By Scott Huff
WEST NORRITON – Seniors Sam Pygatt and Stephon Baker both stepped out of the impressive shadow of 6-foot, 7-inch Jaylen Bond to propel Plymouth Whitemarsh (9-2, 6-0) to a 59-49 victory over host Norristown (11-2, 5-1).The win gave the Colonials sole possession of first place in the Suburban One League American Conference.
“It was almost like Sam and Stephon felt they had to get my permission to be ‘the guy’ who takes over the game,” said Plymouth Whitemarsh head coach Jim Donofrio. “Last year – with all the talent that we had on that team - it was like they were a couple of thoroughbreds who were asked to be trotters.”
The talented PW guards were asked to step out of their supporting role of Bond a good portion of the game against the Eagles. Bond – signed, sealed and delivered to the University of Pittsburgh – was in foul trouble and saw somewhat limited playing time.
“We feel that we really have good people coming off the bench,” said Pygatt in reference to Marcus Glover. “Even with Jaylen off the floor, we still have a very good chemistry on the court.”
Pygatt – the PW captain – scored a game-high 22 points.
“We know that we can play the game at a high level without (Bond) on the floor,” said Baker who electrified the crowd with a sweet jumper and a left-handed jam. “In practice, coach has us play without him, and we have a great idea of what we have to do without him on the floor.”
Baker scored 13 points in the second half to secure the win and finished with 19 points.
“Teams are going to key on (Bond) and try to get him in foul trouble,” said Donofrio. “JB is a young and aggressive player, and maybe I should have pulled him a little sooner.”
“Our game plan was the spread the floor and take it to the basket,” said Norristown head coach Michael Evans. “We wanted to get Bond into some foul trouble. That worked – but we didn’t an entire 32 minutes of basketball.
“We were in the game, and we worked hard,” added Evans. “But against a team like Plymouth Whitemarsh, you can’t make the mental mistakes that we made.”
Norristown jumped out to a 5-0 lead, but a Donofrio timeout cut the momentum. The Colonials went on a 14-5 run to take a lead they would never relinquish.
The closest the Eagles would get was 42-37 with 4:47 left in the game. But PW had the ability to close out the game and protected the lead until the final buzzer.
Norristown – which has lost only to the Colonials and Chester this season – was led in scoring by Rasheed Johnson with 14 points. Jahquan Hargrove scored 12 points for the Eagles.
Bond finished the game as the third scorer in twin digits for the Colonials with 11 points.
“Tonight people got to see Sam and Stephon as a great one-two punch,” said Donofrio. “I have seen it for a long time.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh 13 11 14 21 - 59
Norristown 10 5 13 21 - 49
Plymouth Whitemarsh: Marcus Badger 3; Stephon Baker 19; Jaylen Bond 11; Marcus Glover 4; Sam Pygatt 22. Total – 59
Norristown: Rasheed Johnson 14; Tyreese White 5; Maleek Williams 6; Quamir White 2; Aaron Webb 10; Jahquan Hargrove 12. Total – 49
Rock North is Rock Solid
Council Rock North (12-1, 7-0) won a critical SOL National Conference game as the Indians handled host Neshaminy (10-2, 5-2) – 55-43.
“I think that the key to the game was the way we controlled both the offensive and defensive glass,” said Council Rock North head coach Derek Wright. “We limited them to just one shot, and we were able to come up with some offensive rebounds that resulted in points.”
Charlie Anastasi was wonderful off both backboards and scored in double figures for the Indians with 16 points.
“Charlie has been our glue all season,” said Wright. “He dives on the floor for loose balls, and does all the little things that you would want your leader to do.”
Another key to the Rock North victory was the job that Matt McCloskey did on high-scoring Neshaminy junior Ryan Arcidiacono. Arcidiacono scored a team-high 19 points for the Redskins.
“Matt did a great job of containing him,” said Wright. “Ryan had to work for every one of his points. He is a great player.”
CR North was led in scoring by junior Aaron Morgan who scored a game-high 20 points.
“We had a little cushion in the fourth period, and Aaron knocked down some big foul shots,” said Wright. “But he has been doing that all year.”
A year that continues to be very successful for Council Rock North.
Council Rock North 8 11 10 26 - 55
Neshaminy 7 11 3 22 - 43
Council Rock North: Charlie Anastasi 16; Arron Goodman 12; Matt McCloskey 3; John Raymon 4; Aaron Morgan 20. Total – 55
Neshaminy: Ryan Arcidiacono 19; Richie Schafer 4; Tyler Katz 4; Dwight Williams 7; Michael McGarry 9. Total – 43
Around the Suburban One League
Wissahickon (7-6, 3-3) ‘upset’ host Cheltenham (9-4, 3-3) by a 66-55 margin in a Suburban One American Conference game.
The Trojans were led in scoring by Jordan Reed with a game-high 20 points. Mike Scheier added 19 points for Wissahickon, while Kyle Garrett added 10 points for the Trojans.
Cheltenham had three players score in twin digits, led by Nafis Walker and Jarrell Haywood with 11 points. Aaron McGlawn scored 10 points for the Panthers.
Upper Merion (6-7, 2-4) had an impressive double-double by Naim Cheeseboro as the Vikings sailed to a 60-47 SOL American victory over Upper Moreland (1-11, 0-6).
Cheeseboro scored a game-high 22 points and hauled in 19 rebounds for the Vikes. James Mobley scored in double figures Upper Merion with 13 points.
Upper Moreland was led in scoring by Matt Kohn with 14 points. Scott Smith finished in double figures with 10 points for the Golden Bears.
Bensalem (10-3, 6-1) reached double digits in wins for the season with a 40-23 SOL National Conference win over Council Rock South (6-7, 3-4).
The win moved the Owls into sole possession of second place in the division behind Council Rock North.
Austin Nyekan scored 10 points to lead Bensalem, while Calvin Brown blocked 11 shots and scored four points for the winners.
The leading scorers for the Golden Hawks were Pat Silverthorn and Justin Thomas with seven points each.
Abington (6-8, 2-5) led 40-23 at the half and coasted to a 69-57 SOL National Conference win over visiting Truman (4-8, 2-5).
Wesley Rines led the Ghosts with a game-high 24 points, while DJ McFadden and Vincent Tranquillo each scored 12 points for the winners.
Merdic Green scored a team-high 23 points for Truman, while Shaun Miller scored in twin digits for the Tigers with 19 points.
Central Bucks West (9-4, 4-3) defeated host Central Bucks South (2-12, 1-6) – 46-43.
See game story on Suburban One Sports.com
Odds & Ends
Souderton will playat Central Bucks East @ 3 pm today (1/19/11).
Hatboro-Horsham will play at North Penn @ 7 pm today (1/19/11).
Quakertown will play at Pennridge @ 7 pm today (1/19/11)
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