Lower Merion boys’ basketball squad loses PIAA state opener in overtime
Rosemont – Lower Merion began its PIAA Class AAAA boys’ basketball state tournament opener Saturday with a bang, jumping out to an 8-2 lead against Simon Gratz and holding a 30-24 advantage at halftime.
Though Gratz caught up to Lower Merion in the third quarter, the Aces led most of the second half. So when the game went into overtime, LM head coach Gregg Downer still felt his team had the momentum.
“We hadn’t lost a game in overtime all season, and I thought we were going to win it all the way to [the final buzzer],” said Downer.
In an overtime period which featured seven lead changes – and a few turnovers – Gratz came out on top, 63-61, ending Lower Merion’s season.
It was the final game for 6-foot-8 senior Jeremy Horn, who will be playing basketball for Division 3 Claremont (Calif.) next winter, and KJ Helton – both finished with 16 points. Horn’s inside presence was a constant thorn in the side of Gratz (he grabbed 11 rebounds), and Helton often seemed to be in the right place at the right time with a key basket, assist or recovered loose ball.
“We had a great season – showed a lot of character and a lot of fiber,” said Downer. “It’s never easy when [the season is] over – I don’t know if it would have been tougher with a 20-point loss instead of a two-point loss.”
Like Lower Merion, Gratz featured an aggressive defense that forced a number of turnovers.
“I thought our game was a little sloppy [today] – our ball handling was not that good,” said Downer. “We played a little choppy, didn’t really get into a rhythm.”
The Aces got off to a good start in front of the crowd at Harriton High School. Lower Merion’s 6-4 junior guard Terrell Jones nailed a three-pointer from the left corner to give the Aces a 4-0 lead, Horn scored inside to make it 6-2, then a Gratz turnover was followed by a Helton score under the basket to give the Aces an 8-2 lead.
Gratz, getting some potent scoring of its own from 6-6 senior forward Nasir Campbell, briefly took a 19-18 lead early in the second quarter, then Lower Merion went on a 12-0 run.
The run began when Helton hit a trey from the left corner, then after a missed shot by Gratz, Eli Needle (who scored eight points) was fouled and made both free throws. Following a Gratz travelling violation, Helton was fouled and made both of his free throws. Freshman 6-3 guard Jack Forrest hit a three ball from the right corner to give the Aces a 28-19 lead, and Horn closed the run with a score inside to make it 30-19.
Gratz caught up to the Aces in the third quarter, and briefly led at the end of the third quarter, 40-39. The Gratz lead was wiped up when Jones made both ends of a one-and-one, then the Aces took a 47-41 lead midway through the final period when Hleton hit four free throws in a row.
Senior guard Zach Magill gave the Aces a lift with 3:13 left when he hit a three-pointer from the left corner (fed by Helton) to put Lower Merion on top 51-47.
Gratz junior 6-4 forward Rashon Johnson, who led the Bulldogs with 15 points, scored inside to make it 51-49. Gratz senior guard Tyriek Meridith, who scored 14 points, then got his hands on the ball, was fouled, and made both free throws to tie the score at 51-51 with 1:10 left.
Johnson came right back with another score to put Gratz ahead 53-51, then Lower Merion’s Jones scored inside for the equalizer to tie the score at 53-53 with 27 seconds left.
With the score tied and 15 seconds left in regulation, Gratz had the ball for one final shot. Some good Lower Merion defense kept Gratz from penetrating for a good shot, and the Bulldogs missed an off-balance shot taken with two seconds left.
Lower Merion won the overtime tap, Needle was fouled and made both of his free throws to put the Aces ahead 55-53. Johnson tied the score with a mid-range shot, then Horn scored inside to give Lower Merion a 57-55 lead.
With the score 57-56, Meridith was fouled inside the lane and canned both of his free throws to give Gratz its first lead in overtime, 58-57, with 2:11 left.
Horn scored inside heavy traffic to put the Aces ahead 59-58, then Gratz junior guard Johnny Eden (who scored 10 points, the Bulldogs had five double-digit scorers) came right back with a score of his own in heavy traffic to give Gratz a 60-59 lead. Helton then made a key putback to give the Aces their last lead of the game, 61-60.
In the final minute, Campbell scored inside to give Gratz a 62-61 lead; then the Bulldogs forced a steal only to lose the ball out of bounds. With 8.6 seconds to go, a Lower Merion midrange shot was blocked, Gratz got the ball, and Meridith was fouled. He made one of two free throws to give Gratz a 63-61 lead with 5.6 seconds left.
The Aces brought the ball upcourt one last time, but couldn’t set up a good shot against the tough Gratz defense, and the buzzer sounded as several LM and Gratz players were battling for the ball at midcourt.
