Conference Call: Phoenixville takes down familiar foe Boyertown

PHOENIXVILLE >> Phoenixville drew a difficult assignment against Pioneer Athletic Conference foe Boyertown in the opening round of the District 1-AAAA boys basketball playoffs Friday night.

Not only do the Bears know the Phantoms quite well from being league opponents, but Boyertown battled Phoenixville tough during their regular season meeting in Boyertown, leading by five points at halftime before the Phantoms rallied to win late in the game.

This time, Boyertown jumped out to a 16-11 lead at the end of the first period before the hosts caught fire in the second quarter and pushed on from there as Phantoms emerged with a 67-59 victory over the Bears.

Phoenixville, the 10th-seeded team in the tournament and now sporting a 20-4 overall record, advanced to a second-round meeting against No. 7 Central Bucks West in Doylestown Tuesday evening at 7 p.m. Boyertown, the 23rd seed, saw its season end with a 13-10 overall mark.

The Phantoms completed a perfect 13-0 run through the regular season schedule of the PAC-10. However, they were upended by league runner-up Perkiomen Valley in the semifinal round of the Final Four playoffs.

With that, Phoenixville had to regroup in a hurry to begin the district tournament. And the Phantoms did just that, playing the high-quality basketball at both ends of the floor that had enabled them to record their perfect run during the regular season.

“That loss really lit a fire under us,” said Phoenixville star senior forward Christian Kelly, who finished with a game-high 25 points plus 10 rebounds. “I want to carry on. This is our last ride, for me and a couple other seniors. We want to get as far as we can, just for our memories.”

Phoenixville played at an upbeat tempo with its normal 10-man rotation. The Phantoms pounded the ball inside for some high-percentage baskets with their size advantage, and drove to the basket to earn trips to the free throw line.

Kelly, who scored 13 first-half points, shot 9-for-13 at the free throw line. Jeff Conboy also finished in double digits for the Phantoms with 10 points. Nasir Green chipped in with eight points while Hunter Herschell had seven with one 3-pointer and Phil Meszaros had six points. Avery Close had eight rebounds and four first-half points.

Phoenixville utilized its pressure defense to outscore Boyertown 26-13 during the second quarter.

Boyertown placed four players in double figures. Ben Longacre led the way with 20 points, including seven in the opening quarter and 13 by halftime. Marcus Thomas played strong inside and finished with 15 points. Long-distance threat Jerry Kapp had 13 points with a pair of 3-pointers while being defended most of the night by Kelly. Eric Spohn chipped in 11 points.

“They are one of the top 32 teams in the district for a reason,” said Kelly. “We had to take them seriously. We can’t overlook anybody.”

Phoenixville coach Eric Burnett was glad to see his team rebound so well after the tough 57-48 loss to Perkiomen Valley Tuesday night.

“That was huge,” said Burnett. “I am really proud of my boys for the way they played and the way they executed. I was anxious to see how they would respond to the loss. Tonight we pushed the tempo and did what we wanted to do.”

He also said the Boyertown coaching staff and players deserved a lot of credit for coming to Phoenixville and playing as well as they did against the Phantoms throughout the contest.

Boyertown coach Mike Ludwig was also proud of his troops’ performance after a long, two-week layoff following the regular season slate.

“Our kids play hard,” said Ludwig. “We had opportunities in the second quarter where we missed some shots. That’s basketball. I am proud of the way we played as a team on the court. It’s a great bunch of kids. We hadn’t played a game in 12 days. It’s tough.”

“The first quarter we were executing our offense. We played good defense and were getting to the bucket and finishing,” said Longacre. “They (Phantoms) are a good team, and they are going to have runs. That hurt us all night.”

NOTES >> Phoenixville defeated Boyertown, 69-56, during the regular season.