PW advanced to the PIAA Quad-A quarterfinals while SOL champion CB West saw its season come to an end. Check back to Kathy Leister’s photos of the CB West/Roman game.
By Scott Huff
[1-1] Plymouth Whitemarsh Colonials 58, [11-2] Bangor Slaters 44
Reading – Plymouth Whitemarsh head coach Jim Donofrio was not at all surprised that his District One champion Colonials were down 25-23 at the half against Bangor.
“When you win a district title beating a Chester, and you win the first round of states by over 40 points, you can go into a game a little too overconfident,” said Donofrio. “We are at a point in the season where you can’t enjoy the wins for too long.
“You have to begin each game with a hunger, and we didn’t do that in the first half,” added Donofrio. “Bangor can shoot the ball and knocked down some three pointers in the first half. Some of it was a lack of concentration, but give them credit for playing well.
“We made some adjustments in the second half and we were much more intelligent with our pressure,” continued Donofrio as the Colonials limited the Slaters to just 18 second half points. “We really began to frustrate them.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh took control of the game in the third period outscoring its D-11 opponent by a 20-7 margin. Senior Michael Lotito fueled the Colonial offense by scoring 10 of his 16 points in the third quarter.
“Michael had a huge third quarter and that got us going,” said Donofrio of his tri-captain. “And Xzavier (Malone) carried us both offensively and defensively with the game on the line in the fourth period.
“They were in a 2-3 zone – but once we got up eight points in the second half we forced them out of the zone,” added Donofrio. “And once they went man, Xzavier was very creative in the paint and got to the rim.”
Malone – the Rider-bound recruit – finished the night with a game-high 20 points to go along with seven rebounds and four steals. Ahmad Williams added seven points while Kevin Ashenfelter had six points, five steals and two assists.
“This was a good test for us to pass,” said Donofrio. “We didn’t play our best, but we did play lock down defense in the second half.
“Now we put this game behind us and get ready for Saturday,” added Donofrio in reference to the PIAA Quad-A quarterfinal state playoff game against [12-3] Simon Gratz. “Gratz is going to be a dangerous team and a team that is playing very well right now.”
Gratz advanced to the quarterfinals with a 64-56 victory over [3-7] Lancaster McCaskey.
And for the Colonials – the date is set (3/12/16) – the opponent is set (Simon Gratz) – but the time and venue are as yet to be determined.
Stay tuned.
Bangor Slaters 12-13-7-11 * 44
Plymouth Whitemarsh 13-10-20-15 * 58
B: Michael Martino 14, Anthony Schiavone 12, Dylan Benton 9, Seth Benton 4, Colton Holland 3, Isaiah Jones 2.
PW: Xzavier Malone 20, Michael Lotito 16, Ahmad Williams 7, Kevin Ashenfelter 6, Oakley Spencer 4, Ahim Williams 3, Davon Burrell 2.
[12-1] Roman Catholic Cahillites 60, [1-6] Central Bucks West Bucks 41
Bensalem –The end result proved that size and athleticism indeed mattered more than quickness and fundamentals.
Roman Catholic – the defending PIAA Quad-A state champions – showcased a starting lineup that featured three Penn State University recruits – commanding 6-7 Lamar Stevens, electric 6-4 point guard Tony Carr, and a slashing 6-3 Nazeer Bostick. And the only thing that might have been more impressive than their size was their collective athleticism.
Central Bucks West – the Suburban One League playoff champion – featured a starting lineup that was quick off the dribble. And the outsized Bucks showcased well-run sets in a half court offense that featured precision passes which resulted in good looks at the basket.
“In the first half, we did everything we needed to do to be in the game,” said Central Bucks West head coach Adam Sherman. “We played fearless basketball and showed that a team of small suburban high school could play with them. We took it to them.”
CB West played the powerful Cahillites to a 25-25 stalemate in the first half.
“We knew that if we came out with a lot of energy we could play with them,” said senior Cal Reichwein who will have surgery on his injured knee Thursday (3/10/16). “But the second half was rough – we tried to box them out – but we just couldn’t keep them off the glass.
“This was such a great year for us,” added Reichwein who will major in economics next year at Lafayette. “We wanted to make some noise in districts – and we wanted to win a game in states. And we did both of those things.”
“I am so proud of the way our seniors stepped up and played this year,” said CB West senior Billy Power. “We have been able to use our speed and skill to beat teams this year – but not this team.”
Roman Catholic came out with a much stronger will in the second half and began to punish the Bucks with its inside game.
Stevens did most of the damage with a 21-point scoring performance. The dominant Division One recruit owned the paint around the basket and scored most of his points in and around the rim. Carr ran the show as the point guard and also scored in twin digits with 13 points, while Bostick also scored in double digits with 12 points.
CB West concluded its historic season with 24 wins – the most ever by a Bucks basketball team.
“The wins are great, but the experience and time spent with these players is special,” said Sherman. “We have developed a brotherhood – and in the last 365 days I bet we spent 345 of those days together as a team.
“There are a million remarkable stories about this group of seniors,” added Sherman. “It has been great to just spend time with this team.”
Reichwein led the Bucks with 10 points while Luke Irons had nine and Billy Power, eight points.
Central Bucks West 13-12-8-8 * 41
Roman Catholic 14-11-17-18 * 60
CBW: Cal Reichwein 10, Luke Irons 9, Billy Power 8, Connor Lynch 6, Jake Reichwein 4, Erich Hohlenleiter 4.
RC: Lamar Stevens 21, Tony Carr 13, Nazeer Bostick 12, d’Andre Vilmar 7, Daquan Davis 5, Paul Newman 2.
About the Author
