Perkiomen Valley senior Josh Pelzer wasn’t the first option on the final play of the game, but he heeded coach Mike Poysden’s instructions in the huddle nonetheless.
With just 1.5 seconds left and a tie game against Boyertown, whoever got the ball could take one dribble before letting a potential game winning shot fly.
Option No. 2 on the play, Pelzer ended up catching the ball at midcourt and taking that one dribble to free himself up for a shot from behind the half-court line. It went through the net to give the Vikings a 43-40 Pioneer Athletic Conference Liberty Division win over the Bears on Tuesday.
“It was designed for me to set up a backs screen for (Dawson) Debebe for a fullcourt pass, but they had two people in the backcourt to stop that, so I came off that screen to the middle of the court and caught it,” Pelzer said. “I was told in that huddle several times that if you’ve got time you can take a dribble before you shoot.
“It felt very good when it left my hand.”
The Bears led 11-10 after the first quarter, but the Vikings grabbed a 22-18 lead at the halftime break and continued that advantage for most of the rest of the game, taking a 33-29 edge into the fourth quarter.
A Boyertown three in the final minute tied the game before both teams failed to convert on their next possessions. Following a Bears’ miss, the Vikings collected a rebound with 1.5 seconds left and called timeout
Shane Nelson tossed the winning assist to Pelzer, who said he often practices deep threes at the end of his workouts and gets off half-court shots while shooting around with friends. It paid off Tuesday night for the Vikings.
“It was great, just my whole team getting excited after I made it,” Pelzer said. “It was a great feeling, and everyone getting excited in the huddle at the end, that was so much fun.”
The victory kept Perkiomen Valley (8-4, 5-0 PAC) undefeated in league play with a matchup against the league’s only other unbeaten Methacton (10-0, 4-0 PAC) on Saturday.
Zach Ward (13) and Jake Kapp (12) reached double figures for Boyertown (6-5, 2-3 PAC) in the loss.
Norristown 74, Owen J. Roberts 39
Highlights: The Eagles used a hot shooting night to take down the Wildcats in PAC Liberty action on Tuesday in a game they converted six 3-point shots.
D.J. Johnson led the way with 15 points, and John DiNolfi added 14, knocking down two shots from behind the arc. Myon Kirlew (11) and Zaki Gomez (10) also reached double figures for Norristown, while Luke Fryer led OJR with 11.
Norristown: Gomez 3 2-2 10, Wise 0 0-0 0, Gaymon 3 0-0 6, Gordon 1 0-0 2, Johnson 6 3-4 15, Mitchell 0 0-0 0, Kirlew 4 2-2 11, Smith 0 2-2 2, Green 1 0-0 2, Stinson 1 1-2 3, DiMichele 4 0-0 9, DiNolfi 7 0-0 14, Totals 30 10-12 74.
Owen J. Roberts: Fryer 4 2-2 11, Rossi 3 2-2 9, Cashman 2 0-1 4, Simpson 0 0-0 0, Reed 0 0-0 0, Bolyn 0 0-5 0, Iyoob 2 0-0 5, Hansford 2 0-0 4, Dietrich 3 0-0 6, Totals 15 4-10 39.
Norristown 18 20 24 12-74
O.J. Roberts 12 9 9 9-39
3-point goals: NT – Gomez 2, Kirlew, DiMichele, DiNolfi 2; OJR – Fryer, Rossi, Iyoob.
Pope John Paul II 70, Pottstown 51
Highlights: The Golden Panthers bounced back from Monday’s loss with a PAC Frontier win over the Trojans on Tuesday. J.P. Baron scored a game-high 22 points and Jaden Workman added 15 as PJP pulled away in the second (20-9) and third (22-9) after building a 14-11 lead after the first quarter. Sadeeq Jackson scored 18 for Pottstown.
Pope John Paul II: K. Green 3 1-3 8, Rogers 3 0-0 9, Workman 6 3-4 15, Sykes 1 1-2 4, Clarke 2 0-0 4, O’Brien 1 2-2 5, Baron 9 3-5 22, Russ 1 1-2 3, Totals 26 11-18 70.
Pottstown: Moore 0 0-0 0, Sibley 2 2-6 6, Washington 1 1-2 4, Bostic 2 1-3 5, Augusto 1 0-0 2, Tinson 0 1-2 1, Schrauger 0 5-6 5, Palmore 2 2-3 6, S. Jackson 9 0-4 18, A. Jackson 2 0-0 4, Totals 17 12-26 51.
Pope John Paul II 14 20 22 14-70
Pottstown 11 9 9 22-51
3-point goals: PJP – K. Green, Rogers 3, Sykes, O’Brien, Baron; PT – Washington.
Pottsgrove 61, Upper Perkiomen 48
Highlights: Nadhir Ward and J.R. McMenamin headed a balanced offense that lifted the Falcons to victory over the Indians in their PAC Frontier Division pairing.
Ward hit for 12 points and McMenamin 10 as Pottsgrove rallied from an initial 11-8 deficit to go up on UP at the half, 24-17. Adam Shaak gave the Indians a game-high 16 point effort.
Upper Perkiomen: Shaak 5 4-4 16, Clancy 2 0-0 5, Nguyen 0 0-0 0, Heiser 0 0-0 0, Keyser 2 8-10 12, Montero 2 0-0 5, Carpenter 4 1-2 10, Rieg 0 0-0 0, Aron 0 0-0 0, Totals 15 13-16 48.
Pottsgrove: Allen 3 0-0 7, Thompson 2 2-2 7, McMenamin 2 5-6 10, Schmidt 1 0-0 2, Rinda 3 3-3 9, Mohammad 1 3-4 5, Ward 4 4-5 12, B. Jones 2 2-2 7, Simon 0 2-2 2, Sisko 0 0-0 0, Totals 18 21-24 61.
Pottsgrove 8 16 19 18-61
Upper Perkiomen 11 6 15 16-48
3-point goals: Thompson, McMenamin, Jones, Allen, Shaak, Clancy, Montero, Carpenter.
Twin Valley 68, Daniel Boone 50
Highlights: Kannon Zdimal scored 25 points and Dan Yost had 10 points to lead the Raiders over the Blazers Tuesday.
Boone had a trio of double-figure scorers, led by Matthew DiGiacomo’s 13 points. Brendan Gaines added 12 and Mason Saccarello 10.
Daniel Boone: Delissaint 3 0-0 6, Pinchok 1 1-1 3, Hashamy 2 0-1 4, Gaines 4 0-0 12, Kedis 0 0-0 0, Sherman 0 0-0 0, DiGiacomo 6 0-2 13, Bulafka 0 0-0 0, Saccarello 4 2-2 10, Hallman 0 2-2 2, Totals 20 5-6 50.
Twin Valley: Altman 3 2-2 8, Yost 4 0-0 10, Johnson 1 2-2 4, Riehl 3 2-2 8, Phillips 1 0-0 2, Strausser 1 0-0 2, Zdimal 11 1-1 25, Shugar 4 1-1 9, Totals 28 8-10 68.
Daniel Boone 10 7 13 20-50
Twin Valley 19 13 19 17-68
3-point goals: Gaines 4, DiGiacomo, Yost 2, Zdimal 2.
