Norristown’s defense sparks win over Methacton
WEST NORRITON >> On Methacton’s first possession Friday night Norristown’s Vernon Tubbs grabbed a steal and put it in at the other end for two points.
That was a sign of things to come.
The Eagles forced 22 turnovers in a 50-38 Pioneer Athletic Conference Liberty Division win over Methacton at Norristown Area High School.
The hosts took over in the second half.
“In the second half coach (Dana “Binky” Johnson) said we had to pick up the defense,” Tubbs said. “We had to be more aggressive. We weren’t aggressive in the first half. We had a chip on our shoulder. They beat us by a buzzer-beater last game. We weren’t trying to lose this game at home.”
Tubbs found Tyler Lyons for a three just over a minute into the third quarter to tie the game at 18 and then Tubbs hit a pair of free throws with 6:03 left in the third to give the Eagles (12-5, 6-1) a lead that they would never lose.
Norristown’s next basket, which completed an 8-0 run, really swung the momentum. Tubbs dropped his defender to the floor with a crossover and found Lyons, who hit another three to make it 23-18 Eagles and force a Methacton timeout.
“When you cross somebody it’s the part of the game that gets the crowd into it,” Tubbs said. “After that, I knew it was over. When (Lyons) made the shot I told him the game was over.”
Marcus Sanford scored six points in the fourth for Norristown and Tyler Tate added four to keep the Eagles comfortably ahead until the final buzzer.
“Intensity — we focused more,” Tubbs said of the second half, when Norristown out-scored Methacton, 35-20. “We came out of the half. We did what coach told us to do executing the offense and defense.”
The Eagles got revenge for the early-season loss to the Warriors (11-7, 5-3) and added some breathing room in the standings. Norristown is in first place in the PAC Liberty by 1.5 games.
Methacton led by two points, 9-7, after the first quarter and three points, 18-15, at the half.
Tubbs totaled a game-high 12 points and Mikeel Allen and Sanford each scored eight.
Brett Eberly led Methacton with 11 points and David Duda and Noah Kitaw each had eight.
Norristown 50, Methacton 38
Methacton 9 9 7 13 — 38
Norristown 7 8 17 18 — 50
Methacton: Kropp 1 0-0 2, Eberly 4 0-0 11, Prince 0 0-0 0, Girardo 1 1-2 3, Duda 3 0-0 8, Kitaw 4 0-2 8, Christian 0 0-0 0, Smith 0 0-0 0, Timko 0 0-0 0, Woodward 3 0-2 6. Totals: 16 1-6 38
Norristown: Tubbs 4 2-2 12, Sanford 4 0-2 8, Lyons 2 0-0 6, Weldon 0 0-0 0, McCoy 1 0-0 2, Dorman 1 0-0 2, Hopewell 4 0-0 8, Allen 4 0-0 8, Anderson 1 0-0 2, Tate 1 0-0 2, Reilly 0 0-0 0. Totals: 22 2-4 50.
Three-point goals: M: Duda 2, Eberly 3. N: Lyons 2, Tubbs 2.
