-42), Great Valley (53-37), William Tennent (48-43), and Hatboro-Horsham (51-32). Susquehanna suffered losses this season to Palmyra twice (65-57 & 68-58), Donegal (66-55), and Harrisburg (93-73).
Players To Watch: Upper Moreland - Matt Kohn, Kevin McFall, James Martin, Mark Williams, and Tommy Robinson. Susquehanna – Jonas Page, Joe Marshall, Gabe Mack, Savalas Pope, and Nehemiah Mack.
Upper Moreland head coach Brian Corrado says: “Susquehanna is very young and very athletic. They have good size and they like to play the game much like a Norristown or Cheltenham – fast. We are in a situation where we have to win or go home. We have played hard all year – we have prepared hard – and we will be ready for the game. The players are excited to be in the state tournament.”
Winner Gets / Loser Goes Home: The winner of the Upper Moreland/Susquehanna game will play the winner of the [12-2] Imhotep Charter (23-5) / [11-3] Salisbury (17-9) game on March 12th in the second round.
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