The final two SOL teams still alive in the postseason – Central Bucks West and Norristown – saw their seasons come to an end in Wednesday’s second round of the PIAA Class AAAA Tournament. To view photos of the Norristown/Chester game, please visit the Photo Gallery.
By Scott Huff
Coatesville– One by one the Norristown players slowly exited the locker room - eyes rimmed with tears - after the Eagles were eliminated from the PIAA Quad-A state playoffs by powerful Chester – 72-53. This was not a repeat of the 81-31 demolition Norristown suffered against the talented Clippers in the District One playoffs – not even close.
But the crying shame for the Eagles was the fact that Norristown (20-8) could have competed better this night if not for the total domination of the offensive backboards by unbeaten Chester (28-0). The high-flying Clippers cleaned the glass for 24 offensive rebounds that led to 24 second-chance points for a Chester team that is ranked #4 in the country by some polls.
“There is no question that was the difference in the ballgame, you can’t give a team with that many weapons extra bullets,” said Norristown head coach Michael Evans. “You just can’t give the fourth best team in the nation second chances to score. We needed to box out better, and you never know what could have happened if we had done a better job of keeping them off the boards.
“I loved the fact that we came into this game without backing down – a 50-point loss wasn’t going to happen tonight,” added Evans as the Eagles led 10-7 midway through the first period and closed to within 62-49 with 2:29 left in the fourth period. “A game like this should give us some motivation to get ready for next season.”
“We are disappointed with the loss, but I thought we played hard – with heart – and like a family,” said Norristown junior Marquis Bryant who scored a team-high 14 points and hauled in 12 rebounds. “We came into this game with a different attitude, a different mindset, and a different game plan. And early in the game it worked.”
Norristown – which was torched by Chester in the first meeting with a 27-4 scalding in the first period – trailed the Clippers by just 16-12 at the close of the first period. However, Chester went on a 10-1 at the close of the second period to transform a competitive 29-20 lead to a comfortable 39-21 lead at intermission.
“That was a huge part of the ballgame,” said Evans. “We had Jahbri (Hargrove) on the bench with foul trouble, and instead of having a small climb to get back into the game, we had a much bigger climb to get back into the game.”
The Eagles – who will return eight of their top ten players next season – never could completely recover from that late surge in the second period by the Clippers. But it wasn’t from lack of effort as unde
rclassmen Hargrove, Bryant, BJ Gordon, Luke Kelley, and senior Samir Bey played intense basketball against what should prove to be the eventual PIAA Quad-A state champion Clippers.
“Samir has been our leader all season, and we are going to miss him,” said Evans. “But we do have a number of kids that will be back next season, and they are going to have the taste of this loss in their mouth until next year. I had guys crying in that locker room, and they are not going to forget what this loss felt like.
“This has been a great group of players to coach, and the hardest thing about tonight is knowing that there will be no practice tomorrow,” added Evans. “We have to start thinking about next season – now.”
And next season when the Eagles exit that locker room in their final state playoff game, the tears that flow could be tears of joy.
Norristown Eagles 12 9 15 17 - 53
Chester Clippers 16 23 14 19 - 72
Norristown: Jahbri Hargrove 14; BJ Gordon 14; Marquis Bryant 14; Luke Kelley 7; Samir Bey 2; and Richard Bouknight 2. Total – 53.
Chester: Darius Robinson 17; Shanier Cottman 12; Rondae Jefferson 10; Erikk Wright 8; Richard Granberry 7; Zamir Geiger 7; Kareem Robinson 5; Rashan Dejarnette 3; Diamonte Reason 2; and Tavaune Griffin 1. Total 72.
Bucks Finally Stop Here
Central Bucks West (23-6) had the ball with the opportunity to take the lead as the Bucks trailed highly-touted Central Dauphin (28-2) by a single point – 43-42 – with a little over four minutes left in the game. However, CB West came up empty on its next three possessions and was jettisoned from the PIAA Quad-A playoffs with a 57-47 loss to the Rams.
“We fell behind early, but we played with heart and character and got back into the game,” said Central Bucks West head coach Adam Sherman. “But we might have lost the game right at the beginning of the game when we made just one of our first eleven shots. That was a big part of the game.”
CB West had to contain the talents of 6-foot, 9-inch Central Dauphin senior Devin Thomas who finished with a game-high 19 points. Thomas – who is going to Wake Forest University – only scored four points after intermission.
“He was a factor early in the game,” said Sherman. “But I thought we did a good job on him in the second half.”
The season is now over for a Buck team that was crowned Suburban One League Continental Conference champions – collected 23 wins – and won a state playoff game.
“We have seven seniors on this team, and they have accomplished a great deal for our basketball program,” said Sherman in reference to Derek Dyer, Tyler Schechter, Andrew Schechter, Shane Kellar, Sam Lis, Jack Rogers, and Tim McBride. “I love these kids.”
Central Bucks West Bucks 8 12 12 15 - 47
Central Dauphin Rams 14 16 11 16 - 57
Central Bucks: Derek Dyer 12; Jared Kelly 10; Jack Rogers 9; Tyler Schechter 7; Shane Kellar 3; Sherrod Higginbotham 3; and Andrew Schechter 3. Total – 47.
Central Dauphin: Devin Thomas 19; Nick Seefeldt 16; Ryan Beaver 7; Zayd Issah 6; Brian Laird 5; Austin Merz 2; and Tyler Napierala 2. Total – 57.
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