To view action photos of the game, visit the photo gallery and click on the following link: http://photos.suburbanonesports.com/ Check back for more photos which will be added later.
By Scott Huff
Villanova - Council Rock North (25-1) took its extremely impressive show to the big stage and was applauded for an outstanding effort in defeating defending PIAA Quad-A state champion Plymouth Whitemarsh (21-5) by a 58-50 score at the Pavilion in a District One semifinal game. The # 2 seeded Indians will face # 1 Chester in the District One Finals on Friday at Villanova with a 9 pm tip-off. The Clippers advanced to the finals with a 77-67 victory over Neshaminy in the other semifinal contest.
“This was a great, great win,” said Council Rock North head coach Derek Wright. “Everyone that played stepped up and played with confidence against an excellent basketball team. PW takes great pride in the jersey it wears, and it has proven that it is a great program.
“Our kids played with a real passion tonight,” added Wright. “And our leaders showed a great deal of leadership. We faced adversity during this game, but we were able to overcome it each and every time.”
Rock North’s 6-foot, 4-inch Arron Goodman - who scored a game-high 19 points and was dominant on both the offensive and defensive glass with 15 rebounds - turned in the outstanding performance of the game.
“This was the biggest game of my life,” said Goodman. “Teams that go far in District One also seem to go far in the state playoffs. Plymouth Whitemarsh was in the district final last year, and they won a state championship.”
“We really stressed the defensive end of the floor getting ready for PW,” said Aaron Morgan – the wonderful Indian point guard. “We knew that we had to get back on defense, or we could be in some trouble.”Plymouth Whitemarsh has been a team that has created that havoc with some terrific scoring runs. Two games ago, the Colonials turned around a 19-17 deficit against Pennridge in a second round contest by scoring 29 unanswered points and blowing the game out of the water. It held the Rams scoreless for almost 19 minutes.
However, that game-changing run never came against a defensively talented Rock North team. In fact, the largest run of unanswered points for PW was a four-point run.
“I was waiting for one of those runs,” said Plymouth Whitemarsh head coach Jim Donofrio. “But what makes Council Rock so good defensively is that they get back quickly and get under the basket. We never really got a lot of clean looks around the basket.
“Rock teams are unique in that they bring a great combination of size and experience,” added Donofrio. “And they are not a team that is going to melt under pressure.”
Council Rock North got out of the gate quickly and took a 13-4 lead – and every starter put points on the board. Goodman, Morgan, Charlie Anastasi, John Raymon, and Jordan Chernin all had entries in the scorebook. The Indians led 14-10 at the close of the first period.
The teams traded baskets for most of the second period, and the score going into intermission was 24-23.The Indians surged to a 17-8 advantage in the third period to put some distance between themselves and the Colonials. In that period, PW shot just one for seven from the field, while Goodman scored seven on his own for the Indians. Included in that flurry was the first of two monster dunks by Goodman.
Plymouth Whitemarsh trailed 43-37, but a sequence of events doomed whatever comeback hopes the Colonials would entertain. Jaylen Bond – the marvelous 6-foot, 7-inch University of Pittsburgh recruit – picked up his fourth foul with 6:24 left in the game and quickly picked up his fifth foul with 5:56 left in the contest.
It became a different game with Bond sitting on the PW bench – a game that severely limited the prospects of a miraculous Colonial comeback.
“Who knows? Maybe Rock gave us a gift tonight,” said Donofrio. “We lost to a team that plays the game with the best X’s and O’s in the state. And we will come away from this game with something learned.
“Last year when we lost Penn Wood in the district final, I was irate because I wanted so much to win that district title,” added Donofrio. “And then we ended up winning the state title, and not winning the district title wasn’t all that bad.”
Senior PW guard Sam Pygatt has that same frame of reference.
“Last year, when we lost the district final, people said that the season was over for us,” said Pygatt – along with Bond the senior captains for the Colonials. “It wasn’t over then – and it isn’t over now.”
As the clock began ticking down in the game, the Council Rock North faithful began chanting ‘We Want Chester’. And before the close of the week, the Rock North fans will have their wish.
“I heard them, and they were having a lot of fun with it,” smiled Wright. “But that is what makes high school basketball so unique. That’s what is should be all about – just having fun.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh 10 13 8 19 * 50
Council Rock North 14 10 17 17 * 58
Plymouth Whitemarsh: Jaylen Bond 11; Marcus Badger 15; Brandon Johnson 2; Stephon Baker 14; Sam Pygatt 8. Total – 50.
Council Rock North: Hunter Stevens 3; Charlie Anastasi 6; John Raymon 10; Jordan Chernin 8; Aaron Morgan 12; Arron Goodman 19. Total – 58.
- Log in to post comments
0
