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By Scott Huff
VILLANOVA – The Category – Plymouth Whitemarsh basketball for $1000.00.
The answer – Last night.
The question? – “When was the last time the Plymouth Whitemarsh basketball team looked great?”
Plymouth Whitemarsh was at its very best in its 79-47 obliteration of West Chester Rustin in a PIAA Quad-A District One semi-final game.The Colonials (25-1) will now face the ‘other’ PW – Penn Wood (22-3) – in the district title game on Friday night, 9 p.m., at Villanova University.
Penn Wood blasted Souderton 71-49 in the other PIAA Quad-A semifinal.
“We were talking as a coaching staff, and we couldn’t really remember the last time we looked great,” said Plymouth Whitemarsh head coach Jim Donofrio. “But we did a lot of nice things tonight, both offensively and defensively.
“We have developed a chemistry on defense that is almost unexplainable,” added Donofrio. “We ran three different defenses tonight, and at times it looked like we were like an amoeba.
“We really can be a defensive-oriented team,” continued Donofrio. “About 20 to 30 percent of our offense comes from transition from our defense.”
The most impressive defensive stopper for the Colonials was 6-foot, 10-inch senior C.J. Aiken. Aiken was no less than magnificent with a triple-double that included 10 blocked shots, 12 rebounds, and 12 points.“Teams that play against C.J. for the first time want to test him early,” said Donofrio. “But he is so good as a shot blocker, and when he blocks shots it gives us an opportunity to play fast and get out on breaks.”
“Blocked shots seem to get the crowd into the game,” said Aiken – who has committed to St. Joseph University next year. “And when the crowd gets into, we tend to feed off the crowd.”
Aiken took care of the defensive end of the floor at the outset of the game, and fellow senior Whis Grant took care of the offensive end of the floor.
Grant – a flashy 6-0 guard – drained a pair of 3-pointers in the first period and scored 12 of his team-high 17 points in the initial period.
“This was such a great night,” said Grant. “To play at Villanova in front of your fans, friends, and family members is special.“I felt very confident at the beginning of the game shooting the ball,” added Grant who also handed out seven assists. “I thought about this game all day, and we were well prepared.”
PW jumped out to a 22-9 first period lead, and by halftime the lead swelled to 39-20.
“We play at our best when we can push the ball up the floor,” said junior point guard Brandon Dixon who added seven points and four assists. “We knew that (Rustin) would try and run with us, and that was fine with us.”
Junior guard Stephon Baker came off the Colonial bench to score 12 points, while Marcus Badger played good minutes and added five points.
Plymouth Whitemarsh outscored the Knights 19-10 in the third period to take a commanding 58-30 lead, and outscored Rustin 21-17 in the final stanza to cruise to the 32-point victory.
Jaylen Bond tied Grant for team-high scoring honors with 17 points. The 6-7 junior forward was a force off the boards with 17 rebounds – eight off the offensive glass.
“We could tell from the film that Rustin was basically our team,” said Donofrio. “They are aggressive and want to play the game fast.“Right now, our playoff experience was a big difference in the game,” added Donofrio. “We have an experienced bench, and we know what it takes to play playoff basketball.”
And how to look great doing it.
West Chester Rustin 9 11 10 17 - 47
Plymouth Whitemarsh 22 17 19 21 - 79
West Chester Rustin: Trevor Bergwall 1 0-0 3; Trent Toney 1 0-1 3; Rahmier White 2 2-2 6; Rondell White 2 0-0 5; Anthony Nash 4 3-3-4 11; Cordairo Taylor 0 3-4 3; Cory Blake 5 6-6 16. Totals 15 14-17 47.
3-point field goals: White, Toney, Bergwall.
Plymouth Whitemarsh: C.J. Aiken 6 0-0 12; Marcus Badger 1 2-2 5; T.J. Clancey 1 0-0 3; Brandon Dixon 3 0-0 7; Whis Grant 6 3-3 17; Julian Bond 1 0-0 2; Jaylen Bond 7 3-5 17; Sam Pygatt 1 0-0 2; Stephon Baker 4 3-4 12; Brandon Brown 1 0-0 2. Totals 31 11-14 79.
3-point field goals – Grant (2), Baker, Clancey, Badger, Dixon.
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