Sharp-shooting Methacton continues mastery of Spring-Ford, advances to PAC semis
ROYERSFORD >> Last year’s boys’ Pioneer Athletic Conference playoffs concluded with a nail-biting, back-and-forth tilt between a young, upstart Methacton team, and a battle-tested Spring-Ford squad. In the end, it was the young Methacton squad claiming a close victory and the league title.
This year, the Warriors were the ones with the added advantage of big-game experience, thanks in part to last year’s victory. They would put that experience to good use Wednesday night, dominating from the outset in an 87-51 opening-round victory at Spring-Ford.
The win made it a clean sweep for Methacton against the Rams this year, as the Warriors took both regular season matchups as well.
The defending champs couldn’t miss from downtown, chalking up a total of 14 three-pointers in the runaway victory.
“When we shoot like that, we’re tough to stop,” said Erik Timko, who led the way with 18 points for Methacton. “We have something special as a team this year, and I think that’s shown in the run we’re on right now.”
That run now stands at 12 straight wins for the Warriors (18-5), who move on to Friday’s semifinal with Frontier Division champ Pope John Paul II, while the Rams (15-8) await a likely home game in the first round of districts next Friday night.
“It’s not just one guy,” added Methacton’s Jeff Woodward, who contributed 17 points and 10 rebounds in the victory. “It’s everyone contributing, and when that happens, with the weapons we have we can accomplish a lot this postseason.”
The emergence of some other programs atop the league this year meant that last year’s title matchup was now an opening-round affair. The No. 3 seed Warriors, who missed an opening-round bye to Norristown only on a tiebreaker, started out hot and never cooled off, canning an astounding 11 threes and shooting 67 percent in the opening half to carry a 25-10 lead after the first quarter and a 50-26 advantage into the break. Timko led the long-distance shootout with 14 points (4-for-5 from deep), while David Duda (11 points) joined in with three deep jumpers of his own.
In all, five different Warriors connected from downtown in the opening half to set a torrid pace (11 of 16 from three; 18-27 from the field.) When Methacton went inside, it was usually to the capable hands of 6-foot-9 junior Woodward, who went 5-for-5 in contributing 11 first-half points.
Noah Baker, who scored his 1,000th career point last week, led the Rams’ attack with 14 of his game-high 27 in the opening half as sixth-seeded Spring-Ford tried to keep up with the Warriors’ onslaught. The Rams connected on five 3s of their own but were held to a 5-22 mark inside the arc thanks to tough on-ball defense from the Warriors and the looming presence of Woodward in the post.
“Hats off to Methacton, who completely outplayed and outcoached us tonight,” said Spring-Ford coach Chris Talley. “As for Noah, he competed all the way, never gave up — he played like a senior should play.”
After the break, the Warriors showed off the other half of their potent attack, repeatedly finding cutters open as
Spring-Ford played up on their numerous shooters. By the time Brett Eberly mixed in the first deep ball of the half, the Warriors’ lead had grown to 65-34, and the defending champs could afford to look forward to Friday night and PJP, who they defeated earlier this season, 69-49.
“That’s a tough team — they can shoot every bit as well as we can,” said Woodward. “And they’re tough on the inside — I think they held me to six points in the first matchup, and that can’t happen in a playoff game.”
The Rams were without second-leading scorer, Tre Medearis, injured in last week’s regular-season finale against Upper Perkiomen. Baker was an offensive machine for Spring-Ford, pouring in 27 points in the losing effort.
“Baker’s always been a tough matchup for us, with his inside/outside versatility,” said Methacton coach Jeff Derstine. “We spent a lot of time planning to stop him, but obviously, he’s a great player and he’s wrapping up an excellent career.”
After last year’s tough PAC Final loss to Methacton, Coach Talley alluded to the difficulty of bouncing back in time for districts. Could the early elimination in this year’s tournament be a blessing in disguise for his Rams, allowing Medearis time to recover and the team with over a week to figure out what went wrong Wednesday?
“It’ll be good for the guys to get a break, start with a clean slate,” he said. “The loss is tough to swallow, but it’ll be good to get a solid week of practice.”
As for Methacton, whose impressive firepower showed they’ll be a force to contend with for the rest of the PAC playoffs — it’s the next step to a possible second straight PAC title and beyond.
“Obviously, we’re tough to defend when we’re making shots like that and Jeff’s playing well on the inside,” said Derstine. “But I was most impressed with our defense and our execution. When the shooting isn’t this strong, we can still put forth the effort on defense and on the inside. You always need a backup plan.”
PAC Final 6 Playoffs
Wednesday, Feb. 6
Quarterfinal Round
Perkiomen Valley 61, Pottsgrove 48
Methacton 87, Spring-Ford 51
Friday, Feb. 8
Semifinal Round
(2) Pope John Paul II vs. (3) Methacton, 6 p.m.
(1) Norristown vs. (5) Perkiomen Valley, 7:45 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 12
Championship at Spring-Ford, 7 p.m.
