By Matthew DeGeorge
The first couple of times, PJ Esposito could hear the command but didn’t execute.
Situated as far away from the Marple Newtown bench as he could be, the sophomore nestled in the far corner at Pottsville’s Martz Hall, twice passing up looks when Marple’s offense swung the ball his way.
The third time, as the calls from the bench crescendoed, he obeyed.
And when his 3-pointer splashed home, the complexion of the game changed.
Esposito’s 3-pointer keyed a second-quarter awakening, as the Tigers shook off a sleepy start to roar past District 11 champ Pottsville, 53-43, for the program’s first states victory. Marple Newtown (17-10), the fifth seed out of District 1 in the Class 5A tournament, advances to the Round of 16 Friday against District 12 third-place team Mastery Charter North.
Chalk up another bit of history for the Tigers, who qualified for states for just the second time, the only other time coming in 1995. The reason was a pair of players more in the future of the program than the past.