Plymouth Whitemarsh vs. Academy Park promises to be exciting

If you are a fan of fast-paced high school basketball, then I’ve got the game for you.

Plymouth Whitemarsh hosts Academy Park Tuesday night at 7 p.m. at Colonial Elementary in Whitemarsh in the second round of the District One-AAAA playoffs.

On display will be two teams that play full court pressure defense and try to force turnovers and score quickly in transition.

Then they want to get back on defense and do it all over again. Quickly.

“It should be a high-energy game,” PW coach Jim Donofrio said. “I don’t think anybody is holding the ball here.

“(Academy Park is) very up-tempo. They are very proud of their ability to fatigue people … I like the way they play. It’s very similar to what we do. I appreciate the attitude they have and their confidence.

“It’s a fighter’s game. You have to decide you’re going to physically be ready to play basketball. This is not a style game. This is not a who’s-running-a-more-beautiful-offense game. It’s really not.”

The No. 2 seeded Colonials reached this point by going 21-1 in the regular season and winning the Suburban One League American Conference title. They did not play their best in the first round of the playoffs, but came out the winner, 49-36, over No. 31 Radnor.

“You have to be really greedy now for what you worked all year-round for,” Donofrio said. “You have to be really greedy and protect it. If you don’t, you could see teams in the final four and the finals that weren’t even seeded in the top 10, easily. It’s kind of wide open like that. I hope our guys got the wake up call after the first round where I think we were sleep walking a little bit in terms of attitude. If we do that with this game it will be a loss.”

The No. 18 seeded Knights knocked off No. 15 Upper Merion — another SOL American team and the only one to hand PW a regular season loss — 53-51 in the first round. Academy Park went 14-6 this season in the Delaware Valley League.

The winner of this game will clinch a spot in the PIAA AAAA state playoffs.

A year ago, Academy Park came up one game short of earning a trip to states.

“We don’t know much about Plymouth Whitemarsh,” Academy Park coach Allen Brydges said after beating Upper Merion Friday night, “but we know we have to get past them to get to states, and our goal all year has been to get to states.”

PLAYERS TO WATCH >> Plymouth Whitemarsh’s Xzavier Malone, Academy Park’s Jawan Collins

No. 5 Pennridge vs. No. 12 Spring-Ford

Fifth-ranked Pennridge will host Spring-Ford Tuesday at 7 p.m. Pennridge reached the second round by defeating Central Bucks south, 67-60. Spring-Ford advanced after beating Penncrest, 69-60.

Pennridge won the Suburban One League Continental Conference this season with a 20-4 overall record and 13-1 mark against league foes. Its offense will be led by Dan Long and Wagner, who average 19 and 14 points per game, respectively.

Spring-Ford finished atop the Pioneer Athletic Conference Liberty Division, going 19-6 overall and 12-2 against league opponents. Spring-Ford has three players who average double figures: Matt Gnias with 16, Nigel Cooke with 11.3 and Cameron Reid with 11.2.

PLAYERS TO WATCH >> Pennridge’s Dan Long, Spring-Ford’s Matt Gnias

No. 7 Central Bucks West vs. No. 10 Phoenixville

The seventh-ranked Bucks will host Phoenixville Tuesday at 7 p.m. Central Bucks West won its first-round game against Downingtown East, 54-35, and Phoenixville advanced after beating Boyertown, 67-59.

West finished the season second in the Suburban One League Continental Conference, but went on to win the SOL Tournament Championship. The Bucks feature a balanced offensive attack with five players averaging right around 10 points per game.

Phoenixville finished the regular season 20-4 with a 13-0 record in the Pioneer Athletic Conference Frontier Division. Christian Kelly leads the team in scoring with 23.6 points per game.

PLAYERS TO WATCH >> Central Bucks West Erich Hohenleitner, Phoenixville’s Christian Kelly

No. 27 Upper Dublin at No. 11 Lower Merion

The 27th-ranked Cardinals will travel to Lower Merion for a 7 p.m. tip Tuesday night.

Both of these teams won in dramatic fashion to escape the first round of the playoffs. Upper Dublin’s John Barrett made a three-pointer with less than five seconds remaining in the game against Abington to turn a two-point deficit into a one-point win, 41-40.

Lower Merion’s 68-66 win over Penn Wood needed overtime to be decided. Terrell Jones drilled a three with less than three seconds remaining in the extra session to send Lower Merion to the second round.

If these two teams can play games just half as exciting as their first-round matchups, then fans should be in for a treat.

PLAYERS TO WATCH >> Upper Dublin’s Will Derr, Lower Merion’s Jeremy Horn