West Chester East needs OT to edge Unionville in District 1 5A showdown
EAST MARLBOROUGH – The matchup looked like what you will see in the postseason, and the atmosphere certainly felt like the playoffs.
And then when the West Chester East and Unionville boys tangled on Saturday afternoon in a Ches-Mont crossover clash, the outcome was exactly what you’d expect from the top two teams in the latest District 1 5A power basketball rankings.
The visiting Vikings wound up winning it 49-46 in overtime, and afterwards everyone agreed that it could very well be a preview for the upcoming Ches-Mont Playoffs.
“Credit goes to Unionville,” said East head coach Tom Durant. “The atmosphere was great and their team brought it.
“I said to (Unionville head coach Chris Cowles), the good thing is if we see you again that means we’re both doing well.”
In the final 4 minutes, 31 seconds of regulation and on through most of the OT, the Vikings went on a gutsy 10-0 run to first force the extra period, and then win it. East improves to 14-2 overall (5-2 in the C-M National). The Indians fall to 10-5 overall (4-1 in the C-M American).
“Our kids didn’t falter,” Durant said. “They’ve been in that type of position before when we beat Sun Valley in double overtime. In key moments, kids had to step up and they did.”
Trailing 43-40 with just over two minutes in regulation, Tym Richardson started the comeback with a key steal and it led to the game-tying 3-pointer by 6-foot-8 junior center Andrew Carr at the 1:52 mark.
“That’s my guy – that’s what (Carr) does. He’s a big man and he makes big plays,” Richardson said.
“It was a great steal by Tym, and then off the screen-and-roll (Unionville) stepped back and it was an open shot for me,” Carr aded. “I have to step up in those kinds of opportunities.”
Each team had a late possession to win it, but in the final five seconds, Connor Ash came up with a steal for Unionville and East’s M.J. Kushner responded by drawing an offensive foul moments later.
In the overtime, Richardson knifed in to give East the lead for good, and then Carr scored on a leaner with 30.4 left on the clock. Ben Delaney then hit a couple free throws to make it 49-43.
A late 3-pointer by Bo Furey-Bastian ended an eight-minute plus scoring drought for the Indians, but it was too late.
“I think our defense really stepped up in the closing minutes of regulation and in overtime,” Carr said. “We knew (Unionville) would come in shooting 3’s because that’s their identity. We wanted to contest shots and limit them to one shot.”
For the game, the Indians managed just two 3-pointers and they took a bunch. Ironically, the two came on back-to-back possessions late in the third quarter and powered a Unionville comeback that turned a 31-24 deficit into a one-point lead heading into the fourth.
“Missing wide-open shots hurts your offense, for sure,” Cowles said. “We had good looks the entire game.
“Our guys are holding their follow-throughs high and they are shooting the ball with confidence. So I don’t know what to say about it.”
Carr led all scorers with 17 points, while Richardson and Brenden Merten each added 11 for the Vikings.
“We knew it was going to be a battle,” Durant said. “(Unionville is) balanced, they play aggressive defense, they can shoot and they are well coached.
“We are targeted and we have to respond. It’s a good thing but we also have to keep getting better.”
Furey-Bastian paced the Indians with 16 points and Drew Lankaitis chipped in 14.
“We had some key turnovers and did not having ideal spacing (in the overtime), but there was probably a level of fatigue that was involved,” Cowles said.
“We need to have maximum attention to detail. We missed some block outs early and kind of got ourselves into another hole. It was little things that collectively have a major impact.”
West Chester East 49, Unionville 46 (OT)
West Chester East 15 9 11 8 6 — 49
Unionville 15 4 17 7 3 — 46
WEST CHESTER EAST – Trowery 1 0-0 3; Delaney 2 3-4 7; Carr 5 6-7 17; Merten 4 0-0 11; Richardson 4 2-2 11. Totals 16 11- 13 49.
UNIONVILLE – Ash 2 0-0 4; Shanahan 1 0-0 3; Hockenberry 3 2-2 9; Lenkaitis 7 0-0 14; Furey-Bastian 5 5-6 16. Totals 18 7-8 46.
Three-pointers: Trowery, Carr, Merten 3, Richardson, Shanahan, Hockenberry.
