By Scott Huff 
Knights Win At Survivor
North Penn (21-5) continued its arduous journey through the PIAA Quad-A District One playback for the ninth seed in the state tournament with a 59-43 victory over host Upper Darby (23-3). The Knights began the district playoffs as a # 8 seed while the Royals were awarded a # 4 seed.
North Penn will play # 11 Penn Wood (18-8) on Friday at Council Rock South at 7 pm to determine the final playoff slot. The Patriots ousted # 15 Wissahickon from the postseason with a 63-57 victory.
“All week long we have been telling the players that they belong in the playoffs,” said North Penn head coach Ron Hassler. “Penn Wood will present another huge challenge for us, but I think our players now enjoy those challenges.
“We did some things against Upper Darby that we just didn’t do in some of the other games we played in the playoffs,” added Hassler. “We handled the pressure well, and we had to do that in order to beat a team as good as Upper Darby.”
North Penn featured four players in double figures as Dexter Shy and Wes Brooks each scored 14 points for the Knights. Matt Possanza added 13 points for the winners, while Janeus Somers scored in twin digits with 10 points.
“This was the best overall game that Dexter Shy has had all season,” said Hassler. “And Sean Brooks did a great job of shutting down (Brandon) Hashim in the fourth period. He hurt us in the third period, but Sean played great defensively in that fourth period.
“We went to the foul line 29 times, and that was a good thing to see,” continued Hassler. “We attacked the rim and did a great job of getting offensive boards.”
North Penn 19 7 16 17 * 59
Upper Darby 15 3 21 4 * 43
North Penn: Javi Alvarino 7; Dexter Shy 14; Wes Brooks 14; Sean Brooks 1; Matt Possanza 13; Janeus Somers 10. Total – 59.
Upper Darby: Daron Harris 10; DJ Johnson 3; Yusef Ross 9; Kevin Everett 7; Brandon Hashim 14. Total – 43.
Trojan Season Comes To A Tough Close
Wissahickon (15-9) saw its season come to a close as the Trojans pushed favored Penn Wood to the limit in a 63-57 loss. Wissahickon closed to a one-possession game with 16 seconds remaining, but couldn’t close the deal on the defending PIAA Quad-A District One champions.
“Our players played with a lot of heart and a lot of pride,” said Wissahickon head coach Kyle Wilson. “To be able to fight back to a three-point game with 16 seconds left in the game says a lot about how well we played tonight.
“Jordan (Reed) played another outstanding game,” added Wilson of his junior sharpshooter who scored a game-high 24 points after a 35-point night against Coatesville last Friday. “He was the lone starter back from last year, and we will have the direct opposite next season.”
The Trojans will return Reed, Anthony McKie, Tonah Kpassagnon, and Kyle Garrett next season.
“To finish in the top 12 of the district is a great thing for our seniors,” said Wilson. “And the experience that our underclassmen got will really help us next season. We had a great season.”
Wissahickon 10 18 10 19 * 57
Penn Wood 20 13 16 14 * 63
Wissahickon: Kyle Garrett 3; Tanoh Kpassagnon 9; Jordan Reed 24; Anthony McKie 13; Mike Scheier 5; Jabari Kibler 3. Total – 57.
Penn Wood: Malcom Richardson 7; Shawn Oakman 4; Jeff Kyem 4; Akil Anderson 1l Darian Barnes 13; Jerry Pryce 5; Will Morton 6; Aaron Brown 23. Total – 63.
Eagles Clipped By WC Rustin
Norristown (20-5) got off to a horrendous scoring first half as the Eagles were gunned down by # 6 West Chester Rustin (22-4) – 57-50. # 7 Norristown will host # 9 Bensalem on Saturday to determine the # 7 and # 8 seed in the PIAA Quad-A state playoffs.
Prior to the game, Norristown head coach Michael Evans was concerned about the Golden Knight duo of 6-foot, 4-inch Corey Blake and 6-foot, 5-inch Anthony Nash.
“Both Blake and Nash are a tough match for us because of their size,” said Evans. “And they are also very athletic.”
Nash gouged the Birds for a game-high 19 points while Blake also scored in twin digits for the Golden Knights with 13 points.
“This was an important game for us even though we are still in the state playoffs,” said Evans. “We feel good about playing on the road, but we don’t want to have to go too far.”
Norristown was led in scoring by Richard Bouknight and Aaron Webb with a modest 10 points each.
West Chester Rustin will play Lower Merion in the five/six seed game.
Norristown 4 7 11 28 * 50
West Chester Rustin 13 9 17 18 * 57
Norristown: Maleek Williams 5; Aaron Webb 10; Jahquan Hargrove 9; Richard Bouknight 10; Tyreese White 3; Rasheed Johnson 5; Tevin Bush 2; Samier Bey 6. Total – 50.
West Chester Rustin: Corey Blake 16; Cordario Taylor 8; Zach Butcher 8; Anthony Nash 19; Latrell Shelton 1; Dan Myers 5. Total – 57.
Owls Nest Closed Forever?
Bensalem (19-7) closed its famed court at Armstrong Middle School with a heartbreaking 45-44 loss to # 13 Lower Merion (18-8). The Owls had a chance to send the game into overtime, but a missed free throw in the final seconds will send # 9 Bensalem to the seven/eight PIAA Quad-A state playoff seed from District One. The Owls will play at #7 Norristown on Saturday.
“The game with Norristown is big in that we don’t want to go into states on a three-game losing streak,” said Bensalem head coach John Mullin. “This is the first two-game losing streak that we have had all year, and the kids aren’t happy with it.
“We gave a good effort, but we missed far too many easy shots,” added Mullin. “We missed at least 10 easy lay-ups, and you can’t do that and expect to win a playoff game.”
Flashy sophomore guard Leo Vincent led the Owls with 15 points, while Chris McMullin had a double/double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
“This was officially the last game to be played at Armstrong,” said Mullin. “It was a great atmosphere to play a high school game in, and we will miss that special home court advantage.”
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