West Chester East doesn’t make same mistake twice, beats Penn Wood for District 1 title

PHILADELPHIA >> West Chester East had been here before. And they did not want to re-live that nightmare.

One year after coming to Temple University’s Liacouras Center as the top seed, and allowing the trophy to go home with a lower-seeded Delaware County foe, the Vikings put their foot down and finished the job.

Andrew Carr and West Chester East put on a clinic Saturday, as the No. 1 Vikings blew out No. 7 Penn Wood, 67-43, to win the District 1 Class 5A boys basketball championship.

Last year, top-seeded East lost the district final to sixth-seeded Sun Valley.

Carr led the Vikings (26-2) with 23 points to go along with 12 rebounds and six blocks. East also got big games from Mike Dedda, who had 12 points, and freshman Jack Kushner, who chipped in with 13 points and six rebounds.

“Coach (Tom) Durant, told us at halftime to just hustle and be ready to catch and shoot,” Kushner said. “That is what we did and they were paying so much attention to Andrew, we were open. This is the best feeling I ever had.”

The Vikings will open state play against the eighth-place team from District 3, which is Gettysburg (23-4).

Penn Wood will open up against the fourth-place team from District 12.

The Vikings held a slim 20-19 lead at halftime, but the Vikings blew out the Patriots (17-8) in the third quarter, outscoring Penn Wood, 23-9, in the period to take a 43-28 lead after three quarters.

Dedda drained two threes in the third, as did Kieran Heferan, who finished the game with nine points. Penn Wood shot just four for 19 in the third and the Vikings took control of the game with all the Vikings contributing on the night.

“We lost in the finals last year and playing last year helped us calm down this year,” Dedda said. “We struggled a little in the first half but we got some good looks in the second half. We really wanted to come back here and win it this year.”

Penn Wood was led by Shamir Baunes, who had a team-high 15 points. But, the game belonged to the Vikings,

In the fourth quarter, Kushner scored in tight, got fouled and completed the three-point play for a 46-30 Viking lead.

“Jack Kushner was a beast today,” Durant said.

After a Penn Wood miss, Carr took a feed and slammed it home for a 48-30 lead and Penn Wood was through.

“We did not want Carr and Richardson to beat us,” Penn Wood coach Matt Lindeman said. ”And give the other kids credit. They knocked down shots. We did not execute very well on offense today. Give them credit.”

Durant gave all the credit to his kids for the historic win that saw his team shoot a blistering 26 for 50 from the field.

“The kids deserve all the credit,” Durant said. “At halftime we had a one-point lead and I told the kids to just be ready and hustle and when you get your shot, you take it. It’s just like practice. You do it every day.”

For Carr, who was hugging some players from last year’s team in the locker room, he said he has been waiting four years for this title.

“When I was a freshman I wanted this for the school,” Carr said. “And we built a program here.”

West Chester East 67, Penn Wood 43

PENN WOOD (43): Baunes 7 0-0 15, Boothe 0 0-2 0, Massenberg 1 1-2 3, Flynn 3 2-2 8, Moore 0 9-0 0, Dublin 3 2-2 9, Johnson 2 2-3 6, Borward 1 0-0 2, Totals 17 7-9 43.

WC EAST(67): Carr 9 3-5 22, Dedda 4 2-2 12, Duell 0 0-0 0, Clark 1 0-0 3, Kushner 6 1-1 13, Richardson 2 1-2 5, Kulp 1 0-0 3, Heferan 3 0-0 9, Bowman 0 0-0 0 . Totals 26 7-10 67.

Penn Wood 8 11 9 15 – 43
WC East 9 11 23 24 – 67

3-point goals. Baunes, Dublin, Dedda 2, Clark, Kulp, Carr, Heferan 3.