Abington defeated PW to earn a spot in Saturday’s District One 6A title game at Villanova University. Photos from the Abington/Plymouth Whitemarsh and Cheltenham/Coatesville games provided by Larry Small and Keith Clemens. CLICK HERE to go directly to the galleries.
#3 ABINGTON 71, #2 PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 67
“They say the neon lights are bright on Broadway … and there is always magic in the air (on Broadway) – Drifters
By Scott Huff
Philadelphia – The neon lights were indeed exceptionally bright on Broad Street Tuesday night – and there was absolutely magic in the air.
Suburban One League National champion Abington (23-4) captured a 71-67 PIAA District One 6-A semifinal win over defending District One champion – and SOL American Conference champion – Plymouth Whitemarsh (22-5). The two SOL titans played on the big stage at the Liacouras Center on the campus of Temple University.
And the undisputed star on that big stage for the winning Ghosts was 6-foot, 8-inch sophomore Eric Dixon. The final stat line was impressive for the soft-spoken Division One prospect who scored a game-high 29 points (10-17 from the field, 6-8 from the free throw line, and a perfect 3-3 from outside the arc); snared 10 rebounds; collected three assists; two steals; and a pair of blocked shots.
“Eric owned the floor tonight – especially in the second period,” said Abington head coach Charles Grasty in reference to the 13 points Dixon scored in the period which helped the Ghosts break open a tight game and take a 37-22 lead into intermission. “He was feeling it – and who wouldn’t want the ball when you are in a zone like that.
“I really believe that Eric Dixon is an All-State player at this point,” added Grasty. “This wasn’t a game where there were like 50 people in the stands – Eric took advantage of playing a great game in front of a number of college coaches.
“I tell the kids all the time to go out and earn themselves some money (in scholarships),” continued Grasty. “We have some nice players that can play at the next level.”
“These are the games that you dream about,” said Dixon. “To be able to play at a place like this at Temple – and then to be able to play for a championship on Saturday at Villanova – is very exciting.”
“Dixon is a very cagey player for a player of his size,” said Plymouth Whitemarsh head coach Jim Donofrio. “He has really soft hands, has great touch, but also plays like a man inside.
“We knew going into the game that Abington was going to be a huge challenge – and he was a big part of that,” added Donofrio. “We have some things to fix – but like I told the kids after the game we still have important games to play this year.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh and Abington have played important games at this time of year for years.
PW – the defending district champions – has made five straight trips to the district semifinals. Abington has gone to states in five of the last six years – but last year wasn’t one of them.
“We put that 42-41 score up in the locker room at the beginning of the season,” said Grasty in reference to the opening round district loss to Upper Dublin last season. “It is a reminder of what can happen.”
“The sting from that loss hasn’t game away,” said Dixon who started as a freshman last season for the Ghosts. “Maybe if we can win a district championship it will go away – maybe not.”
And to get to the district title game, Abington seemingly grabbed the game by the throat in the second period. The Ghosts – who held a scant two-point lead (15-13) at the close of the first period – outscored the Colonials 22-9 in the second period to lead by 15 at halftime.
Abington and PW split 32 third period points – and with 5:01 left in the fourth period the Ghost lead ballooned to 62-42. But Plymouth Whitemarsh rallied to score 25 of the next 34 points to make the final score look respectable at 71-67.
“A program like we have at PW has a lot of pride,” said Donofrio. “We continued to tell the kids to play hard and make some shots – and we did that.
“Our goal every year is to get to a big arena game,” added Donofrio. “We felt that this game could have been a good district final game – but that is a different discussion.
“We always set high standards for the kids,” continued Donofrio. “But we try to set those standards without putting pressure on them.”
Pressure? What pressure?
“This is a very young team – and they don’t seem to feel any pressure,” said Grasty. “On the bus ride here, they were laughing and joking around. The fact that we were going to Temple to play in a big game wasn’t a big deal to them.
“Sure they took last year’s loss to Upper Dublin personally, but we still have fun,” added Grasty. “They really wanted to get back to where we think we belong.”
And that was under the bright neon lights on Broad Street.
Extra Points – Abington will meet Coatesville in the 6-A District One final at Villanova on Saturday (3/4/17) with an 8 pm tipoff…The Red Raiders defeated Cheltenham 79-58 in the other 6-A District semifinal game…PW will host SOL American Conference rival Cheltenham on Friday to determine the third and fourth 6A seed from District One…The Colonials defeated the Panthers twice (74-59 & 56-51) during regular season…In addition to Dixon, Robbie Heath (15) and Joseph O’Brien (13) played fine games for the winners as each scored in double figures…PW received strong outings from Ish Horn (20), Ahmad Williams (15), and Matt Walker (14) who all scored in double digits.
Abington Ghosts 15-22-16-18*71
Plymouth Whitemarh 13- 9- 16-29*67
A: Eric Dixon 29; Robbie Heath 15; Joe O’Brien 13; Rob Young 6; Eric Dougherty 5; Lucas Monroe 3. Total – 71.
PW: Ish Horn 20; Ahmad Williams 15; Matt Walker 14; Naheem McLeod 5; Alan Glover 5; Devon Lawrence 4; Kevin Tilghan 2. Total – 67.
#4 COATESVILLE 79, #8 CHELTENHAM 58
It took two minutes.
In the span of two minutes, and really, the 60 seconds, the Panthers went from being on stable ground to near-shambles. With whistles tweeting nonstop all night, Cheltenham point guard Ahmad Bickley picked up his third foul of the second quarter with two minutes to go.
John Timms had no choice but to sit his offensive leader. The Red Raiders happily took advantage.
Coatesville, on the back of four Cheltenham turnovers in the span, closed the first half on a 60-second long 9-0 run that turned a 27-27 game into a 36-27 lead at the break. The Panthers never recovered.
"Once he picked that foul up, we sat him down," Timms said. "It was two minutes and it changed the game. After that, we were fighting an uphill battle."
On the biggest stage they've seen all season, Temple's Liacouras Center, and facing what Timms called the best team they'd seen all season, the Panthers did something their coach hadn't seen before. They showed hesitation.
Outside of Trevonn Pitts, none of the Panthers had much varsity experience prior to the season. While they've gone through an entire regular season and the postseason so far, there is something different about stepping onto a big floor in a huge gym with a thousand people yelling the whole time.
"It showed a little," Timms said. "Their freshman (guard Jhamir Brickus) was poised, and that's why he's probably ranked among the top freshman in the area. Ahmad would have done a better job had he not been in foul trouble.
"We play those guys again, I don't think that score represents where we are. I'm not saying we would win, but we got in foul trouble early and it changed our defensive scheme."
Timms said Coatesville reminded him of Plymouth Whitemarsh's style, only with more speed on the floor. Raiders coach Chuck Moore is a PW alum and has quickly built the program into one of the best in the district.
Brickus was Cheltenham's bane all night, scoring 22 points – 11 in the third quarter – and causing a ton of defensive havoc, racking up six steals.
The Red Raiders won the third quarter 23-17, which by itself wasn't that much but adding that six-point cushion on the nine-point halftime lead was too much for Cheltenham to handle. Yet for all that went wrong on Tuesday, one thing the Panthers never did was quit.
“That’s not who we are at Cheltenham,” Timms said. “We’re going to play until that buzzer sounds.”
Pitts continued attacking the rim long after the outcome was decided, Jack Clark kept rebounding and Bickley kept finding shots.
"I'm proud of those guys being down 20 points and double-digits for a lot of the second half, you're thinking when are they going to quit?” Timms said. “They never did even though they were probably as shocked as anyone to be down 18 or 20 points."
Timms said there was certain a shellshock effect, but the team's makeup allowed it to keep playing and at least trying to make a late run.
"We all stuck together and we all lost together," Timms said.
While the Panthers' return to the district semis didn't go how they planned, they will still enter the state tournament with a top-four seed out of District I, which is no small feat. They also have a quick turnaround for Friday's third-place game against PW.
Cheltenham 13 14 17 14 – 58
Coatesville 11 15 23 20 – 79
Cheltenham (58) – Trevonn Pitts 10, Ahmad Bickley 15, Jack Clark 11, Rodney Carson 8, Kyin Healey 10, Tim Myarick 3, Lonce Scott 1
Coatesville (79) – J Brickus 22, H Young 4, K Brickus 12, Bladen 11, Boulware 2, Bryant 17, Holmes 5, A Young 2, Aa Young 2, Scott 2
District One Class 6A 5-8 Playback
By Jarrad Saffren
#5 North Penn 64, #1 Perkiomen Valley 46
North Penn became the second SOL team to knock off the top seed.
Cheltenham beat Perkiomen Valley in a quarterfinal.
Perk Valley led by one at halftime Tuesday night (24-23). But North Penn opened the third on a 10-0 run. Chris Coleman scored eight points during the run.
“In the second half we played really well on the defensive end,” Knights coach John Conrad said. “We played good defense and rebounded and ran.”
Ricky Johns led North Penn with 24 points.
“A lot were on the back end in transition,” Conrad said. “When we got up big, AJ Mitchell did a great job handling the press and was able to find Ricky.”
Coleman finished with 12 points. Reece Udinski added 10.
Lance Ford and Noah Kwortnik took turns guarding PV’s prolific leading scorer, Justin Jaworski.
“Lance Ford and Noah Kwortnik did a nice job on Jaworski. He had 21 but got nothing easy. Everything he got was well-deserved,” Conrad said. “We played a lot of man-to-man. Chris took a turn on him too. We wanted to keep a fresh body on him because he’s so good.”
North Penn (20-6) hosts #7 Conestoga in a playback game Friday night at 7:30. The winner earns District One’s fifth seed in the state tournament. The loser gets the sixth seed.
“Conestoga’s a good basketball team,” Conrad said. “We are excited to have another home game.”
North Penn 12-11-21-20 64
Perkiomen Valley 12-12-5-17 46
District One Class 6A 9-10 Playback
#10 Lower Merion 58, #6 Pennsbury 55
Pennsbury led by 10 late in the third quarter.
“I was real confident,” Pennsbury senior Tyler Sessa-Reeves said. “Everything was going well.”
Sessa-Reeves was right. The Falcons were forcing turnovers, making jumpers and pumping their fists after every triumphant play. At one point, coach Bill Coleman turned to an assistant on the bench, wound up and slapped his hand.
Pennsbury had it. After a disheartening, 16-point second round loss to Penn Wood, the Falcons were about to win their second straight game and clinch a state tournament spot.
So what happened?
“Turnover and a missed rebound,” Coleman said. “That’s what happened.”
LM’s Darryl Reynolds intercepted a Pennsbury pass, raced down court and sank a three from straightaway. On LM’s next possession, Jack Forrest grabbed an offensive rebound and scored. A Pennsbury player dropped the rebound, allowing it to bounce to Forrest.
The 5-0 Lower Merion run killed Pennsbury’s momentum.
Halfway through the fourth, Terrell Jones made a three and Steve Payne made a fast break layup, giving the Aces their first lead since the first quarter.
They eventually built a six-point lead with 49.1 seconds left. Pennsbury cut the lead back to three. But Mark Flagg missed a three in the final seconds.
Pennsbury fell short of the state tournament for the second straight year.
“I’m proud of the guys,” Coleman said. “They earned that six seed.”
“We weren’t as successful as we thought we’d be,” Flagg said. “But I wouldn’t have wanted to play with another group of guys.”
“We expected to go a lot further,” Pennsbury senior Addison Howard said. “But we fought hard.”
Flagg and Howard led the Falcons all year. Flagg scored 21 points Tuesday night. Howard scored just seven.
Lower Merion played a triangle-and-two against Flagg and Howard, guarding them with individual defenders. The Aces played a triangle zone against everybody else.
“We got a lot of good mileage out of it,” Lower Merion coach Gregg Downer said. “We wanted to make other players beat us. Our defense on the top two was pretty good all night long.”
The triangle left space for Pennsbury’s role players, who had trouble scoring all year. But, on Tuesday night, Raylil Winton Law dropped 15 points, including three threes. It wasn’t quite enough.
“Ray stepped up big time,” Pennsbury senior Billy Warren said.
Lower Merion made eight threes in the second half.
“We knew they had shooters,” Sessa-Reeves said. “Sometimes when they get hot, there’s not much you can do.”
Jones scored 24 for the Aces.
“His versatility being a 6-5 guard is a harder matchup for me or Billy,” Flagg said. “He’s quicker than us and he has a few inches on (Pennsbury forward) Joey (Monaghan).”
Pennsbury ended the season at 16-10.
“Any time you get 16 wins in 26 games, we’ll take it,” Coleman said.
Lower Merion 5-14-18-21 58
Pennsbury 9-14-19-13 55
About the Author
