Abington and Pennridge were winners in Tuesday’s second round of the District One 6A Tournament. Norristown/CB West photos provided courtesy of Kim Supko. Abington/Downingtown West photos courtesy of Geanine Jamison. Check back for photo galleries of both games.
No. 1 Abington 72, No. 17 Downingtown West 47
At halftime Tuesday, the top-seeded Ghosts looked like they were in for another district playoff game that would come down to the wire.
Eight minutes of game clock later, the scoreboard told a very different story. Abington held the No. 17 seed Whippets to just two points in the third quarter, holding Downingtown West scoreless for the last 6:50 of the frame and outscoring their visitors 19-2.
"I was in the zone of the game, so I didn't notice until I looked at the score at the end of the quarter and saw they only had 32," Ghosts senior Lucas Monroe said. "I just thought 'wow they only scored two points that quarter.' I think for everyone, we weren't playing looking at the scoreboard, we were trying to build the lead up."
It might have been a little rust after a week off from games, but the Ghosts were a step slow defensively in the first half on Tuesday. Downingtown West had the advantage of already playing in a playoff game, beating No. 16 Upper Dublin last Friday and doing it on the road.
Even a packed house at Abington didn't slow the Whippets, who came out shooting and hitting, even getting a four-point play in the first quarter. Monroe noted the Ghosts really didn't have trouble scoring, but they weren't getting stops.
Monroe didn't have trouble scoring and neither did Eric Dixon. The two seniors combined for 28 of Abington's 31 first-half points, but the Ghosts were going to have to pick up their play.
"Credit to Downingtown West, they made shots in the first half and our guys looked a little sluggish," Ghosts coach Charles Grasty said. "They played the style they wanted to play, although we both scored in the 30s. That third quarter, we came out with the energy we needed to.
"It was impressive."
Grasty also didn't realize the scoring drought Downingtown West went on – the Whippets didn't score until a free throw with 7:04 left in the fourth quarter – but felt his team just played harder after halftime.
The Ghosts didn't make a ton of adjustments, but their zone defense did cause the Whippets fits, thanks to Manir Waller. Waller, the lone junior in Abington's rotation, beat the third quarter buzzer on a three for a 50-32 lead but it was his defense that got things going.
"I think he carried the zone," Monroe said. "He had a lot of energy up top and played really well. Even though you may look at his stats and not see that, he was making them throw bad passes, making them throw it higher, their shooters weren't catching in the pocket like they were in the first half."
Monroe took over offensively in the third after Dixon carried Abington in the second. Headed to Penn next year, Monroe scored nine of his 19 in the third and finished the game with eight rebounds.
Dixon led all scorers in the game with 28 points and added 11 rebounds. The senior, who now has 2,345 career points, had the highlight of the night in the second quarter.
After the ball was knocked out of his hands, Dixon went to the floor and recovered it sitting in the lane with his back to the basket. The 6-foot-7 Villanova recruit flicked the ball high over his head, leaning back to watch as it swished through.
"It's been a while, I don't think I've done it since middle school," Dixon said of the play, which made SportCenter's Top 10 late Tuesday night. "That's my third time doing it in a game."
Dixon scored six points in the fourth with two dunks and a putback before he exited the game.
Abington put on a clinic in team ball offensively. Sure, Monroe and Dixon got a lot of the finishes, but the Ghosts assisted on 21 of 29 made field goals, with Maurice Henry's six assists leading all players.
Darious Brown scored all eight of his points in the fourth quarter.
“Credit our coaches for preparing us all week,” Dixon said. “They keep us competing in practice and preparing us for what we need to do. We try to come out ready for the intensity and try to match it, but we knew it was going to be hard, especially because they had just played Friday.”
Abington (24-1, 14-0 SOL) will host No. 8 Perkiomen Valley on Friday in the District I quarterfinals. The winner will advance to the semifinals at Temple.
As the back-to-back defending district champions, the Ghosts are looking for their third straight year going to the Liacouras Center. The Vikings won't make it easy and Monroe noted Abington can't afford too many more slow starts this time of year.
“We have to figure it out because we’re going to run into a team that’s not going to let us pick it up like that. We’ve played against a lot of different teams, a lot of different defenses and teams come out excited to play us and make shots.
“Our guys don’t get fazed, we stay in it, keep running our offense, keep playing hard and eventually we pick it up.”
Abington 11 20 19 22 – 72
Downingtown West 15 15 2 15 – 47
Abington (72) – Eric Dixon 28, Lucas Monroe 19, Darious Brown 8, Manir Waller 3, Maurice Henry 3, Joey Brusha 3, Jack Moynihan 2, Nick Zappone 3, Howie Burrell 3
Downington West (47) – Cam McCole 18, Will Howard 13, Sean Kaiser 9, Nassesm Roberson 4, Jack Hurley 2, Griffin Hillsinger 1
No. 4 Pennridge 71, No. 13 Spring-Ford 48
It looked bad.
And when fans from both sides go quiet, it’s usually not good.
“You just hold your breath,” Pennridge boys basketball coach Dean Behrens said. “And hope for the best.”
The Rams got the best news they could get when senior standout Sean Yoder, after having to be helped off the court with an apparent knee injury midway through the third quarter and taken to the locker room, was able to return quickly to the bench – and back in the game shortly thereafter – and look like his old self.
And, as impressive as his ability to return was, what the Rams did in his absence was also impressive.
Pennridge put together an 11-2 run, without Yoder, to close out the third quarter on the way to a rout of visiting Spring-Ford in a PIAA District One Class 6A second-round game.
The victory assured the fourth-seeded Rams of a spot in the upcoming PIAA state tournament and a home district quarterfinal game against No. 5 seed Norristown on Friday (7 p.m.).
“All of our guys are just getting the job done every time out,” Behrens said. “That is a really good Spring-Ford team that is well coached and they had a good game-plan for us.
“We just were able to get on a roll in the second half and played really well.”
Pennridge (22-3, 11-1 SOL) led by just a point at 30-29 at halftime before limiting Spring-Ford to only six points in the third quarter while putting up 19 of their own to all but seal the verdict.
“I challenged them at halftime to go out and hold Spring-Ford to eight points in the third quarter,” Behrens said.“And they only scored six on us. That was just great defense and all-around effort by every player on the floor. Our goal was to limit them to 45 points for the game and we were almost able to do that.”
The Rams had four players in double figures, led by 15 points from senior John Dominic.
“John Dominic was a junior varsity player for us last year and we really had no idea what we could look for from him this season,” Behrens said.“And all he’s been doing is having big game after big game for us. It’s really been something to see.”
Senior Jon Post and junior Trent Fisher each added 13 points and sophomore Luke Yoder had 10. Sean Yoder, a United States Naval Academy-commit, had nine points with six of them coming when he returned at the start of the fourth quarter.
“We’re getting balanced scoring and that makes you tough to beat,” Behrens said. “Jon Post was really strong tonight as was Trent Fisher and Luke Yoder. And the guys coming off the bench all chipped in. It was just a really good team effort.
“And to see Sean come back like he did, after that scare, was great. We need him because he does so many things on both ends of the floor.”
Up next will be a Norristown team – the tournament’s fifth seed – that swamped Central Bucks West 59-35, also on Tuesday night.
“You know you’re going to get 94 feet of pressure on every possession against Norristown,” Behrens said.“They’re a very good basketball team that will come here ready to play. But we’re playing really well, too, so it should be a heckuva game.”
Spring-Ford 17-12-6-13 48
Pennridge 15-15-19-22 71
Spring-Ford (48) – Nate Santiago 1 0-0 3, Tyler Scilingo 2 0-0 6, Ryan Hagan 4 0-0 11, Patrick Kovaleski 1 0-0 3, Noah Baker 3 4-4 10, Robert Bobeck 4 0-0 8, Johnny Franz 1 0-1 2, Michael Fitzgerald 1 0-0 2, Bonanni 1 0-0 3; TOTALS 18 4-7 48.
Pennridge (71) – Luke Yoder 4 0-0 10, John Dominic 5 3-4 15, Sean Yoder 4 0-0 9, Trent Fisher 3 7-9 13, Jon Post 5 3-4 13, Jack Gillespie 2 0-0 6, Pat Gillespie 1 0-0 3, Paul Croyle 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 25 13-17 71.
No. 6 Chester 77, No. 10 Plymouth Whitemarsh 73
The Colonials – who led 40-34 at the intermission – took a 58-52 lead into the fourth quarter, but that advantage disappeared, thanks to a 25-point quarter by the Clippers to close out the game.
Anthony Straface had a huge game for the Colonials, scoring 29 points. He connected on three three-pointers in a 14-point first half. For the game, he was 10-of-13 from the foul line. Kyree Pendleton also elevated his game, burying three three-pointers and finishing with 19 points. Straface and Pendleton were the catalysts in PW’s 23-point second quarter that broke a 17-17 tie and sent the Colonials into halftime with a six-point advantage. Straface had 10 points in the frame – including a pair of threes – and Pendleton added eight points with a pair of threes. Naheem McLeod scored 14 points – but only four after the intermission.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (15-9, 10-4 SOL) will host 14th-seeded Conestoga in a playback game on Friday. The Colonials are one of eight teams competing for one of two state playoff berths.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 17-23-18-15 73
Chester 17-17-18-25 77
Plymouth Whitemarsh (73) – Anthony Straface 8 10-13 29; Caelin Peters 3 0-0 7; Naheem McLeod 6 2-3 14; Kyree Pendleton 8 0-0 19; Jason Cherry 2 0-0 4; TOTALS 27 12-16 73.
Chester (77) – Michael Smith 4 9-9 18; Rahmee Gilbert 3 1-2 7;; Akeem Taylor 3 3-6 9; Rahmaad Dejarnette 2 2-2 8; Zahmir Carroll 4 1-2 9; Javan Graham 1 0-0 2; Karell Watkins 10 5-9 24; Christian Massena 0 2-2 2; TOTALS 26 22-28 77.
No. 7 Methacton 77, No. 10 Central Bucks South 52
The Warriors took early control of Tuesday’s second round contest, opening up a 20-10 lead after one quarter and extending that to 45-22 at halftime. The Titans never threatened.
The Warriors were led by the double-double effort of 6-9 center Jeff Woodward, who finished with 19 points and 14 rebounds. David Duda added 18 points (three three-pointers) and Erik Timko had 15 (two three-pointers).
For the Titans, Alex Dietz led the way with 12 points while Mark Kannengieszer added 11, and Tommy Kuypers had 10.
Central Bucks South (17-7, 8-4 SOL) will host 18th-seeded Downingtown East in a playback game on Friday. Both teams are still alive in the hunt for a state berth.
Central Bucks South 10-12-18-12 52
Methacton 20-25-18-14 77
Central Bucks South (52) – Cole Prezelski 3 0-0 8; Alex Dietz 5-26 12; Mark Kannengieszer 4 2-2 11; Tommy Kuypers 3 3-4 10; Ian McCaw 3 0-0 6; Michael Farley 2 1-3 5; TOTALS 20 8-15 52.
Methacton (77) – Owen Kropp 6, Brett Eberly 3 4-4 12; David Duda 6 3-4 18; Erik Timko 5 2-2 15; Steven Penjuke 1 0-1 2; Ben Christian 2 0-0 5; Jeff Woodward 7 5-6 19; TOTALS 26 16-21-77.
3-point goals: CB South – Cole Prezelski 2, Mark Kannengieszer, Tommy Kuypers; Methacton – David Tuda 3, Erik Timko 3, Brett Eberly 2, Ben Christian.
No. 8 Perkiomen Valley 43, No. 9 Cheltenham 36
The visiting Panthers found themselves in a 12-2 hole after one quarter and spent the rest of the game playing catch-up. The 36 points was a season low for the Panthers, who remain alive in their quest for a state berth.
Zahree Harrison, Tim Myraick and Jaelen McGlone each scored nine points. The rest of the team combined for just nine.
Tyler Strechay’s 20-point effort led the Vikings.
Cheltenham (16-8, 12-2 SOL) will host 17th-seeded Downingtown West in a playback game. The Panthers are one of eight teams vying for one of two state playoff berths.
Cheltenham 2-11-11-12 36
Perkiomen Valley 12-11-7-13 43
Cheltenham (36) – Zahree Harrison 3 2-2 9; Jalen Mikens 1 1-2 3; Tim Myarick 3 1-2 9; Justin Moore 1 0-0 2; Brandon Scott 0 1-2 1; Jaelen McGlone 3 2-2 9; Sean Emfinger 1 0-0; TOTALS 12 7-10 36.
Perkiomen Valley (43) – Kameron Parks 4 2-2 10; Tyler Strechay 9 0-0 20; Zach Krause 1 4-6-7; AJ Hansen 1 0-0 2; Ian Streeper 1 0-0 2; Bryce Streeper 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 17 6-8 43.
3-point goals: Cheltenham – Tim Myarick 2, Jaelen McGlone, Zahree Harrison, Sean Emfinger; PV – Tyler Strechay 2, Zach Krause.
No. 5 Norristown 59, No. 21 Central Bucks West 35
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