PW will face Chester in Friday’s District One Quad-A title game at Temple University. Scott Huff previews all the games featuring SOL schools in action.
By Scott Huff
And the beat goes on…
PIAA Quad-A District One Finals
@ Temple University
Friday February 26, 2016 – 8 pm
# 9 Chester Clippers (20-6) vs. # 2 Plymouth Whitemarsh Colonials (24-2)
Playoff Resume:
Chesterpunched its ticket to the PIAA Quad-A District One Finals with a 74-62 victory over # 4 Ridley. Stanley Davis and Jamar Sudan paced the balanced Clipper attack with 16 points each. DeShawn Hinson scored in twin digits with 15 points, while Khalleq Campbell added 12 points. Chester outscored the Green Raiders in each of the four periods. The Clippers advanced to the district semifinals with a 49-33 victory over # 17 Central Bucks East. Sudan had a double-double for the Clippers with a 10-point and 13-rebound performance. Campbell scored in double digits in the win over the Patriots with 10 points. Chester advanced to the quarterfinals with a 56-34 victory over # 25 Hatboro-Horsham. Hinson led the Clippers with 13 points, while Campbell scored in twin digits with 12 points. Chester opened the playoffs with a 53-27 win over Council Rock North. Maurice Henry had a double-double for the winners with a 10-point and 10-rebound effort.
Plymouth Whitemarsh punched its ticket to the PIAA Quad-A District One Finals with a 53-42 victory over # 11 Lower Merion. The Colonials were led in scoring by Xzavier Malone who scored a game-high 19 points. Oakley Spencer (14) and Mike Lotito (12) also scored in twin digits in the win over the Aces. PW advanced to the semifinals with a thrilling 43-41 victory over SOL Continental Conference opponent Central Bucks West. Spencer scored the game winner with 0.7 seconds left in the game. Malone led the Colonials with 16 points, while Lotito scored in twin digits with12 points. PW advanced to the district quarterfinals with a 60-56 victory over # 18 Academy Park. Malone led the Colonials with a 26-point outburst, while Ahmin Williams came off the bench and scored eight points. Malone went over the 1000-point mark for his career and now has a career total of 1015 points. PW opened the district playoffs with a 49-36 victory over # 31 Radnor. The Colonials never trailed in the game but led the pesky Indians by just 11-10 at the close of the third period. Malone – who missed most of the second and third quarter with a mild ankle sprain – led PW in scoring with 14 points. Lotito and Kevin Ashenfelter each scored in double digits for the Colonials with 12 and 10 points respectively.
Season Resume:
Chester: The Clippers finished the regular season as the champion of the Delaware Valley League with a record of 10-0.
Plymouth Whitemarsh: The Colonials finished the regular season as the champion of the SOL American Conference with a record of 13-1.
Players To Watch:
Chester: Jamar Sudan, Stanley Davis, DeShawn Hinson, Khalleq Campbell & Maurice Henry.
Plymouth Whitemarsh: Xzavier Malone, Mike Lotito, Oakley Spencer, Ahmad Williams & Kevin Ashenfelter.
Plymouth Whitemarsh head coach Jim Donofrio says: “People are saying crazy things when they say that ‘Chester isn’t Chester.’ Good programs tend to run into each other this time of year – and here we are playing them for a district title. Unlike the last four games that were much more calculated, this game is going to be full throttle. They are the ultimate ‘let’s go’ team. Chester is tenacious on the boards – and we are going to have to limit their offensive rebounds and touches to beat them. We are going to have to show quickness, toughness, fight, and play with attitude. We are not going to change who we are. It is going to be an interesting game played with an up-tempo and with great athletes. I like where our mindset is right now. We are not just happy to be here – we got this far and we might as well finish it off.”
Winner Gets: The winner of this game will win the PIAA Quad-A District One title and will be the top seed from D-1 in the state tournament. The D-1 seed will meet the eighth seed from District 3 on Saturday – March 5, 2016.
Loser Gets: The loser of this game will be the second seed from District One in the state tournament. The D-2 seed will meet the sixth seed from District 3 on Saturday – March 5, 2016.
PIAA Quad-A District One State Seeding Games
Friday – February 26, 2016 @ 7 pm
# 12 Spring-Ford Rams (20-8) @ # 7 Central Bucks West Bucks (23-4)
Playoff Resume:
Spring-Ford captured a district seeding win with a 64-58 overtime victory over # 17 Central Bucks East. The Rams featured four players in double figures in the win over their SOL Continental Conference opponent. Matt Gnais (16), Nigel Cooke (15), Nestor Diaz (13), and Cameron Reid (11) all scored in twin digits in the win. Spring-Ford lost a six-point lead in the fourth period but outscored the Patriots 17-11 in the overtime period. The Rams fell in the PIAA Quad-A District One quarterfinals with a 54-50 loss to # 4 Ridley. S-F trailed 17-2 at the close of the first period but rallied to outscore the Green Raiders 17-4 in the second quarter to trail by just 21-19 at the half. Cooke had a monster game for S-F with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Gnais also scored in double figures with 14 points. The Rams punched their ticket to the state tournament with a 61-58 overtime victory over # 5 Pennridge. In the win over the Rams, Gnais scored a game-high 23 points, while Charles Drummond added 11 points. Cooke and Reid each scored 10 points in the Pennridge game. Spring-Ford opened the district playoffs with a 69-60 victory over # 21 Penncrest. Cooke led the Rams with 19 points, while Drummond and Reid each scored 14 points. Gnais and Ryan Fitzpatrick each scored 10 points for the winners.
Central Bucks West captured a district seeding win with a 59-31 victory over # 14 Conestoga. West led 31-17 at the close of the first half and was never seriously challenged by the Pioneers. Billy Power led the Bucks with 14 points, while Connor Lynch also scored in twin digits with 11 points. Jake Reichwein added nine points for the winners. CBW fell in the Quad-A district quarterfinals in a 43-41 loss to # 2 Plymouth Whitemarsh. Power led the Buck scoring with a 13-point effort, while Jake Reichwein also scored in twin digits with 11 points. West lost the game on a Colonial basket with 0.7 seconds remaining. The Bucks advanced to the district quarterfinals with a 40-32 victory over # 10 Phoenixville. CBW led the entire game despite playing most of the game without Cal Reichwein who was injured early in the game. Luke Irons played perhaps his best game of the year with a team-high 17 points. Power, Erich Hohlenleitner and Jake Reichwein each scored six points for the winners. The Bucks opened the district playoffs with a 54-35 victory over # 26 Downingtown East. CBW opened up a huge 30-13 lead at the half and secured the win with a 15-5 scoring advantage in the fourth period. CB West was led is scoring by Hohenleiter with 15 points, while Cal Reichwein and brother Jake Reichwein scored in twin digits with 12 and 11 points respectively.
Season Resume:
Spring-Ford: The Rams finished the regular season as the champion of the Pioneer Athletic Conference Liberty Division with a record of 11-2.
Central Bucks West: The Bucks finished the regular season as the second place finisher in the SOL Continental Conference with a record of 12-2.
Players To Watch:
Spring-Ford: Matt Gnais, Nigel Cooke & Cameron Reid.
Central Bucks West: Bill Power, Luke Irons & Jake Reichwein.
Central Bucks West head coach Adam Sherman says: “Spring-Ford is playing much better than the team we played in December. They always play hard and aggressive on the defensive end of the floor. (Matt) Gnais and (Cameron) Reid are very effective on the offensive end of the floor. They all shoot the ball well. We are excited to still be playing – and this has been a fun group to coach. We would like to play well against Spring-Ford. You want to have some confidence going into the state tournament, and a win would help in gaining that confidence.”
Winner Gets: The winner of this game will earn the fifth seed from District One. The D-5 team will play the champion of District 6.
Loser Gets: The loser of this game will earn the sixth seed from District One. The D-6 team will play the champion of District 12.
# 17 CB East Patriots (15-11) @ # 14 Conestoga Pioneers (19-9)
Playoff Resume:
Central Bucks East lost a district seeding game 64-58 in overtime to # 12 Spring-Ford. The Patriots showcased a balanced scoring attack as four players finished in double figures. Tommy Strasburger led the CBE attack with a game-high 19 points, while Justin O’Neil (12), Blake Peterson (11), and Matt Pattyson (10) also scored in double figures. CB East overcame a six-point deficit to force overtime but was outscored by the Rams 17-11 in the extra period. The Patriots fell in the PIAA Quad-A District One quarterfinals with a 49-33 loss to powerful # 9 Chester. CBE trailed 10-4 at the end of the first quarter and never recovered. CB East had a pair of players score in double figures as both Strasburger and O’Neil each scored 10 points. The Patriots punched their ticket to the state tournament with a 49-43 upset victory over # 1 Coatesville. The Patriots outscored the Red Raiders 21-15 in the third period to secure the win. Strasburger was once again the engine for East with 13 points, 10 rebounds and four assists. O’Neil scored in twin digits with 13 points, while point guard Pattyson added 10 points for the winners. In an opening round game, CB Eastupset # 16 seed Pennsbury with a 41-30 victory. The Patriots outscored the Falcons 13-3 in the final period to secure the win. Strasburger led CB East is scoring with 13 points, while Pattyson scored eight points and collected eight rebounds for the winners.
Conestoga lost a district seeding game 59-31 to # 7 Central Bucks West. The lone scorer in double figures in the setback was Andrew Larkin with a team-high 11 points. The Pioneers failed to score in double figures in any of the four periods. Conestoga fell in the PIAA Quad-A district quarterfinals 57-51 to # 11 Lower Merion. The Pioneers – who had beaten Lower Merion twice during the regular Central League season – fell behind 16-0 in the first period. Darryl Caldwell led a Conestoga comeback and scored a game-high 23 points. The Pioneers had advanced to the quarterfinal game with a 69-52 victory over # 3 Downingtown West. Caldwell and Larkin each paced the Conestoga offense with 14 points each. Jack Baker and Angus Mayock played terrific defense in the win over the favored Whippets. The Pioneers opened the district playoffs with a 57-45 victory over # 19 seed Great Valley.
Season Resume:
CB East: The Patriots finished the regular season tied for third place in the SOL Continental Conference with a 7-7 record.
Conestoga: The Pioneers finished the regular season tied for third place in the Central League with a record of 12-5.
Players To Watch:
Central Bucks East: Tommy Strasburger, Blake Peterson & Justin O’Neil.
Conestoga: Darryl Caldwell, Andrew Larkin & Jack Baker.
Central Bucks East head coach Erik Henrysen says: “Conestoga is one of the best coached teams in the area. Controlling (Darryl) Caldwell is a huge task because he can take over a game. We have had great practices and I’m encouraged with how we will compete in the next game. We felt that we let one get away against Spring-Ford. We are ready to meet the next challenge. A win would build some momentum going into states.”
Winner Gets: The winner of this game will earn the number seven seed from District One. The D-7 team will play the second seed from District 11 on Saturday – March 5, 2016.
Loser Gets: The loser of this game will earn the number eight seed from District One. The D-8 team will play the champion of District 11 on Saturday – March 5, 2016.
# 25 Hatboro-Horsham Hatters (14-12) @ # 18 Academy Park Knights (19-7)
Playoff Resume:
Hatboro-Horsham punched its ticket to the state playoffs with a thrilling 46-43 victory over # 5 Pennridge. The Hatters were led in scoring by Jay Davis with a team-high 15 points, while Clifton Moore also scored in double digits with 13 points. Senior guard Brian McEachern scored what proved to be the game winning points and finished with nine. Moore came up with a key steal and two free throws late in the game to seal the deal. H-H kept its season alive with a 66-57 upset win over # 1 Coatesville. The Hatters trailed 32-23 at halftime but rallied in the second half to secure the win. Davis led the H-H attack with 22 points, while Moore (19) and Joe Russell (11) also scored in twin digits. Hatboro-Horsham fell into the consolation round with a 56-34 loss to # 9 Chester. The Hatters were competitive in the first quarter trailing 12-9, but quickly fell behind the Clippers by 21 in the third period. Davis fueled the Hatboro Horsham offense with 24 points, while Moore – who scored 28 against Strath Haven in the first round – was held to just two points. Hatboro-Horsham opened the district playoffs with a 68-45 upset over # 8 seed Strath Haven. The Hatters took an early lead – never trailed in the game – and outscored the Panthers 23-11 in the final period. Moore was spectacular with his game-high 28 points, while Davis also had an excellent scoring outing with 20 points.
Academy Park punched its ticket to the state playoffs with a 61-54 upset victory over # 3 Downingtown West. The Knights were led in scoring – as usual – by Jawan Collins with a game-high 20 points. Kyree Temple had a double-double for Academy Park with 13 points and 12 rebounds. The Knights had advanced in the playback bracket with a 71-58 victory over # 10 Phoenixville. Collins scored a game-high 22 points for the Knights, while Teddy Wright (18) and DeAndray Covert (11) each scored in twin digits for the winners. Academy Park suffered a tough 60-56 loss to # 2 Plymouth Whitemarsh in the second round of the tournament. Collins had a spectacular 29-point performance against the Colonials, while Temple added 11 points. In the opening round of the tournament, the Knights survived a scare from # 15 Upper Merion in a 53-51 victory.
Season Resume:
Hatboro-Horsham: The Hatters finished the regular season tied for third place in the SOL Continental Conference with a record of 7-7.
Academy Park: The Knights finished the regular season in second place in the Delaware Valley League with a record of 8-2.
Players To Watch:
Hatboro-Horsham: Clifton Moore, Jay Davis & Brian McEachern.
Academy Park: Jawan Collins, Kyree Temple & Teddy Wright.
Hatboro-Horsham head coach Ed Enoch says: “Academy Park is a very impressive basketball team. They combine size with great athleticism and team speed. We have to be at our best to compete with them. We are going to have to handle their pressure and be able to rebound with them. The Pennridge game was a great win for us, but we have to now have to move on and get ready for another great opponent.”
Winner Gets: The winner of this game will earn the ninth seed from District One. The D-9 team will play the champion from District 12 on Saturday – March 5, 2016.
Loser Gets: The loser of this game will earn the tenth seed from District One. The D-10 team will play the champion from District 3 on Saturday – March 5, 2016.
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