Norristown falls in overtime to Boys’ Latin after overcoming 16-point deficit

PHILADELPHIA >> Norristown appeared out of it. After surrendering 11 straight points to Boys’ Latin with less than four minutes to play in the third quarter, the Eagles found themselves trailing by 16 points.

But they didn’t give up. Norristown finished the third quarter strong and dominated the fourth to force overtime, but went on to fall, 79-69, in the first round of the PIAA Class 6A state playoffs Saturday evening at Abraham Lincoln High School in Philadelphia.

(1-5) Norristown trailed by eight at halftime. It started the third with three straight points to cut its deficit to five, but then (12-2) Boys Latin took advantage of six Eagles turnovers to score 11 unanswered points and build its lead to 16, 46-30.

“We just never gave up,” Norristown senior Xavier Edwards said. “We believed that we could keep playing and keep winning and keep trying. We just never gave up. That’s not what we do.”

“I wasn’t surprised,” Norristown coach Dana “Binky” Johnson said. “One of our keys tonight was the fact that when you watch Boys’ Latin, watch us all year — there’s going to be a lot of runs in this game with the style of play — up-tempo. We can easily go on a run. Down 16, no one panicked.”

Tyler Lyons helped start the comeback, scoring six points in the final four minutes of the third as part of a 10-5 stretch to close the quarter down 11, 51-40.

The Eagles started the fourth on a 7-0 spurt, led by its defense that forced seven turnovers in the quarter.

“We went on a heck of a run,” Johnson said. “We finally defended well. We took them out of their comfort zone. We made some adjustments. One of the key adjustments — we started doubling to try to show them a different look and it actually turned the game around.”

Nizer Kinney got the scoring started with two free throws. Edwards grabbed an offensive rebound and scored through contact for a three-point play and — after earning a five-second call on defense — hit two free throws to make it 51-47 with 5:58 to go.

After two Boys’ Latin points, Eagles sophomore Aaron Reddish hit a three to make it a one-possession game, 53-50, for the first time since the second quarter.

The Eagles went 1-for-4 from the free throw line over its next few possessions and fell behind, 59-51, with four minutes to go.

Edwards hit a couple free throws, Kinney made a layup and Edwards added another basket to get within two, 59-57, with 3:05 to play.

Then came a momentum shifter. Edwards grabbed a steal at midcourt and was racing towards the basket alongside a Warriors defender. The two were stride-for-stride and the defender went down when Edwards went up to make his layup. Offensive foul.

“The ref called the call,” Edwards said. “I didn’t agree with it, but that’s what it went down as.”

“Xavier made an incredible steal,” Johnson added. “I just thought that changed the game.”

Reddish hit a pair of free throws and a three-pointer to get the Eagles within one, 63-62, with just over a minute to play. Edwards followed with a short jumper inside the paint to give Norristown its first lead since 2-0 with 20 seconds left.

Boys’ Latin split a pair of foul shots to tie the game at 64 and, on the ensuing possession, Lyons wasn’t able to get a clean shot off at the buzzer to send the game to overtime tied at 64.

Edwards had 11 of his team-high 16 points in the fourth quarter and Reddish had nine of his 11.

“They both did a great job of actually looking for their shots,” Johnson said.

“They’re capable of doing that at any time. As long as they stay focused on scoring the ball. They’re so unselfish — both of them … Sometimes they pass themselves out of games. We were telling them all week, with Aaron just coming back off injury, he was trying to get his feet under himself — you saw it in the first half, trying to get his feet, trying to get his rhythm. In the second half you saw those guys make a heck of a run and put the game in overtime.”

Edwards was called for an offensive foul on the first possession of overtime to foul out of the game. The Eagles, who were missing first team All-Pioneer Athletic Conference Liberty Division forward Mickeel Allen, also had Reddish, Kinney and Marcus Sanford foul out in the extra session.

Boys’ Latin took advantage, winning the four-minute overtime, 15-5, to advance to the second round with a 79-69 win.

“Never in my wildest dreams,” Johnson said of not having five key players available in overtime. “I knew we would face adversity tonight being without (Mickeel), but like we said, adversity strengthens our bond. Tonight, I never thought we’d run out of players. That’s more adversity.”

Boys’ Latin’s Johaan Vinson converted a four-point play on the first possession after Edwards fouled out and the Warriors led the rest of the way.

Norristown did itself no favors early in the game, turning the ball of 16 times through the first three quarters.

The teams were tied at 13 late in the first quarter before Boys’ Latin closed the frame on a 5-0 run to take an 18-13 advantage.

The Eagles started the second with a 5-0 run of their own — capped by an acrobatic layup and-one from Lyons — to tie the game at 18. Boys’ Latin controlled the half from there to take a 35-27 lead into intermission.

Boys’ Latin will face Methacton in the second round Wednesday at a site and time to be determined.