Pope John Paul II rallies past Phoenixville for revenge win, Frontier lead

ROYERSFORD >> The second matchup of the season between Phoenixville and Pope John Paul II decided the Pioneer Athletic Conference’s Frontier Division champion in each of the past three seasons.

The contest came a little earlier in 2021-22, but heading into Tuesday night’s game at PJP the division rivals knew the winner would have the inside track on a division title once again.

While the Phantoms appeared poised to sweep the season series at halftime, the Golden Panthers used a dominant third quarter to come away with a 56-53 win and the division lead.

“We just kind of came out with a little more energy,” PJP junior Trey Rogers said. “We really didn’t want to lose to them a second time considering they’re our rivals and everything. It felt good. We just came out with a bunch of energy and hit shots.”

.@PJPII_Hoops’s Trey Rogers, left, and Kevin Green helped the Golden Panthers to a big PAC Frontier win over rival Phoenixville on Tuesday. pic.twitter.com/oRvnhyAHvI

— Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue) January 26, 2022

 

Seniors J.P. Baron (18), Kevin Green (12) and Jaden Workman (12) reached double figures for the Golden Panthers (10-6, 6-5 PAC, 6-1 Frontier) and Rogers added nine on three 3-pointers.

Seniors Chase McDonnell (15), Jackson Kuranda (13) and Zavier Mayo (10) all reached double figures for Phoenixville (10-5, 6-3 PAC, 3-2 Frontier), which was missing senior forward Gabe Massenburg.

The Phantoms broke a six-game skid against the Golden Panther with a 58-56 win on Jan. 10 — Phoenixville’s first win over PJP since 2018.

After the two teams ended a back-and-forth quarter Tuesday tied 13-13, the Phantoms appeared headed for another victory when they went ahead 32-24 at halftime with six unanswered points.

“We had a game plan and we executed,” Mayo said. “We just came out hitting shots and were aggressive.”

A flip switched for the Golden Panthers coming out of the halftime break.

PJP scored 18 straight points, going ahead 40-32 with 2:03 left in the third on a three from Rogers.

After just four points in the first half, the PAC’s leading scorer Baron had 10 in the period. Two Rogers steals set him up for easy fastbreak scores.

“We just stuck together,” Green said. “That was our main thing going into it. When we face adversity, just stick together and we’ll get through it.”

Chase McDonell hit a late three in the third to make it a 40-35 contest, and the Phantoms chipped PJP’s lead down to three early in the fourth on a bucket by Kuranda.

The Golden Panthers followed with two straight buckets and kept their distance until the final minute of play.

A steal and score by Kuranda pulled Phoenixville within three, 53-50, with 36.5 seconds left. McDonnell, who had 10 in the fourth, converted an and-one with 10.4 seconds to make it 55-53.

After Workman went 1-of-2 from the line, Mayo’s last second 3-point attempt went off the back of the rim.

“They’re a good team,” Mayo said. “They had a lot of momentum going. It just happened we weren’t making our shots and the ball wasn’t going our way, but I think we crawled back in at the end.”

Phoenixville still has seven regular-season games scheduled, including five Frontier contests. Crossover wins against Boyertown, Spring-Ford and Owen J. Roberts have the Phantoms in good shape for the PAC Final Six, but they’ll need a Golden Panthers loss for a chance at a division title.

Pope John Paul II ended Tuesday night a half-game ahead of Upper Merion (6-5 PAC, 5-1 Frontier) in the division standings. PJP, which has three Frontier games left on its schedule, faces the Vikings on Thursday.

The reigning league champs can earn themselves a first-round bye in the PAC playoffs with three straight wins.

“That’s what our eyes are on, winning another PAC chip,” Green said.