SOL PIAA Boys' Basketball Preview (Second Round)

Plymouth Whitemarsh is the lone survivor on the boys’ side in the PIAA playoffs. The Colonials will travel to Reading to take on District 11 champion Pocono Mountain West in a Class 6A second round game at the Santander Arena.

#1-3 PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH vs. #11-1 POCONO MOUNTAIN WEST (at Santander Arena, Thursday, 5 p.m.)
Plymouth Whitemarsh

• 24-5 overall
• 14-0 in SOL American play
• Won fourth straight SOL American title
• 3-1 in District One 6A playoffs
• Beat #1-2 Coatesville (52-45), #1-4 Cheltenham (74-59, 56-51, 68-60), #1-6 Conestoga (44-29)
• Deep rotation includes eight players who play significant minutes
• Colonials are led by junior guard Ahmad Williams, sharpshooter Matt Walker and 7-0 center Naheem McLeod
• Seeded second entering the District One Tournament.

How they got here: 

• In an opening round game, Plymouth Whitemarsh defeated District 11’s third place team, Lebanon, 80-64. The Colonials, who led by seven at halftime and at the end of three quarters, put some distance between themselves and the Cedars with a 30-point fourth quarter. The Colonials received contributions up and down their line, including several players off the bench. Naheem McLeod and Matt Walker led the way with 15 points each. Cheo Houston had 13, Ish Horn added eight and Kareem Breeden had seven points.

Pocono Mountain West

• 23-4 overall
• District 11 champion with 83-59 win over fourth-seeded Parkland in title game.
• Average 75.9 points a game while allowing 58
• Led by senior Jalen Vaughns (22.9 ppg), who has the program’s single season scoring record with 618 points. He also has 321 rebounds.
• Senior Isaiah Wiggins (17.8 ppg), senior Lance Singh (16.5 ppg) and junior center Travis Elmore (9.6 ppg) also are key contributors. Singh is the school’s all-time leading scorer with 1,550 points.
• Lineup boasts three 1,000-point scorers in Vaughns, Wiggins and Singh.
• Seeded fourth entering district tournament and upset second-seeded Emmaus 63-57.

How they got here:

• In an opening round game, Pocono Mountain West defeated #1-9 Lower Merion 71-57. The Panthers trailed by six at halftime but outscored the Aces 46-26 in the second half. Travis Elmore scored 21 points while Lance Singh and Jalen Vaughns both added 15. Isaiah Wiggins also finished in double figures with 12.

Winner gets:  The winner of the #1-8 Perkiomen Valley versus #3-3 Reading game in Saturday’s state quarterfinal round.