Flynn helps spark another surprise from youthful Penn Wood

NORRISTOWN — Jerry Flynn admitted that his shoulders slumped for the briefest of moments. His Penn Wood Patriots trailed Penncrest by six points, the largest lead for either side in a back-and-forth District 1 Class 5A semifinal at Norristown High School Wednesday night.

In the moment, the six points felt like much more than two possessions.

In the end, they turned out to be much less.

“I felt like I started to give up, which I shouldn’t do,” the junior forward said. “But I was like, there’s a lot of time to get back in the game, win this. Coach was giving up great plays, and we executed it.”

Flynn answered immediately with a three-point play, part of a 21-point night, as No. 7 seed Penn Wood scored 16 of the game’s final 21 points for a 56-51 upset win.

Penn Wood (16-8) advances to Saturday’s district final at Temple University at 3. The Patriots will take on top-seeded West Chester East, last year’s runner-up that defeated Rustin 50-36. It’s Penn Wood’s first district final since 2010.

Dublin a deuce. Penn Wood up 50-49 pic.twitter.com/CGfhITa9rI

— Matthew De George (@sportsdoctormd) February 27, 2020

Third-seeded Penncrest (21-7) falls into the District 1 third-place game for the second straight year against Rustin. Both teams are guaranteed spots in the PIAA tournament.

Penn Wood’s climb back took all of two trips down the court. A deuce by Marquis Tomlin in transition gave Penncrest a 46-40 lead with 3:44 left. In a game featuring nine ties and five lead changes, it felt like an even wider margin.

PHOTO GALLERY: Penn Wood vs. Penncrest

But Flynn took a bounce pass from Saalih Moore and absorbed contact at the rim, getting the basket to fall through and hitting the free throw. After a Denzel Atkinson-Boyer runner clanked off the backboard, Moore pulled up for a 3-pointer in transition to tie the game.

That wasn’t the last stand for either team, with Aidan Carroll hitting a 3-pointer with 1:51 left to nudge Penncrest in front, 49-48. But the shot that put Penn Wood up for good came from sophomore Abdullah Dublin, pulling up from 12 feet along the baseline.

“I can’t even put it into words,” Dublin said. “This is exhilarating. I didn’t know it was going to me there, but I made the shot, and it gave our team the lift we needed to go and win the game.”

Dublin’s contribution was emblematic of the Patriots’ eighth straight win. Flynn led the way as he has all postseason with his third straight postseason double-double of 21 points and 12 rebounds. He knocked down a pair of 3-pointers and was 5-for-5 from the line.

“He comes out with something new every night,” Dublin said of Flynn. “When he gets hot, we all get hot.”

Shamir Baynes, Penn Wood’s leading scorer, expended most of his energy on the defensive end, finishing with 11 points. But others filled the void. Moore, who shook off an illness, had one of the biggest shots of the game for his only make. Desman Johnson was 4-for-4 from the line in the second half for six points plus eight rebounds. And Dublin stepped up with a pair of triples to tally 13 points.

For a youthful team, the way in which talented players have stepped up into new roles has sparked a surprising run in the postseason.

“I feel like we’ve grown as a team,” Flynn said. “This is only everybody’s first year playing together. This is my first year playing with a couple of the seniors.”

Saalih Moore in transition. Bang.
46-all. 3:04 left pic.twitter.com/WnhWLW9z7e

— Matthew De George (@sportsdoctormd) February 27, 2020

For most of the game, it shaped up as a battle of bigs. Flynn and Atkinson-Boyer took turns controlling the paint, with Penncrest’s big man tallying 16 points, eight rebounds and three blocks.

Though Penncrest welcomed point guard Saahir Lee back after a three-game absence, its backcourt collectively had an off game. The Lions were just 5-for-16 from 3-point range. Carroll was 2-for-12 from the field for eight points, though he dished five assists. Tomlin was glued to Baynes defensively, the upshot being just seven points. Lee also had seven.

The Lions got boosts from Denzel Quinn, who scored all four of his points and had three rebounds in the fourth, and Justin Potts, with six points and five boards.

“It felt great. I was proud for them,” Atkinson-Boyer said. “They were helping us in the game, keeping us going. But we just fell short.”

Saahir Lee switches hands, hits. 27-23 Penncrest pic.twitter.com/Mp58cKRz7a

— Matthew De George (@sportsdoctormd) February 26, 2020

Though the younger team, Penn Wood managed to summon the resolve more often in the fourth. Its steeliness at the line (15-for-18, including 8-for-8 in the fourth) was perhaps the biggest part.

“Being in a game like this, we’ve got to worry about every possession and take every possession like it’s the last possession,” Dublin said. “… If we have a bad possession, our thoughts could get down, we could start thinking bad about ourselves, we don’t know what to do. But if we have a good possession, the team is hyped and we can move on to the next possession and we’ve got motivation.”

Playing for a championship, particularly for a team that started 0-2 and endured a five-game losing streak in mid-January, is plenty of hype for Saturday.

“It feels fun,” Dublin said. “We haven’t been here since 2010 and it feels fun.”