Late-game run helps Methacton finish off PJP for 4th PAC title in 5 seasons

ROYERSFORD >> The foundation was set. Now the current members of the Methacton boys basketball program are thrilled to be adding another level.

The Warriors added to their championship legacy by dispatching Pope John Paul II, 55-42, in the Pioneer Athletic Conference title game at Spring-Ford, the first for current head coach Pat Lockard who was quick to share kudos for the foundational elements set in place from long-running and highly successful previous head coach Jeff Derstine

“Coach Derstine did a great job laying the foundation,” Lockard said while the Methacton players and fans celebrated the traditional net-cutting ceremony afterward. “That made it easier for me to accomplish this.”

.@MHS_BoysBBall senior guard was half of a terrific duo with senior forward Cole Hargrove that led Methacton to a third PAC title in four years on Tuesday. pic.twitter.com/y8ZbWu9sys

— Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue) February 16, 2022

 

Methacton reclaimed the PAC mantle by adding the program’s sixth title finish through the past 10 years … their fifth since 2018.

Their previous “threepeat” (2018-20) supplanted by Pope John Paul II being the regular-season champion during the COVID-impacted 2021 campaign, the Warriors (22-2) were stout through the recently-completed regular season and early rounds of the PAC’s Final Six playoffs. But their reclamation of the league championship was challenged by the Golden Panthers (13-8) for the better part of the night.

It took a 10-point run in a three-minute stretch of the final 4:09 for Methacton to decide the affair. Senior 6-8 forward Cole Hargrove was the runaway scoring leader, his overall dominating game headed by a 22-point performance. Bret Byrne chipped in with another 18 points as the game’s number-two offensive leader. J.P. Baron had 16 for PJP.

“They’re heck of players, and fun to watch,” Lockard said of his senior standouts. “Cole was big at the defensive end, making rebounds and blocking shots. “

One particular block by Hargrove proved pivotal in the final outcome. With the Panthers threatening Methacton’s 37-36 lead early in the fourth, Hargrove slapped the ball out of the air. Byrne took the ball the length of the floor with 6:04 to go, making it a 39-36 game.

Though Baron hit a basket at 5:16 to return the contest to a one-point affair, the Warriors got seven unanswered points from Hargrove. Methacton’s towering 6-foot 8 forward sandwiched buckets around junior Matt Christian’s driving inside jumper.

The Warriors went 5-for-6 from the line in a 28-second span, the run interrupted only by a Kevin Green basket.

“Cole making that block, and Methacton going the length of the floor … that was big,” PJP head coach Brendan Stanton noted. “He’s the best rim protector in the league. He covers a lot of ground.

“Early on, we tried to space it out, protecting the paint. But he blocked a lot of shots.”

With help from successive 3-point baskets by Dylan Russ, PJP had the early edge, answering hits by Methacton with shots to stay up by three. But the Warriors closed out the first quarter with six unanswered points – a Byrne jumper from the lane, another by Christian and a bucket from  Hargrove with eight seconds left – to lead 13-10.

The Panthers came back to pull even three times in the first 3-1/2 minutes of the second quarter, going up 21-19 with Jaden Workman making a pair of free throws with about 3:30 left until the half.  A Byrne “three” and Hargrove jumper from the lane got the Warriors back on top 24-21, but Trey Rogers hooked a 3-pointer and Workman basket at the end enabled PJP to force a 26-26 tie at intermission.

“We knew they were going to the rim,” Methacton senior Matt Blakemore said. “We worked to communicate with each other.

“We all believe in each other,” he added. “We know we are the better team.”

Methacton used a six-point run early in the third quarter to take a 32-29 lead, successive buckets from Cam Chilson following Colin Meyer’s driving layup fueled the rally from a 29-26 deficit. But PJP went up by two (36-34) before Blakemore hit an underhanded layup to close a 36-36 tie.

Baron answered with a basket at 5:16, but the Warriors went on a seven-point run with Hargrove making a traditional 3-point play (basket and free throw) for a 45-38 lead with 2:24 left.

At that point, PJP sent Methacton to the line four times down the stretch, attempting to get the ball back. But Chilson, Hargrove and Byrne made pairs of foul shots after Christian hit the first of two attempts, and Byrne hit a bucket inside the final 44 seconds to steam away from PJP.

“We talk about how the games are not over until the end,” Lockard said. “The losses are unfortunate, but they spin the postseason our way. We know we have to keep our foot on the gas and finish games.”

With the District 1 playoffs kicking into gear starting Friday, Lockard is planning to give his players some time to savor their latest PAC title.

“Maybe a day or two,” he said with a laugh. “The team has high aspirations. They’re greedy, happy to stay on the path.”

NOTES >> Methacton junior varsity coach and varsity assistant David Ford has been on the Methacton bench for all six of the Warriors’ PAC titles.