Plymouth Whitemarsh pulls away from Wissahickon for SOL Liberty title

WHITEMARSH >> Plymouth Whitemarsh found itself in a familiar position Thursday night — holding a narrow lead in the fourth quarter.

The Colonials have struggled putting teams away this season, which has led to some closer-than-needed wins and some tough-to-swallow losses.

With a share of the Suburban One League Liberty Division championship on the line against Wissahickon, Plymouth Whitemarsh found its extra gear. The Colonials scored 12 straight points in the fourth quarter to extend a three-point lead to 15 before cruising to the finish line with a 63-48 win at Plymouth Whitemarsh High School.

“Early on we were too freelanced,” PW coach Jim Donofrio said. “There wasn’t enough patience. Now the next phase is who is going to make big shots. What they did tonight with that run is what I expected to be every game. Maybe that’s expectations of being too spoiled for a lot of years with a lot of great players.”

After Wissahickon cut its deficit to three on the first possession of the fourth quarter, PW’s Taji Hubbard got the lead back to five with a layup. Qudire Bennett hit a three on the ensuing PW possession and Jaden Colzie made it back-to-back triples to build a 52-41 lead. Hubbard went end-to-end with a steal for two more points and a midrange Bennett jumper made it a 12-0 run and put the Colonials ahead, 56-41, with 4:12 left in the game.

“Turnovers,” Wissahickon coach Kyle Wilson pointed to for the game-sealing run. “We struggled all night to take care of the basketball. We had too many possessions that ended without a good look, and that never works against good teams.”

Phil Dias stopped the run with a three-pointer for Wissahickon, but Colzie immediately responded with a three of his own — his fourth of the game. Trey Jones made a layup with 2:20 left to complete a 17-3 run and give PW a 61-44 lead.

“We had another gear there,” Bennett said. “Once Taji got that layup, oh yeah it’s over. Trey got his layups, (Marshall Baker) got his threes, Jaden got his threes, we all found each other wide open for our points. If we keep doing this, it’s going to be a long journey in the district tournament.”

The win gives Plymouth Whitemarsh (15-7, 12-4 SOL Liberty) its second straight league championship. This year’s title will be shared with Upper Dublin, which defeated Hatboro-Horsham Thursday night.

“I really appreciate league titles,” Donofrio said. “I was really not too happy with the Abington loss (Tuesday) night because that would’ve secured a tie and then outright tonight. The kids look at our banner and we’re closing in on 30 (league championships). A lot of people say district title is the best, state — that’s all great stuff. That takes a lot of magic and a whole lot of stuff. You win those and you remember those forever, but league titles show resiliency, they show consistency and they show that you’re in it for the marathon. I don’t take them for granted when we get to put one up on the banner.”

All five Colonials starters scored in double figures. Bennett finished with a game-high 19 points while Colzie added 12, Baker and Jones 11 and Hubbard 10.

Bennett was consistent throughout the 32-minute contest. He scored five points in the first, third and fourth quarters and four in the second. He added 12 rebounds for a double-double.

“When I was watching a little bit of film before today’s game,” Bennett said, “I was thinking Wiss is going to come out with a gameplan to stop me, but I didn’t let that affect my game. I did my thing, double-double.” 

Baker did all of his scoring in the middle quarters. He was hearing it from the Wissahickon student section after a first quarter miss, but hit a three at the halftime buzzer to send PW to the break with a 28-23 lead. He was fouled shooting a three in the third and drilled all three free throws before knocking down another shot from distance.

“I tried to keep a cool head,” Baker said, “not let the fans get to me too much. I just stayed level-headed and played my game.”

Earl Stout led the Trojans (14-8, 11-5 SOL Liberty) in scoring with 13 points. Dominic Vacchiano added 11 points and Morgan Wilson had eight.

Both Plymouth Whitemarsh and Wissahickon turn their attention to the postseason. PW entered Thursday No. 26 in the District 1-6A rankings while Wissahickon was No. 17. The top 24 teams qualify for playoffs. Seeding is finalized Sunday morning.

“There’s been a lot of moving parts this year,” Donofrio said. “All we need is to be in the thing and give us a week to prepare for somebody. We’ve had a heck of an offseason of teams that we played from every possible area and level in the world. If our kids decide they want to get a little bit smarter for the next four days, a little more poise and shoot with some confidence.”

Plymouth Whitemarsh 63, Wissahickon 48
Wissahickon 14 9 16 9 – 48
Plymouth Whitemarsh 15 13  16 19 – 63
Wissahickon: Twersky 2 0-0 4, Williams 3 0-1 7, Wilson 3 2-3 8, Vacchiano 4 1-2 11, Stout 6 0-1 13, Dias 2 0-0 5. Total 20 3-7 48.
Plymouth Whitemarsh: Colzie 4 0-0 12, Baker 3 3-3 11, Jones 5 0-0 11, Bennett 7 4-7 19, Hubbard 5 0-0 10, Flowers 0 0-0 0, Flynn 0 0-0 0. Total 24 7-10 63.
3-point goals: W: Williams, Vacchiano 2, Stout, Dias. PW: Colzie 4, Baker 2, Jones, Bennett.