Yoder’s clutch free throws clinch it for Pennridge

PERKASIE >> Senior captain Kyle Yoder has been in some big spots before, having played in both district and state playoff games, so when he stepped to the free-throw stripe with the game on the line he was hardly consumed by the moment.
He calmly came to line, took some deep breaths and sank both of his shots with 6.6 seconds remaining giving his team a 44-43 lead over Methacton that they would keep until time ran out in the Pennridge Tip-Off Tournament final on Saturday night.
“I was a little nervous but it was nothing too much,’’ said Yoder of his final foul shots. “I’ve been playing varsity for the past two years and I’ve been in pressure situations before so I just was able to kind of tune out the noise and just focus on the rim.”
The Rams found themselves in a somewhat odd situation. Down 1 with just 13 seconds left in the game the Warriors still had three fouls to give and weren’t going to let them get any good looks.
Yoder was able to slip off his defender, get separation at the foul line and draw the contact, sending him to the stripe where he would eventually finish it.
Yoder wasn’t the only Ram to have a big night, as a matter of fact he wasn’t even the only member of his family to step up for the team. Sophomore Sean Yoder, Kyle’s younger brother, finished with a game-high 16 points, including eight in the first quarter alone to jumpstart things.
“Twenty-six points from the Yoders, that’s pretty good,’’ said Pennridge head coach Dean Behrens “It’s neat to have them together, they really feed off each other and did tonight.’
Methacton presented a couple of matchup problems for the Rams, most notably their size. 6’8” freshman center Jeff Woodward towered over most of their team but they used a group effort to hold him to 11 points and even when he would beat them, they’d make him work for it.
“Every game is an opportunity to learn and get better,” said Methacton head coach Jeff Derstine. “Jeff Woodward is a freshman, he played really well tonight but Pennridge plays a tough hard-nosed style of basketball and you saw that.”
In their first game of the tournament Methacton was able to use Woodward as not only a scoring presence, but to open the floor for their shooters as well on their way to a 29-point victory over Upper Dublin.
On this night, Pennridge’s tough style of play looked as if it made some of their shooters less comfortable with the ball in their hands, and it showed on the scoreboard.
The win brings Pennridge to 2-0 on the year. This is a team that has enjoyed a lot of success over the last couple of years but didn’t know what to expect this season with just two seniors in their starting lineup. The hot start is definitely a good sign for what this team can look to achieve down the road.
“This weekend was really good for us,’’ said Behrens. “We weren’t really sure what we had with this team, with the mixture of guys that we have, from three-year varsity players to players that really haven’t played much at this level. I think this showed that we can really play well as a team and we’re starting to gel.’’
For Methacton, this loss was a tough one but hardly one that will discourage them. With Woodward and their cast of shooters this team is looking to compete at a high level going forward and challenge within the division.
“I think we have the potential to have a really nice season, said Derstine. “We didn’t have a particularly good shooting night tonight but we did the night before so I think as we figure out how to use the inside game to help us with our outside game you’ll see this team really grow.”