Wissahickon upset Phoenixville in the opening round of the District One 5A Tournament. Upper Moreland fell to top-seeded Chester.
#11 WISSAHICKON 67, #6 PHOENIXVILLE 48
Shane Ford scored a game-high 20 points and Zach Reiner added 17 as the Trojans proved that seed doesn’t really matter, controlling play from the outset in Wednesday’s opening round game of the District One 5A Tournament.
“We had talked to the kids a lot about being prepared for these moments,” coach Kyle Wilson said. “We’ve been harping on the kids all season to trust each other, trust the game plan.
“I tried to tell the kids they were sort of built for this moment. We didn’t know a lot about Phoenxville. They play in a different conference, and they play primarily 5A teams. Other than Upper Moreland, we play all 6As. We had to really do a lot of work because we don’t play a lot of 5As, but I told our guys – that’s something that should benefit us.
“We played Perk Valley, the number one seed, we played PW, the number two seed, twice, and we had them down both games. If we can play with the 6As, we should be okay.”
Most of Wilson’s game planning came from watching film of the Phantoms.
“They’re a really good team, but they reminded us a lot of Hatboro,” the Trojans’ coach said. “They had a tall shooter, and they had another athletic kid that could go to the basket.”
“We said if we can hang with Hatboro and even beat them the way we did the first time, we should be okay matching up with this team.
“We waited two weeks to play. We’ve always been in the 4A class, and you play the next Saturday. We had a couple of scrimmages, we watched at least 10 minutes of film each day, and the kids did their homework. I think the kids felt comfortable. We took the lead out of the gate. It was like – this is what we prepared for.”
The Trojans raced out of the gate to 16-6 lead after one quarter and took a commanding 34-17 lead into halftime.
“We let it get to nine at one point in the second half, but we never really let it get any closer than that,” Wilson said. “We controlled the game throughout.
“I was really proud of the way we played.”
Included in Ford’s 20 points were four threes. Ford connected on 8-of-10 shots from the field and 4-of-6 from beyond the arch. Reiner was equally effective, burying five-of-six shots from the field. He was 7-of-9 from the foul line.
“Zach made a couple of nice plays, Shane hit some shots, and Max (Rapoport) hit a big three, and he’s been one of our better shooters,” Wilson said. “Chaz (Owens) had a tough first quarter, but I really think the beauty of what these guys do – we’re so balanced, and when a couple of the guys aren’t playing to their best, the ball moves to the guy who’s feeling it a little.
“The guys are really good at finding somebody that’s got the hot hand. Playing well as a team is what we harped on all the way down the stretch – play as a team, and you’re going to be better for it down the road.”
Reiner finished with a team-high nine rebounds and three assists. He also had a pair of steals.
“Zach is one of our leading assist guys from the forward/guard spot,” Wilson said. “He does a little bit of everything for us.
“I was watching warm-ups, and you try to get a feel for the kids. Zach was one of the kids when he was a freshman – we played Conestoga. They were the one seed and we were the 32 seed, and he played considerable minutes in that game and knocked down some shots.
“I knew he had been here before, and he’d feel comfortable. Shane was a jayvee player, and we threw him in against Conestoga. We talked yesterday, and I said, ‘A couple of you have been here before, and you remember the atmosphere. You may not remember it well, but you know what it’s like. You played tough teams. You’re the lower seed. You guys are playing with house money. Nobody picked you to win.’ We saw a couple of media reports that had Phoenixville going to the final four. I said, ‘Use it for motivation, you have nothing to lose.’ I thought our kids played tremendous throughout.”
Owens finished with 12 points and five rebounds. Max Rapoport had seven points and a team-high eight assists.
“We went 10 deep in tonight’s game,” Wilson said. “We were pleased that we could use our depth.
“If somebody got a foul or two, it was next man up. It’s really been one of the blessings this year. Alex Tappen was a starter for us last year, and he’s been such a team player taking sort of a secondary player as the sixth or seventh man. If Reiner or Shane gets in foul trouble, he steps right into that role as if he’s never missed a beat as a starter.
“It’s nice to have guys that can step in and understand the process. I thought that really showed tonight.”
The Trojans’ defense also was impressive, limiting Avery Close who averages 17 points a game to just nine. Shyheim Abernathy, who averaged 15, scored 13 to lead the Phantoms.
“Nobody else averaged over six, so we said, ‘It’s pretty simple guys – we have to slow those two guys down,’” Wilson said. “When teams look at us, every night it’s different.
“Shane has been our best scorer, but most of Shane’s shots come off of plays made by other guys. He gets putbacks, but it’s not like we run a bunch of plays for Shane. He’s just a really smart ball player that finds ways to get open for shots.”
The Phantoms, according to Wilson, were without big man Brendan Jenkins (injury).
“I’m sure for them it would have made a difference,” the Trojans’ coach said. “He’s a 6-6 junior, and I think they had to go longer minutes with Abernathy and Close, and we were able to take advantage of that.”
The Trojans held a 26-16 advantage on the boards. They shot 56 percent from the field.
Wissahickon (14-9, 10-4 SOL) will travel to third-seeded Penncrest for a second round game on Saturday. Penncrest defeated Harriton 51-44.
Wissahickon 16-18-11-22 67
Phoenixville 6-11-15-16 48
Wissahickon (67) – Shane Ford 8 0-0 20; Zach Reiner 5 7-9 17; Chaz Owens 4 4-5 12 Max Rappoport 3 0-0 7; Marlyn Johnson 2 0-0 4; Zach Geman 1 1-2 4; Donovan Oliphant 1 0-0 3; Totals 24 12-16 67.
Phoenixville (48) – Shyheim Abernathy 5 3-4 13; Avery Close 3 2-3 9; Nasir Green 3 1-2 7; Hunter Herschell 2 4-4 8; Colton Brown 0 1-1 1; Phil Meszaros 5 0-0 10; Totals 18 11-14 48.
#1 CHESTER 74, #16 UPPER MORELAND 59
The Golden Bears had the unenviable task of playing perennial district power Chester on its home court, and although they came up short, the Bears certainly didn’t back down.
The visiting Bears found themselves on the short end of an 18-12 score at the end of one quarter but played the Clippers even over the second and third. They trailed by just a 55-48 score heading into the final quarter and were down by only four with a chance to cut it to two with 2:41 remaining.
The Bears, however, missed the front end of a one-and-one. The Clippers did the same at the other end of the court but turned the miss into a basket with a putback. Another UM miss on the offensive end, and the Bears were get no closer as they began pressing and the Bears beat the press for some quick baskets.
"I am proud of the way we played and gave them all we had," coach Matt Heiland said. "We just ran out of gas in the fourth quarter."
Damian Washington led the Bears with 14 points, Shane Stone had 13 and Brett Brossman was the third player in double figures with 13. Ryan Coyle added eight points, and Casey Decker had six.
Upper Moreland closed out its season with a 12-11 record (6-8 SOL).
Upper Moreland 12-18-18-11 59
Chester 18-19-18-19 74
Upper Moreland (59) – Casey Decker 2 0-0 6; Damian Washington 4 2-2 14; Ryan Coyle 3 2-4 8; Anthony Green 1 0-0 3; Brett Brossman 4 0-1 11; Shane Stone 6 0-0 13; Totals 22 4-7 59.
Chester (74) – Smith 1 2-3 5, Carter 4 0-0 11; Springfield 3 0-2 8; Evans 2 0-1 4; Randolph 4 3-3 12; Sudan 7 0-0 16; Johnston 1 0-0 2; Dejarnette 2 0-0 6; Camper 5 0-0 10; Totals 29 5-9 74.
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