By Todd Orodenker
Ten minutes after the buzzer sounded, 10 minutes after the euphoria on the court, guard Mike Doyle was still amped up.
His Penncrest Lions, the No. 28 seed in the District One Class AAAA tournament, had just upset fifth-seeded host Penn Wood, 56-53, in overtime Friday at The Shoebox. Nobody thought they were going to win.
He knew it. His team knew it.
“Nobody thought we were supposed to be here,’ Doyle said. “That’s what makes this so great.’
Penncrest advances to the second round Tuesday to face Central League rival and 12-seed Lower Merion, 38-37 winners over No. 21 Council Rock North.
The Lions (14-9), survivors in this contest, had a six-point lead about halfway through an overtime period that saw neither team hit from the field. The Patriots (17-6), as they did during the second half, battled. Four buckets from the line cut the lead to two with 1:24 left.
With just under a minute to go, Malik Jackson missed an open three from the corner. After Doyle split a pair from the line with 17.6 remaining, making it a three-point game, Penn Wood coach Clyde Jones called timeout.
He wanted a quick bucket, another timeout, and wanted to set up a press that already forced 15 turnovers. Instead, Jackson dribbled around. He found Javon Lindsey-Terrell, a sophomore, open for a trey, but he passed it up to Calvin Melton, who missed his triple. The buzzer sounded as the ball came off the rim.