Poor shooting, turnovers doom Plymouth Whitemarsh in season opener
WHITEMARSH >> Plymouth Whitemarsh lost its season opener, 63-55, against Abraham Lincoln Friday night at Plymouth Whitemarsh High School.
The Colonials struggled with shooting and turnovers throughout the game. Both head coach Jim Donofrio and junior wing Luke DiCianno believe the 25 turnovers were a product of a young, new-look team playing its first game together and put the loss on a poor performance from the field.
“If teams are pressing you the entire game it’s because offensively you’re under-performing,” Donofrio said.
“What did we shoot, six percent from the floor? Maybe two? We missed (four) foul shots in the first half. You’re going to have turnovers in that game to start because of so much youth and it’s the first game, it’s never pretty. We’ve been working on things. We’re not ready, but a lot of teams aren’t ready. So what do you do? You have to shoot well. If we don’t shoot well this year we could be less than .500. And if we do, we could win 18 and be 18-4.”
“We just need to improve our shooting percentage and our court-awareness,” DiCianno added. “The turnovers did play a factor, but I don’t think it’s going to be a big problem (moving forward).”
Despite the tough night from the field, PW had a chance in the fourth quarter. Back-to-back David Harris threes cut the Colonials deficit — which was hovering around 10 for most of the night — to three points, 47-44, with less than five minutes to go. Lincoln responded with an 11-1 run to take full control before closing out the Colonials, 63-55.
“I think we moved the ball really well,” Donofrio said. “We drove in, Villanova style. Drove in, kicked out. Luke’s getting open, Caelin (Peters is) getting open, Jaden Pryce is breaking things down. They did everything we asked them to do, but if you’re not going to shoot well and you’re going against a team that’s that big and strong athletically and you’re going to give them 30 opportunities on the offensive glass, it’s fascinating that it’s a (three-point) game with the ball in your hands and three, four minutes to go. If you are going to shoot poorly, you’re going to lose that game.
“It’s one of those games you want to book and you want to steal. You see a lot of stuff to work on, but we’ll take an ugly win and move on. I thought that was there for the grabbing.”
“I felt like we were right there the whole game going back-and-forth,” DiCianno added. “I never felt like we were in comeback mode. I felt like we were right there with them. That was an easy game to win.”
DiCianno led PW with 20 points, Harris added 11 and Ray Tomassetti had eight.
Foul trouble
Plymouth Whitemarsh senior captain Caelin Peters fouled out in the middle of the fourth quarter.
Peters, who is the only returning player with significant varsity experience, finished the game with six points, three assists, two rebounds and a block.
Peters, who played with a wrap around his right hand and wrist, was in foul trouble for most of the night after picking up two in the first quarter.
