This week’s notebook previews the upcoming District One AAAA boys basketball games and also recaps Friday’s opening round action.
By Scott Huff
When spirited discussions are had by area scholastic hoop pundits about the perennial powers in District One Quad-A basketball, the usual elite basketball programs are always in the conversation.
Chester, Lower Merion, Norristown, Penn Wood, and Coatesville are on the tip of many tongues, and Plymouth Whitemarsh was a staple just a few seasons ago. Abington, Council Rock North, Pennsbury, and Wissahickon come to mind in recent years – but a team from the Suburban One League Continental Conference?
Well, the SOL Continental Conference had its moment in the PIAA District One Quad-A Playoff spotlight in the first round games as three of the four Continental teams came up with impressive wins. Hatboro-Horsham, Souderton, and Central Bucks South all moved on to the Sweet Sixteen, and only North Penn was sent home as the Knights almost upset Upper Darby – 45-44.
“You really don’t hear too much about the conference outside the league,” said Central Bucks South head coach Jason Campbell as his Titans advanced in the tournament with a 63-55 win over Wissahickon. “We have great coaches in our conference – coaches that I really respect. We beat up on each other, but it gets us ready for districts.”
“Some people like to take shots at our conference,” said Souderton head coach Pete Chimera as his Indians advanced in the tournament with a 59-43 win over Pennsbury. “But when the first round games were over, we served our conference very well.”
“We don’t go out and talk about our conference too much,” said Hatboro-Horsham head coach Dennis Steinly after his Hatters topped Downingtown East 61-51. “But when we play each other there is a lot of respect among the players and the coaches.”
The SOL National Conference placed five teams in the 32-team field – and only Abington survived with an 84-53 win over Oxford. The SOL American Conference placed four teams in the 32-team field – and only Norristown survived with a 63-51 win over Plymouth Whitemarsh.
The five SOL teams in the Sweet Sixteen will – win or lose – continue the 2012-13 hoop season. A win in the second round guarantees a state playoff berth for the eight winners that advance to the quarterfinals, while a loss places the eight losers into a fierce battle in the playback rounds for the last two final spots in the 10-team state playoff field.
Stay tuned.
PIAA District One Quad-A Playoffs
Tuesday – February 19, 2013
# 13 Ridley Green Raiders (17-6) @ # 4 Norristown Eagles (20-3)
Last Game: Ridley advanced to the second round game with a 61-58 double overtime victory over Cheltenham. The Green Raiders were led in scoring by Zain Shaw with16 points, while Brett Foster (14) and John McGill (11) also scored in double figures. Norristown advanced to the second round with a 63-51 victory over Plymouth Whitemarsh. The Eagles were sparked by a spectacular 30-point performance by BJ Gordon, while Josh Johnson and Luke Kelley each scored 10 points for the winners.
Norristown head coach Mike Evans says: “We had a huge game played by BJ Gordon in the win over Plymouth Whitemarsh. He is capable of playing that way every game, and it was great to see him come up big in a big game. We have played a lot of players this season, and it seems that we have a different player step up in a given game. Ridley has a player in Zain Shaw that is very athletic and can shoot the basketball. We are going to have to account for him. If we want to move on we are going to have to continue to play sound basketball – we can never get away from that.”
Winner/loser gets: The Norristown/Ridley winner gets that winner of the Abington/Penn Wood game in a district quarterfinal game, while the loser of the Norristown/Ridley game gets the loser of the Abington/Penn Wood game in the playback round.
# 12 Penn Wood Patriots (16-7) @ # 5 Abington Ghosts (19-4)
Last Game: Penn Wood advanced to the second round with a 69-66 double overtime victory over Perkiomen Valley. The Patriots were led in scoring by Tyree Bynum with a game-high 26 points, while Secean Johnson scored in twin digits with 19 points. Abington advanced to the second round with an 84-53 victory over Oxford. The Ghosts were led in scoring by Anthony Durham with 21 points and Jordan Simmons with 20 points, while Matt Penecale scored in double figures with 10 points.
Abington head coach Charles Grasty says: “Our crowd was amazing – it was a real playoff atmosphere against Oxford. It took us a little while to get going, but we played an excellent second half. Penn Wood is not your normal #12 seed – they play real hard and real smart basketball - and are well coached. They are long and athletic and we are going to have to play an excellent basketball game to beat them. We are excited to play the game.”
Winner/loser gets: The winner of the Abington/Penn Wood game will play the winner of the Norristown/Ridley game in a district quarterfinal game, while the loser of the Abington/Penn Wood game will play the loser of the Norristown/Ridley game in the playback round.
# 10 Coatesville Red Raiders (17-6) @ # 7 Hatboro-Horsham Hatters (18-5)
Last Game: Coatesville advanced to the second round with a 58-47 victory over Kennett. The Red Raiders had key contributions turned in by Emmett Hunt, Chris Jones, Jaquan Hollingshed, and Andre Boggs. Hatboro-Horsham advanced to the second round as the Hatters topped Downingtown East – 61-51. Michael Brown sparked the Hatboro-Horsham scoring attack with a 20-point performance, while Ryan Kelly scored 16 points and Zach Quattro added 13 points.
Hatboro-Horsham head coach Dennis Steinly says: “I thought in our win over Downingtown East we showed a good deal of patience and had good shot selection. We were solid on defense and rebounded the basketball well. We are going to have to repeat that effort against Coatesville in our next game. They are very physical and we can’t let them push us around. We have to be on our game, and to play them on our floor is a nice positive for the team. A trip to Coatesville would have been brutal.”
Winner/loser gets: The winner of the Coatesville/Hatboro-Horsham game will play the winner of the Lower Merion/Penncrest game, while the loser of the Coatesville/Hatboro-Horsham game will play the loser of the Lower Merion/Penncrest game in the playback round.
# 14 Central Bucks South Titans (15-8) @ Great Valley Patriots (23-1)
Last Game: Central Bucks South advanced to the second round with a 63-55 victory over Wissahickon. The Titans were led in scoring by Kevin Raymond who scored a team-high 17 points, while Chase Vonder Schmalz scored in twin digits for CBS with 13 points. Great Valley advanced to the second round with a 51-40 victory over Harry S Truman. The Patriots were paced in scoring by Mikael Bridges with 17 points, while Brad Sherry was in double figures with 16 points.
Central Bucks South head coach Jason Campbell says: “We knew that things wasn’t going to be easy in our first round game with Wissahickon – and it wasn’t. We knew that they were going to put up some points, but I thought we did a great job of shooting the ball. Great Valley has some size up front and can be very physical, but we’re a blue-collar team that can handle that. You don’t get to be 23-1 without being an excellent team, but they play the games for a reason – and we will be there.”
Winner/loser gets: The winner of the Central Bucks South/Great Valley game will play the winner of the Methacton/Souderton game, while the loser of the CBS/GV contest will play the loser of the Methacton/Souderton game.
# 11 Souderton Indians (16-7) @ # 6 Methacton Warriors (21-4)
Last Game: Souderton advanced to the second round with a 59-43 victory over Pennsbury. The Indians were paced by John Kanas with a game-high 18 points, while Brendan Wagner added 15 points and Anthony Williams added 13 points. Methacton advanced to the second round with a 67-49 victory over Bensalem. The Warriors were led in scoring by Matt Forrest and Brendan Casper who scored 16 points each, while Zach Jenkins and Sean Mann each scored 10 points for the winners.
Souderton head coach Pete Chimera says: “The win over Pennsbury was a gutsy win for us considering we were down by four points at half. But the players didn’t panic, and we played a very good second half to come away with the win. We ran our offense and made them play defense. We played Methacton early in the season and beat them (53-41), but that was a long time ago. Neither team is the same team that played in that game. They can be very methodical in the way they play, and we have to be able to make them run a little and play a little faster.”
Winner/loser gets: The winner of the Souderton/Methacton game will play the winner of the Central Bucks South/Great Valley contest, while the loser of the Souderton/Methacton game will play the loser of the Central Bucks South/Great Valley contest in the playback round.
District One Playoff Exit Door
Council Rock North was shown the exit door as the Indians were upset by Harriton in the final seconds – 53-51. Rock North placed three players in double digits – Kyle McCloskey (14), Brandon Knotts (11), and Rip Engel (11). The Indians finished the 2012-2013 season with a record of 15-8.
Pennsbury was shown the exit door as the Falcons were defeated by Souderton – 59-43. Pennsbury was led in scoring by Shawn Pepper with 11 points, while Aamir Williams scored in double figures with 10 points. The Falcons concluded the 2012-2013 season with a record of 15-8.
Wissahickon was shown the exit door as the Trojans were defeated by Central Bucks South – 63-55. Wissahickon was paced by junior Chase Wilson with 26 points, while Chris Vila scored in twin digits with 11 points. The Trojans finished the 2012-2013 season with a record of 13-10.
Cheltenham was shown the exit door as the Panthers lost a tough 61-58 contest in double overtime to Ridley. Cheltenham was led in scoring by Aaron McGlawn with 22 points, while Guy Henderson scored in double figures with 16 points. The Panthers concluded the 2012-2013 season with a record of 13-10.
Bensalem was shown the exit door as the Owls were defeated by Methacton 67-49. Bensalem was paced in scoring by Leo Vincent with 10 points. The Owls finished the 2012-2013 season with a record of 13-10.
North Penn was shown the exit door as the Knights were defeated by Upper Darby – 45-44. North Penn – which entered the game with a seven-game winning streak – was led in scoring by Mike Swanson with 13 points. The Knights finished the 2012-2013 season with a record of 12-11.
Plymouth Whitemarsh was shown the exit door as the Colonials were defeated by Norristown – 63-51. Plymouth Whitemarsh was paced in scoring by Dee Bennett with 11 points, while high-scoring Anthony McKie was held to 10 points. The Colonials concluded the 2012-2013 season with an 11-12 record.
Harry S Truman was shown the exit door as the Tigers were defeated by Great Valley – 51-40. Truman was led in scoring by Merdic Green with 17 points, while Lucas Waters scored in twin digits with 11 points. The Tigers concluded the 2012-2013 season with an 11-12 record.
The Rest of the Story In District One Playoffs
# 1 Chester defeated # 32 West Chester Rustin – 86-57.
# 2 Lower Merion defeated # 31 Conestoga – 59-42.
# 10 Coatesville defeated # 23 Kennett – 58-47.
# 12 Penn Wood defeated # 21 Perkiomen Valley – 69-66.
# 15 Penncrest defeated # # 18 Spring-Ford 49-47.
# 16 Strath Haven defeated # 17 West Chester Henderson – 47-45.
Suburban One Sports.com
Top Ten
1. Abington Ghosts (19-4)
2. Norristown Eagles (20-3)
3. Hatboro-Horsham Hatters (18-5)
4. Souderton Indians (16-7)
5. Central Bucks South Titans (15-8)
6. Council Rock North Indians (15-8)
7. Cheltenham Panthers (13-10)
8. Wissahickon Trojans (13-10)
9. Pennsbury Falcons (15-8)
10. Bensalem Owls (13-10)
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