Pottsgrove clinches PAC playoff berth in win-and-in game against Phoenixville

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POTTSGROVE >> Pottsgrove seniors Khaliym Smith, Manny Clark, Justin Robinson and Cameron Mowery got together this summer and laid out a goals for their final season.

At the top of the list was getting to the Pioneer Athletic Conference playoffs, something none of the nine seniors on the roster had accomplished and no Pottsgrove team had achieved since the 2014-15 campaign.

As they headed into senior night against Phoenixville on Friday, the group knew how close it was to accomplishing the task. One win and they were in.

In a win-and-in scenario for both teams, Pottsgrove outlasted Phoenixville, 65-59, to clinch their first trip to the PAC playoffs in four years.

“It’s really special,” Smith said. “Coach (Jack Flanagan) tells us all the time it’s really important to remember games like this because he had this happen to him when he was younger … This type of moment, bring it in, absorb it because it’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing.”

The first two times these teams met, Clark sat on the bench for most of the second half as Phoenixville (5-5 Frontier, 11-11) topped Pottsgrove in overtime. Robinson scored 35 points in that one.

It was Clark’s turn this time around as he netted a game-high 35 points, making big play after big play whenever Pottsgrove (6-4 Frontier, 13-9) needed a basket.

“I feel like we just played our game,” Clark said. “We played together as a team. People that were hot took shots. We rebounded. Can’t do it without our bigs … I had the hot hand today. Last game it was Justin that had the hot hand.”

Clark scored all eight of Pottsgrove’s points in the first quarter as the Falcons trailed 12-8 after one. He added eight more in the second and Smith and Robinson combined for 13 points to give Pottsgrove a 29-28 halftime lead.
The 5-foot-10 guard continued to put on a show in the third quarter, scoring seven points, including a late three that had the Falcons up, 47-40, entering the fourth.

“Manny, he’s a really skilled player,” Smith said. “That’s natural for him. He’s a natural player and he just does what he has to do. When he’s on fire like that, all we can do is just stand around the campfire and wait for it to cool down.”

Led by senior guard KJ Quinn and senior forward Dylan Clark, Phoenixville went on an 11-4 run to start the third quarter. Dylan Clark’s and-one with 4:16 left tied the game, 51-51.

Quinn led Phoenixville with 18 points and Dylan Clark scored 17 for the Phantoms. Freshman forward Chris Weiah added nine points.

The Phantoms, who were playing for the third night in a row, also came in needing a win to clinch a PAC playoff berth and hung close throughout.

“This was a tough moment,” Phoenixville coach Eric Burnett said. “We had the weather this week and that switched around some of our schedule and we find ourselves playing back-to-back-to-back games three straight nights. Our guys were up to the challenge.”

“Coming in here and trying to stop Manny Clark and Justin Robinson and an explosive Pottsgrove team, that was a tough feat, but I’m proud of the way our guys played today,” he added.

Clark combined with Smith, who finished with nine points, and Robinson, who finished with 14 points, to score all but seven of the Falcons’ points. Through three quarters, an and-one by senior wing Jimai Springfield was Pottsgrove’s only other basket.

However, the game’s turning point came off the hands of someone else. Holding onto a two-point late in the latter part of the second half, Pottsgrove got a stop on the defensive end.

After Smith corralled the ball and drove the length of the court, he found senior guard Gabe Applebach for a wide open three in the right corner. Applebach drilled the shot, putting Pottsgrove up 58-53 with 1:55 left.

“I’ve been struggling over these past few games with my shot,” Applebach said. “I knew it was a big game, I know what this means to us, so I just tried my best to knock it down and it fell. It’s an amazing feeling.”

Pottsgrove got enough stops, including a charge taken by Springfield, and Clark went 6-for-7 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter to secure the win and a playoff spot.

Phoenixville and Pottsgrove both appear firmly in the District 1 Class 5A playoff bracket, which begins on Feb. 20.
Pottsgrove will face Perkiomen Valley (7-3 Liberty, 15-5) in the first round of the PAC playoffs on Wednesday.

“We’ve been thinking about it all year,” Smith said. “Working through the summer leagues, practices, we kept this as a common goal.”

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Owen McCue

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