Penncrest’s ‘other guys’ help sink Ship

PROSPECT PARK >> Malcolm Williams’ voice trails off in a bout of sheepishness. Even at the lower volume, the point comes across.

“When he’s not on, we can score,” Williams said. “A lot of people think we can’t score. But we can.”

The “he” for the last two seasons — the last two District 1 Class 5A championships — has been Tyler Norwood. And for three quarters Friday night at Interboro, Norwood wasn’t exactly Norwood.

But Penncrest’s winning ways flowed on without interruption.

Norwood weathered those rocky quarters to finish with 20 points. But it was the defense of the Lions, their dogged rebounding and ability to share the ball that made the difference in a 49-36 win over Shippensburg, the 10 seed out of District 3, in the first round of the PIAA Class 5A Tournament.

There’s a 3 from Norwood. He has a labored 9 points. 37-26 @penncrestad after 3. pic.twitter.com/o4kr52OD83

— Matthew De George (@sportsdoctormd) March 10, 2018

Williams set the tone early for the Lions (26-3), who notched the program’s first PIAA victory since 1968 and usurped that team’s record for most wins in a season in school history. Williams scored eight of his nine points in the first half, including seven in the first quarter, tossing in a pair of jump shots. His 3-pointer in the first, with the Ship defense giving him acres of space and daring him to shoot, was the first in his varsity career, in game no. 58.

“I don’t know, I was just feeling it,” Williams said. “I felt hyped.”

It was a good thing, since Norwood felt cold. He made just two of his first 16 attempts from the field. He would rally, sinking a 3-pointer to beat the third-quarter buzzer and providing 11 of Penncrest’s 12 fourth-quarter points for a laborious 20 on 8-for-24 shooting. But for three quarters, the box-and-1 defense employed on him, with Ship’s lanky power forward Carter VanScyoc shadowing, worked.

Or it would’ve, if so many of those Norwood misses hadn’t turned into points via Penncrest’s work on the glass. The Lions outrebounded Ship, 28-20. But the result on the offensive boards was particularly demoralizing, seeing a sturdy defensive possession go for naught.

“That’s what we focused on this game, defense and rebounding the basketball,” forward Matt Arbogast said. “Every time (VanScyoc) got the basketball on the bounce, we would double him. Malcolm would play defense. The shot goes up, everyone rebounds.”

“It’s the second-chance points,” VanScyoc said. “I played great defense on him. Everyone else was helping me, and we just got outrebounded. They’ve got three 6-3s in there and we’re a little undersized.”

Norwood up and under. 42-33 Penncrest. 2:25 left. pic.twitter.com/8wmREIFTJs

— Matthew De George (@sportsdoctormd) March 10, 2018

Chris Mills, in his third game sporting a face mask for a broken nose, paired nine points with nine rebounds. He scored seven in the first half, he and Williams the unlikely one-two offensive punch in Norwood’s stead. And Arbogast was a menace in the post with four points, seven rebounds, four blocks and three steals.

The lanky forward was a significant contributor to 19 turnovers by the Greyhounds, preventing them from establishing any sort of a rhythm.

Shippensburg’s offense never established itself. VanScyoc led the way with 12 points, and Alaric Hickman battled foul trouble to tally eight. But he fouled out with 4:01 to play, and the glut of turnovers limited the Greyhounds to just 31 field goal attempts.

“They really pressured us,” VanScyoc said. “They knew our sets pretty well and they were able to run us off our spots. We weren’t real strong and they forced turnovers.”

With the defense locked down, Penncrest had to find its spark on the other end in the absence of Norwood’s production. Justin Heidig orchestrated stellar ball movement in the first quarter, before foul trouble hampered him and he fouled out with five minutes left. Mills’ work on the offensive glass led to his three baskets on as many attempts.

But part of the process was the belief factor, whether it was Williams lining up a jumper or Arbogast attacking the glass, knowing that all this team has accomplished isn’t because of a one-man show.

“We all play as one team,” Arbogast said. “So if Tyler doesn’t play well, we all step up and play our game.”