AJ Hansen and Perkiomen Valley lock down Pottsgrove for PAC Playoff win

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ROYERSFORD >> AJ Hansen had been patient all game.

The Perkiomen Valley senior floor general picked his spots throughout Wednesday’s Pioneer Athletic Conference playoff game against Pottsgrove, often opting to pass up an open look for a teammate to get a better one.

This time he let it fly, his shot from the right wing midway through the fourth quarter hitting nothing but net.

It was a dagger, part of 12 unanswered points for Perkiomen Valley to seal a 61-48 win over Pottsgrove in the first round of the PAC playoffs on Wednesday at Spring-Ford High School.

“Trust in our offense, let things develop, and let the open shots come,” said Hansen, who scored 13 points in the game. “That’s all it is.”

Though the shot was big, Hansen’s most important work for Perkiomen Valley (7-3 Liberty, 18-5 overall) came on the defensive end, where he shadowed Pottsgrove’s Manny Clark for the majority of the game. Hansen said Clark, who has had games of 41 and 35 points this month, was his toughest guard this season.

Clark finished with 18 points for Pottsgrove (6-4 Frontier, 13-10 overall), but Hansen made sure not one of them came easy, holding him to 6-for-16 shooting from the field.

“He was perfect. He was exactly what we needed him to be,” senior wing Tyler Strechay said of Hansen’s defensive effort. “We’ve come to expect that from him. He outworks every single player he plays against, and that’s what makes him a great player.”

On the other side, Pottsgrove made it its mission to shut down Strechay. Falcons’ senior Jimai Springfield was tasked with the assignment, shadowing Strechay around the floor from the start of Wednesay’s playoff contest.

Springfield, who scored 12 points, held Strechay to just eight points on 4-of-11 shooting through three quarters before he broke out in the fourth to finish with 20 points.

“Strech is a really good player,” Clark said. “He can shoot from anywhere, and he can drive. He can create for other people. We knew Jimai is one of the best defenders on our team, and he had the duty of guarding Strech. I thought he played well.”

The game got off to a sluggish start with both teams bringing inspired defensive efforts. The first basket didn’t come until Strechay hit a jumper in the lane three minutes into the game.

Perkiomen Valley’s Tyler Strechay drives to the hoop between Pottsgrove defenders Luke Kaiser, left, and Justin Robinson during their PAC playoff game Wednesday at Spring-Ford. (MJ McConney – For MediaNews Group)

Perkiomen Valley appeared to be pulling away at the end of the first half before Falcons’ senior forward Khaliym Smith blocked a shot and found senior Gabe Applebach for a layup to beat the buzzer and make it a 28-22 contest, swinging some momentum toward Pottsgrove.

Springfield led the charge for the Falcons after halftime, scoring eight of his points in the third quarter and helping Pottsgrove pull within two, 32-30, with 4:27 left in the game.

A 3-pointer by senior guard Zach Krause, a jumper by Hansen, and a putback by senior forward Ian Streeper pushed the Vikings’ cushion to 40-32 heading to the fourth. The Falcons held Pottsgrove to just two points for the last four and a half minutes of the third quarter.

“We knew right away it was going to be a defensive game for us, just like always,” Hansen said. “When our defense plays well, we play well. That’s all it is. Defense all the way.”

Pottsgrove struck first in the fourth quarter on a layup by sophomore forward Luke Kaiser. The rest of the contest belonged to Perkiomen Valley.

Strechay broke free for two quick buckets. Then Krause, who had all nine of his points in the second half, knocked down a three. When Hansen hit his dagger three with 5:35 to go in the game, Perkiomen Valley was suddenly up 50-34.

Strechay helped the Vikings wrap up the win with 12 points in the fourth quarter, going 6-for-6 from the free-throw line.

“Best player in the league,” Hansen said of Strechay. “He always finds ways to help us win games.”

Ian and Bryce Streeper both finished with seven points for Perkiomen Valley, and sophomore forward Kameron Parks rounded out the Vikings’ scorers with five points. Smith scored eight points, and senior guard Justin Robinson finished with six for Pottsgrove.

Settle the score >> Perkiomen Valley will face Norristown (8-2 Liberty, 18-4) at 7:45 p.m. on Friday in the semifinals at Spring-Ford. Methacton and Pope John Paul II will play in the early game.

The Vikings split the season series with Norristown, winning 52-50 on a Strechay jump shot in the final seconds on Jan. 17 and dropping a 55-54 contest back on Dec. 14.
The rubber match should be a another good one on Friday night.

“I’m looking forward to it, can’t wait,” Strechay said. “It’s always a tough game, always a fun game. It should be a fun atmosphere.”

Waiting game >> Pottsgrove will have to wait until the District 1 Class 5A playoffs being on Feb. 20 before it is back in action. The Falcons came in to Wednesday night ranked No. 10 in the district power rankings, firmly in the 22-team field.

The Falcons haven’t won a district playoff game since reaching the Class 3A semifinals in 2015. They lost to Great Valley, 42-39, in the first round last season.

“There were a lot of things that went on and us getting to the game late, so we weren’t really fully prepared for that game,” Clark said. “A lot of us were off. It was our first time. I feel like this year we’re going to come back and be better…We’re not going to let that one slip.”

PAC Final 6 Playoffs

Wednesday, Feb. 6
Quarterfinal Round

Perkiomen Valley 61, Pottsgrove 48
Methacton 87,  Spring-Ford 51

Friday, Feb. 8
Semifinal Round

(2) Pope John Paul II vs. (3) Methacton, 6 p.m.
(1) Norristown vs. (5) Perkiomen Valley, 7:45 p.m.

Tuesday, Feb. 12
Championship at Spring-Ford, 7 p.m.

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Owen McCue

omccue

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