Borrowed kicks help Penncrest’s Antonelli channel his inner Norwood

PHILADELPHIA >> Gee Antonelli got to the Liacouras Center Wednesday night, looked in his gym bag, and found everything he needed for Penncrest’s District 1 Class 5A semifinal … except his sneakers.

So as he slinked over to Tyler Norwood’s locker to ask for a loaner pair, they came with a caveat.

“I gave them to him, and he said, ‘I feel like Tyler Norwood,’” Norwood said. “I said, ‘then play like Tyler Norwood.’ He went out and gave it his all.”

For the middle two quarters, the borrowed footwear did the trick, as Antonelli provided a spark off the bench, part of the top-to-bottom contributions that have epitomized Penncrest’s second straight run to a District final, this one furnished by a 45-40 win over No. 4 seed Wissahickon.

The win sends top-seeded Penncrest (24-3) into Saturday’s district final back at Temple against No. 2 Bishop Shanahan, which dispatched Chester, 61-47, the first semifinal.

In the middle two quarters, Antonelli played the role of bench energy player. He scored four points, grabbed four rebounds and pocketed two steals, helping Penncrest get all of its weapons mobilized and avoid a period of stagnation early in the second quarter.

“They helped,” Antonelli said of his new kicks. “I left my sneakers at the school and by chance, he had an extra pair. They gave me luck, so I guess I’m going to wear them next game.”

“You never know what you’re going to get from Gee,” Norwood said. “But today, he was on.”

Norwood unsurprisingly played the role of closer with a game-high 18 points, including six in the fourth quarter via 4-for-4 shooting. He also played the role of defensive stopper on the Trojans’ last possession, not exactly his forte. But he blanketed an uncomfortable Eddie Fortescue after a defensive switch he orchestrated and forced the guard to dribble the ball off his leg and out of bounds with 2.2 seconds left. The turnover, Wissahickon’s 13th of the day, was decisive.

Norwood the strip of Fortesque. pic.twitter.com/YCmLKBatzD

— Matthew De George (@sportsdoctormd) March 1, 2018

“I put me on (Fortescue), I remember reading the sheet in the room that said that he only has a right hand,” Norwood said. “I made him crossover to his left, it bounced off the back of his right leg and that was the game.”

Penncrest’s team defense also rose to the occasion. Only Wissahickon’s Zach Reiner escaped single-digits in scoring with 11 points, and the Trojans shot 6-for-22 from the 3-point line. Three of those makes came via Max Rapoport, who scored nine points, but it took 16 attempts from the field and 13 from beyond the arc to get to that number.

PHOTO GALLERY: Wissahickon vs. Penncrest

“I couldn’t get open looks today,” Rapoport said. “They’re a good defensive team. Every screen I came off of, they were hedging up on me. My teammates tried to get my open. I trust them and they trust me, but shots weren’t falling today.”

Penncrest, meanwhile, got its offense going in each quarter. Malcolm Williams scored eight of his nine points in the opening quarter. Matt Arbogast was held without a field goal attempt in the first half, but went 3-for-4 from the field in the second half for seven points plus three blocks. And Justin Heidig added all five of his points after the break in a typically all-around game from the scrappy guard.

Tyler Norwood sticks with it to end the third. After 3, @penncrestad 33, Wissahickon 26. pic.twitter.com/ol5DtOW5vn

— Matthew De George (@sportsdoctormd) March 1, 2018

Then there was Antonelli, with his small but meaningful contribution.

“Obviously Tyler’s going to score all the points he can and he’s going to score whenever he can,” Antonelli said. “But when he relies on his teammates, we make the most of it and make our shots and it usually helps us out.”

Wissahickon got moving in the fourth quarter thanks to six points from Carmen Ostroski, who hadn’t attempted a field goal in the first three quarters but tallied six in the fourth. Donovan Oliphant added a pair of 3-pointers.

“We know anybody who steps on the floor for us, we’re a deep team,” Rapoport said. “When we have kids like Carmen step on, Don, kids that team might not scout much, we know that they can do just as much as the starters can, so we have trust in them, too.”

Wissahickon got to within one at 41-40 when Reiner stepped out for a 3-pointer. But Arbogast stood tall in the lane to deny a Fortescue reverse lay-in, and Heidig and Norwood calmly knocked down free throws to ice the game.

That gives Antonelli another game to channel the magic of Norwood’s sneakers, if he asks to wear them again.