Wissahickon keeps District 1-6A hopes alive
UPPER DUBLIN >> Wissahickon entered the final week of the regular season with a clear goal – win two games and earn a spot in the District 1-6A playoffs.
Step one: complete.
The Trojans picked up a 60-37 Suburban One League American Conference win over Upper Dublin Tuesday night at Upper Dublin High School.
Wissahickon was just outside of the 24-team playoff field heading into the game against their closest rival and should earn a spot in the tournament with another win over Upper Moreland Thursday (6 p.m. at Wissahickon).
“That’s the goal this week,” head coach Kyle Wilson said, “Go 2-0 and then Sunday see where we are when the smoke clears.”
“The team’s mindset is this is the playoffs almost for us,” forward Carmen Ostroski added. “We lose and we’re done. Our plan is that we keep winning, especially if we do get into the playoffs after Upper Moreland – in our mindset, the season restarts. Everybody is 0-0 and we just have to play our game.”
The Trojans (11-10, 9-4 SOL American) got off to a fast start against the Cardinals and played ahead for the entire game. Guard Harrison Williams scored the team’s first eight points to help jump out to an 18-9 first-quarter lead.
In the second quarter, it was D’Shan Love who took over. Love sandwiched a pair of threes around a block, highlighting an eight-point quarter to send the Trojans to halftime with a 30-23 lead.
Ostroski helped the Trojans grab momentum in the beginning of the third quarter. In the opening minute, he recorded a chase-down block off the backboard. Williams grabbed the ball and hit Compas in the corner for a three-pointer. Upper Dublin’s layup would have made it a five-point game, but Ostroski’s block led to a 33-23 Trojans lead.
“Coming from the first half I thought we played really tremendous ball,” Ostroski said, “but I don’t think the score really showed that.
“Going into the second half we needed a momentum booster. The third quarter has been rough for us in the past. Getting ahead and getting a little spark, something that we can capitalize off of, really helps us win that game. Having that block, having that shot, those rebounds and finishes to start off the third quarter – I think that was a big part of it.”
Wiss maintained a comfortable, multiple-possession lead until the final buzzer, 60-37.
Compas scored a game-high 20 points, Williams added 14 and Love had 10.
“(Williams) and Matt are such astute players out there,” Wilson said. “They look for theirs but they understand if the other guy is rolling, hey let’s keep getting him the ball. It’s nice D’Shan came off the bench and gave us a spark, hit some shots … They’re a solid group and I’m hoping they can carry that into Thursday.”
Drew Stover led the Cardinals (9-12, 3-10 SOL American) with 12 points. He scored seven points in the game’s first five minutes before picking up his second foul and heading to the bench until the middle of the second quarter.
Bazel Brady followed Stover with nine points.
