Pottstown shakes off rough patch, edges first-place Phoenixville, 45-43

PHOENIXVILLE >> Pottstown High has had a long boys basketball season.

But despite their struggles, the Trojans have remained resilient and stuck to the game plan provided by coach Cal Benfield.

On Friday night, Pottstown put facets of their game together in edging host Phoenixville, 45-43, in a Pioneer Athletic Conference Frontier Division matchup.

Junior guard Anthony Brown fired home a game-high 17 points with two 3-pointers to pace the Trojans, who are 3-5 in the Frontier, 3-7 in the PAC and 5-13 overall.

Phoenixville got 13 points from Brendan Jenkins and 12 from Steven Hamilton.

The Phantoms are 5-3 in the division, 5-6 in the PAC and 8-11 overall.

Phoenixville began the night in a tie with Upper Perkiomen for first place in the Frontier Division. But they fell out of the spot after Upper Perkiomen defeated Pottsgrove, 74-68, Friday night to take over sole possession of first place at 6-2.

Benfield emphasized defense going into Friday night’s game. He does not worry about offense because the Trojans have shown the ability to do that.

“Tonight the kids defended,” Benfield said. “I am proud of them because they know they beat the first-place team in our division. It’s been a long season for us.

“But we have kept fighting and kept fighting. That is a life lesson to keep fighting when the chips are down, and they did.”

Benfield was all the more pleased after topping a well-coached team like Eric Burnett’s Phantoms.

“Wow!” said Benfield. “This is Eric’s best coaching job because he doesn’t have a star player like Christian Kelly (now at Lock Haven University). But they control tempo and they play hard. He is getting a lot out of these kids.”

Pottstown senior forward Peter Marcheskie was active inside with five rebounds and a steal besides finishing with eight points for Pottstown.

“He (Marcheskie) was in the middle of our zone press,” Benfield said. “He got the ball and then got it to (guards) Tyshaun (Harvey) and Floyd (Dashiell). Pete came up big, and Anthony is Anthony. He is a good athlete and a good player.”

Phoenixville led after the first period, 12-11. The Phantoms also took a 23-21 edge into the locker room at halftime. Pottstown had the upper hand, 36-34, after three quarters.

The period ended with a steal and layup by the Trojans’ Dashiell and a 3-pointer by the Phantoms’ Hamilton from the left wing.

“Our concern is to play as a group and play as a team,” Benfield said. “We need to come together, and we did here tonight.”

The Trojans had a 43-38 lead with 2:54 remaining after a Marcheskie steal, and then his basket with an assist by Dashiell after a steal by Phoenixville’s Quinn Danna.

But Phoenixville showed life and kept it close. Dylan Clark took down a rebound. Zion Small made a steal, and Hamilton and Jenkins collected rebounds. Hamilton made two foul shots to cut Pottstown’s lead to 43-40 with 54 seconds left.

Harvey made both ends of a one-and-one foul situation at :46 to give his team a 45-40 lead. Jenkins grabbed two rebounds, and Pottstown’s Donovan Townson had one as the battle continued. Small had a rebound and then set up Danna’s 3-point shot to make it 45-43 with 16 seconds left.

The Trojans missed some foul shots that gave the Phantoms a chance to tie or win the game. Danna had a couple of rebounds, Small had another. Then Phoenixville had an inbounds play with 2.7 seconds left. Danna made the inbounds pass to Jenkins, who got the ball to Colton Brown for one last try that missed the mark.

“On any given night, you never know,” said Burnett. “It was Senior Night, and you never want to lose on Senior Night or any game in general. Our seniors are such a good group of kids. They work hard and do things the right way. We wouldn’t be such a tight-knit group without our seniors and without our leaders.”

Notes >> Phoenixville’s seniors were introduced with their parents prior to the game. They included Quinn Danna, Brendan Jenkins, Tim Kopera, Vinny Moffa and Zion Small. … The Phantom senior cheerleaders were also announced. They include Ashley Dooset, Rebecca Evans, Madison O’Brien, Gabrielle Schmalz and Paige Unruh.