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By Matthew De George

Justin Collins didn’t leave the home bench two years ago, but not a detail escaped his grasp Wednesday night at Springfield High School.

Now a senior guard, Collins recounted in vivid detail all the highs and lows of the Cougars’ last chance to play into states in 2015 against Penncrest — the 12-point fourth-quarter deficit they surmounted, the Lions’ lights-out, 14-for-14 performance from the free-throw line in overtime to win, 58-53, without an extra-session field goal.

Collins, whose older brother Jordan was that team’s leading scorer, even wistfully bounced his head recalling the number of bounces a late Mike Doyle 3-pointer took off rim before falling home to push the game to OT.

“Still, some of that stuff hurts,” said Kyle Long, then the emergent freshman point guard, now the seasoned junior floor general.

For the current Cougars who experienced that star-crossed team’s disappointment, the significance was instilled quickly. That near miss, from a special senior class, set the bar that they would be held to two years later. And having cleared that high hurdle to make the program’s first states appearance since 2010 and ninth in school history, the Cougars are embracing the quest to determine their ride’s culmination.

Springfield gets that chance Friday when the sixth seed from District 1 ventures to Hershey High School to take on District 3 runner-up Mechanicsburg in the first round of the PIAA Class 5A tournament. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. as the nightcap in a triple-header.

For the freshness of the memory, Collins and company describe the Penncrest game as a demon they’ve vanquished, more grateful for its motivation than haunted by its specter.

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By Matthew De George

The trend lines for Saturday’s PIAA Class 6A opener may seem in opposition. District 4 champ Williamsport (20-4) carries a 13-game winning streak to Milton Area High School at 4:30 p.m. Penn Wood, on the other hand, arrested a two-game slide by trouncing Perkiomen Valley, the top seed in the District 1 tournament, in its seventh-place game last Friday (a result perhaps most crucial for its avoidance of District 12 champ Roman Catholic in the first round.)

But zoom out and you have a Patriots team that has won 13 of its last 16, not too shabby in relation to a diminished field.

That commonality links the teams as among the dark horses in an uncharacteristically open 6A field, diluted by the parting out of quality teams to the 5A classification. But that’s immaterial to what should be an intriguing affair.

The Millionaires are the hot team, boosted emotionally after avenging a loss to Hazleton in the District 2/4 regional final last time out.

Williamsport is much like Penn Wood in the size department, with a bunch of players of differing skillsets all standing around 6-foot-2. Stanley Scott, their leading scorer, is listed as a guard. The forward triumvirate of Rondell Carson, Darryl Wilson and Qayyim Ali add support scoring.

Those matchups won’t be as perplexing for a Patriots team where the line between guard and forward is blurry anyway. Jay Fitzgerald will likely draw the assignment of Scott on the perimeter, but the likes of Rashaad Anderson, Vincent Smalls, Pernell Ghee and others are capable of guarding any of the Millionaires’ other options.

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By Matthew De George

It was a bit of understatement from Larry Yarbray last Friday night, but rang true nonetheless.

“We’ve got to want it more,” was Yarbray’s assessment of Chester’s 48-45 win over Springfield in the District 1 Class 5A fifth-place game.

Whether or not desire is the missing commodity, something is askew recently with the Clippers. And failure to resolve it in Friday night’s states opener with Milton Hershey will bring an end to Chester’s season. Chester travels to Lebanon High School for tipoff at 8.

The Clippers (20-6) have only lost twice in the last six games. But a setback at Academy Park deprived them a share of the Del Val title, while a home loss to Upper Merion ended the top seed’s district title aspirations.

That paints the portrait of a Chester team that isn’t playing its best basketball, still falls prey to its flaws and has authored some very un-Chester-like results. Even the battle-tested metric doesn’t flatter the Clippers: They tote just a 4-4 mark against state qualifiers, dampened by some of their usual schedule stalwarts enduring down seasons.

The Clippers are oddly reliant on the 3-pointer, hitting an average of six triples per game. Ten of the 11 players in Yarbray’s rotation have connected on at least one long ball. But Chester’s abundance of catch-and-shooters leaves a paucity of players capable of creating off the dribble. Jamar Sudan can do it, as can Ahrod Carter, whose added dimensions to his game while leading the team with 58 made triples. Point guard Michael Smith creates in spurts, but with the inconsistency of a sophomore.

That leaves the passel of jump shooters, the workmanlike Brian Randolph who isn’t a huge offensive threat and the unruly length of Jordan Camper, whose offense stems almost exclusively from lobs and putbacks.

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By Josh Verlin & Michael Bullock

Though it’s not quite the “big school” classification that is 6A, there’s no doubt that this new 5A classification has quite a bit of talented programs and players all throughout. One standout program from the southeastern part of the state looks to be the favorite heading into play, but there are several notable contenders from all over Pennsylvania who will vie for spots in Hershey at the end of the month.

Here’s a look at the Class 5A bracket:

Favorites
Archbishop Wood (23-3)
If we had to pick one solitary favorite heading into the state playoffs, it would be John Mosco’s Vikings, who are currently in the midst of the Warminster school’s best season in program history. Wood’s first Catholic League championship run was spearheaded by senior guard Collin Gillespie (22.3 ppg), who came out of complete anonymity a year ago to become a Villanova commit in January. Tough, talented and with a never-say-quit attitude, Gillespie sets the tone for a group that also features 6-4 senior Matt Cerruti (12 ppg), a D-II target, plus D-I juniors Tyree Pickron (12.6 ppg), Andrew Funk and Seth Pinkney. Fellow senior Keith Otto, a 6-0 Moravian commit, plus 6-6 junior Karrington Wallace, round out Mosco’s top seven.

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By Rick O’Brien

March Madness starts in earnest this weekend.

From our area, 43 boys’ basketball teams are aiming to make it to Hershey’s Giant Center and capture PIAA championship medals.

This is the inaugural year for six classifications on the hardwood. From 1984 to 2016, there were four classifications.

Here is a look at the Class 5A, 3A, and A tournaments, which will tip off Friday, and a predicted winner in each group.

We’ll go through the Class 6A, 4A, and 2A playoffs, which will begin Saturday, in Friday’s paper.

Class 5A

First-time Catholic League titlist Archbishop Wood, which has won 17 straight games, is the favorite to come out of the Eastern bracket and vie for top honors.

The white-hot Vikings are paced by Villanova recruit Collin Gillespie (22.3 ppg., 62 three-pointers) and fellow guards Tyree Pickron (12.6, 54), and Matt Cerruti (12, 47).

John Mosco’s squad also has long-range threats in guards Andrew Funk and Keith Otto. Inside, 6-foot-11 Seth Pinkney and 6-7 Karrington Wallace are forces.

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By Bruce Adams

The hug was momentary but for Monté Ross and son Justin it will be forever etched in their minds following Penncrest’s thrilling 39-37 come-from-behind win in the PIAA District One Class 5A championship game at Villanova University.
That moment was the latest in what has become a special year for a man who spent his entire adult life in the coaching profession, causing him to miss many milestones, much to his disappointment.
On Feb. 25, Monte’s daughter Lauren, a sophomore at Shipley, scored 27 points in her team’s 52-47 win over Germantown Academy in the Pennsylvania Independent Schools Athletic Association (PAISAA) final.
“As I told many people, I did not miss a single dribble this season,” said Monté, who spent the last two decades coaching at the collegiate level, including 10 years as the head coach of the University of Delaware men’s basketball team (2006-2016). “It was really difficult not being there, as my kids accomplished different milestones because I was away coaching. To see Lauren win the Independent Schools state final and Justin win the District One championship is memorable. I could not have asked for anything more.”
“It’s been a blessing,” said Justin, who finished with eight points and a couple of key assists late in the championship final.
Justin, who will be attending his father’s alma mater Winston Salem State University in the fall, where he plans to major in business, added, “Our family has been saying the whole year has been kind of amazing. Last week he saw Lauren win the PAISAA title and now he has the chance to see my team win the district title.”
“The experience of seeing your kid being involved is unbelievable,” said Penncrest coach Mike Doyle, who coached with Monté at St. Joseph’s University many years ago. “For him, if he was coaching this year he would have missed out on memories that were unbelievable for Lauren and for Justin. For him to see this you’ll never get that back and you can’t put a price tag on that.”

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By Matthew De George

Every fan in attendance at the Pavilion Saturday afternoon knew where the ball was going when Penncrest pushed it up the court, trailing in the fourth quarter to No. 8 seed Upper Merion.

Knowing Tyler Norwood would be in control and stopping him is two entirely different things, as the Penncrest guard demonstrated.

The junior phenom scored 13 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter, including the go-ahead free throws with 41.7 seconds left as the No. 3 seed Lions won the District 1 Class 5A title, 39-37.

With points at a premium under the bright lights at Villanova, no one demanded the spotlight like Norwood, as Penncrest (20-7) scored 19 of the game’s final 26 points. Thirteen were supplied by Norwood.

“It gives me a lot of confidence,” Norwood said. “I think that I can just come down, hit a guy with a move and pull up over top of him with a shot. After I miss a couple, my teammates keep me motivated. … It means a lot being the top guy to go to at the end-of-game situation.”

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(Webmaster’s note: The Upper Merion vs Penncrest Championship game was our Game-of-the-Week and can be heard on our Archives link on the left hand side of the page.)

 

By Josh Verlin

Facing down a double-digit deficit to Upper Merion in the third quarter of the District 1 5A championship game, Penncrest was left with one option in hopes of a comeback: give Tyler Norwood the ball, and let him do his thing.

And on the biggest stage of his young career, the Lions’ junior delivered.

Norwood connected on a quartet of 3-pointers over the closing 16 minutes, each one seemingly from a foot further than the one before it, as Penncrest captured its first district title since 1980 with a 39-37 win over Upper Merion at Villanova’s Pavilion on Saturday afternoon.

The super-confident 5-foot-10 guard finished with 26 points, good for two-thirds of his team’s scoring total, including 18 of Penncrest’s 24 in the second half.

“Unbelievable, first championship in 37 years,” he said afterwards. “I give a lot of credit to coach [Mike Doyle] he keeps us in it, plays he calls, I mean, he’s one of the best coaches I’ve ever had, I give a lot of credit to him.”

“It’s probably the greatest basketball moment of my life,” said Doyle, a Philadelphia University (then Textile) alum who spent 10 years as an assistant under Phil Martelli and has also had coaching stops at Arcadia and two other high schools. “Twenty-five years coaching, playing for Herb [Magee], coaching with Phil, this was unbelievable.”

(click on this link for the full article)

(Webmaster’s note: The Upper Merion vs Penncrest Championship game was our Game-of-the-Week and can be heard on our Archives link on the left hand side of the page.)

 

  

By Graham Foley

Penncrest is a team of role players.

Each player on the squad has his own specific duty that comes together to form a tremendous basketball team. 

“In this day and age of me, me, me, this team is clearly just ‘we,’” head coach Mike Doyle said. “We have four guys who are all filling in their roles and playing as hard as they possibly can on every possession. To try to score against us is really, really hard.”

Penncrest took down Upper Merion on Saturday afternoon at Villanova’s Pavilion by a score of 39-37 to capture the District 1 5A Championship, overcoming a 10-point deficit in the third quarter. The Lions were led on offense by junior guard Tyler Norwood, who finished the day with 26 of the team’s 39 points.

“I’m just really excited for our team, for the community,” Norwood said. “We kept battling, our defense picked up and we got the job done.”

Norwood himself fills the role as the team’s go-to scorer. He shot 4-of-8 from beyond the arc and hit three vital 3-pointers in the fourth quarter. In the second half, he had 18 of the Lions’ 24 total points.

“For me, when we need a basket, they call, they look at me, I do what I can,” Norwood said. “I do play defense once in awhile but offensively scoring is my role.”

(click on this link for the full article)

(Webmaster’s note: The Upper Merion vs Penncrest Championship game was our Game-of-the-Week and can be heard on our Archives link on the left hand side of the page.)

 

By Matthew De George

After the final whistle, gold medal around his neck, Chris Mills crouched on the “V” at center court of the Pavilion and took it all in.

Mills was one of Penncrest’s primary defenders tasked with shutting down Holy Cross-bound, 6-foot-8 forward Matt Faw Saturday. Mills’ new jewelry, as much as the 26 points scored by teammate Tyler Norwood, owed to the commitment Mills and his mates showed in transforming Faw from world-beater to non-factor.

Faw was limited to nine points and a scant one field-goal attempt in the fourth quarter — a desperation heave in the final seconds, at that — as Penncrest rallied to top Upper Merion, 39-37, in the District 1 Class 5A final.

“It’s a huge game. They were going at us all night with the big guys,” Mills said. “We kept fighting back, eventually they wore down and we won.”

In broad strokes, the pregame storyline boiled down to tall vs. Ty — that is, an Upper Merion frontline boasting three players 6-foot-5 and taller against the singular scoring of Norwood.

Norwood executed his end of the bargain with a game-high 26 points — or two-thirds of the Lions’ output — including 13 in a feverish fourth quarter. But that would’ve been for naught if not for every ounce of defensive energy expounded by Mills and company.

(click on this link for the full article)

(Webmaster’s note: The Upper Merion vs Penncrest Championship game was our Game-of-the-Week and can be heard on our Archives link on the left hand side of the page.)