Underdog Abington outlasts West Chester East in overtime
WEST GOSHEN >> It worked like a charm 10 days earlier.
With shades of the Ches-Mont Title Game — where West Chester East threw a box-and-one defense to limit Downingtown West star Dylan Blair — the Vikings did it again on Tuesday in round two of the District 1 6A Boys’ Basketball Playoffs against visiting Abington.
It worked for quite a while, daring somebody other than Ghosts’ standout Derrius Lucas to beat you, but seventh-seeded East didn’t count on Abington co-captain Connor Fields. The senior wound up pouring in a career-high 17 points and adding 15 rebounds to help No. 23 Abington stage a 41-36 overtime triumph.
“East is a heck of a team, so we’ll take it,” laughed Ghosts’ head coach Charles Grasty. “This was a great win for us and our program.
“We knew it would be a hard-fought game. I told our guys not to expect to score 70 points, and that we would have to grind it out.”
It was certainly a defensive-minded grind through 32 minutes of regulation and the OT. The Vikings (18-7 overall) put on a surge in the final 90 seconds just to get it into overtime, but Abington’s Fields and Lucas dominated the extra session.
“Abington is a program, well coached, and we knew that going in,” said East head coach Tom Durant. “Whether they are a 23rd seed or a sixth seed, they are a mainstay in the district and they’re used to this. And they play with that mentality.”
The Ghosts (16-8 overall) advance to the quarterfinals on Friday and will travel to No. 2 Lower Merion. The Vikings fall into the playbacks and will host 15th seeded Council Rock North on Friday, 7 p.m.
“Hey, we are a lower seed so we are going to have to scrap and fight, and that’s what we are going to keep doing,” said Fields, a 6-foot-6 winger.
Abington ended the clash by scoring eight of the final 10 points, with Fields scoring twice in transition and Lucas hitting a couple free throws and adding a dunk on a put-back for an exclamation, all in the final 1:24 of the OT. But it was at the defensive end that the Ghosts really shined, limiting the Ches-Mont champs to just four field goals in the second half and overtime.
“Abington plays solid defense. They have length and athleticism,” Durant said.
“To hold a team like (East) to four field goals over the course of 21 minutes like that is a credit to our guys,” Grasty added. “That’s very impressive.”
Trailing 32-27 with 1:32 to go in regulation, East stormed back with an inside bucket by Jose Ramos, and two free throws by Jack Gallagher. And when Abington missed the front end of a one-and-one with 9.8 on the clock, the Vikings got a pass ahead to Josh Sherlock and his bucket at the buzzer knotted the score at 33-all.
“We went to a trapping zone at the end there, and the guys gave everything they had,” Durant explained.
With either Sherlock or Gallagher shadowing his every move, Lucas did not score in the first half and only managed a single shot attempt. But Fields scored nine in the opening 16 minutes, and the Ghosts were only down 15-11 at the half.
“(East) threw some stuff at us,” Grasty said. “I told our guys to be prepared for it because we knew (East) played (the box-and-one) against Downingtown West.
“We told Connor there will be some looks and he did a good job getting behind the defense for some layups.”
Abington got a pair of big 3-pointers from Jeremiah Lee in the third, and took a 23-20 lead into the fourth. Eventually East had to come out of the box-and-one and Lucas scored 12 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter and overtime.
“Coach told us to feel disrespected in they are in a box-and-one on Derrius, and I took that personally,” Fields said.
“Fields really stepped up,” Durant added. “But (my assistant) coach (Rodney) Duncan did tell our guys not to lose sight of number two (Fields) coming down the lane.”
Almost lost in the upset was a breakout performance by Vikings’ freshman K.J. Cochran. The guard/forward scored a game-high 20 points, including 10 in the fourth and the OT. Offensively, it was an off-night for his teammates Jack Kushner and Sherlock.
“K.J. didn’t look like a freshman tonight,” Durant said.
“And don’t forget, we ask a lot from Jack (Kushner) and (Josh) Sherlock on defense.”
Abington 41, West Chester East 36 (OT)
Abington 6 5 12 10 8 — 41
WC East 7 8 5 13 3 — 36
ABINGTON – Fields 6 5-11 17; Scutt 1 0-0 2; Lee 2 2-5 8; Lucas 5 4-4 14. Totals 14 11-21 41.
WC EAST – Sherlock 1 1-2 3; Ramos 1 0-0 2; Kushner 0 2-2 2; Cochran 5 10-12 20; Gallagher 0 2-2 2; Price 3 0-0 7. Totals 10 15-18 36.
Three pointers: Lee 2, Price.
