West Chester Rustin defeats District 2 champ in state opener

West Chester Rustin opened its PIAA 5A boys’ basketball state tournament play with an impressive road win Friday evening, defeating District 2 champion Wallenpaupack, 60-44, at Scranton High School.
The Golden Knights, fourth-place finishers in the District 1 5A tournament, didn’t let the 2 ½ hour trip to Scranton faze them, getting offense from sophomore IV Pettit (23 points) and strong rebounding from junior Griffin Barrouk (nine rebounds, eight points), junior Jacob Barksdale (six rebounds, 11 points) and senior Daniel Wethey (six rebounds).
“We did a pretty good job boxing out,” said West Chester Rustin head coach Keith Cochran. “We also played good defense as a team, and [junior] Peter Reinheimer did a really good job for us defensively. This was a great team effort – attention to details was what won it for us tonight.”
Wallenpaupack guard Matt Keane, who has averaged more than 21 points per game this season and was referred to by Cochran earlier in the week as “probably the best guard we have seen this year besides Jhamir (Coatesville’s Jhamir Brickus),” tallied 15 points Friday evening.
Next up for Rustin is Unionville, whom the Golden Knights have faced three times this season, winning the first contest, 58-53, Dec. 19; losing the second game, 49-46, Jan. 22; and winning the third contest, 62-51, in the District 1 5A quarterfinals Feb. 22.
The Indians finished fifth in the District 1 5A tournament, and their coach, Chris Cowles, was a star guard for Cochran at Rustin a decade ago.
“We’ve got to stay in front of their shooters – we can’t lose them,” said Cochran. “They have good size and can shoot from outside.”