Jaworski’s 20 points lift Perkiomen Valley past North Penn

GRATERFORD >> North Penn couldn’t contain Justin Jaworski in the first half. The second 24 minutes against Perkiomen Valley weren’t any more fun for the Knights, who found “Jaws” has plenty of friends with sharp teeth.

The Vikings rode Jaworski’s 15 first-half points, a solid defensive effort and good, timely offensive support of their shooting star to a 54-45 home victory Wednesday night.

North Penn coach John Conrad knew what his team was facing in a lights-out shooter like Jaworski, but what was preached beforehand didn’t translate on the court.

“They knew the scouting report,” Conrad said after his team fell to 6-3, and fought an uphill battle from a double-digit deficit most of the last 28 minutes. “But our kids didn’t listen or didn’t execute it.

“I don’t know if we were mentally prepared to play a kid of that caliber.”  

Jaworski scored only five after halftime and finished with a game-high 20. Point guard Sean Owen added 13. The Vikings won the game from the perimeter primarily, knocking down six 3-pointers, but Vikes coach Mike Poysden said the good defense that contested most Knight shots was as big a key to victory.

“They didn’t get a lot of clean looks,” said Poysden, whose Vikings are now 6-2. “And we did a better job in the second half of not allowing as many second-chance points. They’ve got some size and athleticism.”

David Giuliani led the Knights with 16 points.   

After powering ahead on two interior buckets to open the game from Giuliani, North Penn went cold, getting some decent inside looks but finding the lane cluttered.

Jaworski warmed up. Quickly.

Jaworski hit three straight from outside to push PV ahead, 10-4. The second was a three-pointer. It was a modest 10-6 first-quarter lead for PV, but the Vikings were finding their flow offensively, finding their primary weapon in the right places, and it would continue into the second quarter.

A conventional three-point play by Jaworski and his three-point bomb from near NBA range got the Knight on their heels. Owens’ three-point play on a transition drive upped the PV lead to 23-12. North Penn kept using its muscle, length and persistence to occupy the paint and get on the glass. Giuliani was the big factor for the Knights in the first half, keeping them in the game with eight points.

PV had good off-ball movement and ball movement most of the half, most getting touches around Jaworski’s hot hand. A textbook backdoor pass by Tyler Stretchay to a breaking Jaworski just before the halftime buzzer gave PV a 25-17 heading to the locker room.

It hurt North Penn to lose its primary inside presence, Giuliani, to his third foul less than three minutes into the third quarter. PV had a 10-point lead at the time. It grew – quickly – the extension taking root from beyond the arc.

Owens hit another trey. Following a North Penn miss, Stretchay stretched the defense with another trifecta, pushing the lead to 16, 33-17, with 5:07 left and forcing a Knights timeout.

North Penn didn’t score in the third until a Ricky Johns free throw with 4:57 left. Johns was plenty active in the quarter with Giuliani on the bench, getting to the basket and the foul line. The Vikings, though, had too many weapons besides Jaworski, who didn’t get a field goal in the third.

A flurry of PV turnovers against North Penn’s half-court zone helped the Knights stay within shouting  distance. Johns’ steal and full-court layup dash, followed by Lance Ford’s steal and conversion, made it 39-27 PV before a  Joe Gould bucket gave the Vikes a 14-point lead heading to the final frame.

Giuliani made quick impact when back in the game to start the fourth, scoring twice inside around an Andrew Light trey. But the Knights could never get closer than 11 the rest of the way.