Alex Hermann, late free throws lift Methacton boys basketball over Perkiomen Valley

GRATERFORD >> Tied 47-47 with 18 seconds left in the game, Alex Hermann stood at the free-throw line with a chance to create the necessary separation Methacton boys basketball needed.

The first shot — swish. The second one missed, but Hermann went for the offensive board and got sent back to the line in the process.

There he found that second point, enough for the Warriors to seal a 49-47 win over Perkiomen Valley to open Pioneer Athletic Conference play on Friday.

“I just wanted to win the game. I knew we just needed points,” Hermann said. “After that, they only had one shot left. I knew we could play good defense, we just needed one (point). I was kinda mad I didn’t make more, but we came out with the win.”

With the graduation of Cole Hargrove — last year’s Mercury Player of the Year who averaged 15.7 ppg — there’s no shortage of scoring production that Methacton has needed filling. But so far this winter, Hermann has been the guy.

The junior forward entered Friday’s tilt against the Vikings (4-1) averaging 17.5 ppg, second-most in the PAC. Against Perkiomen Valley, Hermann put up 23 points, nine of them in the fourth quarter as both teams went blow-for-blow down the stretch.

Having competed in the Competitive Edge fall league with his Methacton teammates in the offseason, Hermann and the rest of the Warriors (5-1) had time to gel and have been clicking offensively through their first six games. Evan Spang put up 10 points while Matt Christian — who led the PAC in 3-pointers last year with 57 — added nine points on three shots from deep.

“From the spring to the fall, we’ve gotten much better,” Hermann said.

Q1, 5:02 — Spang with another bucket on the next possession, Methacton starts with a 9-0 run. pic.twitter.com/OjiItRBw7E

— Evan Wheaton (@EvanWheaton) December 16, 2022

Prior to the fourth-quarter slugfest, Methacton opened with a nine-point run to start the game and controlled the tempo early on, and particularly in the second quarter, taking lengthy possessions and not allowing any points for Perkiomen Valley through the first four minutes of the frame.

But behind a 23-point performance from Julian Sadler and another 13 from Shane Nelson, the Vikings surged in the second half, climbing back into a game that up to that point was going entirely Methacton’s way. The Vikings took their first lead of the night after back-to-back layups from Morgan McKinney and Sadler on their initial possessions of the fourth quarter.

Sadler is coming off a standout sophomore season in which he led Perkiomen Valley’s scoring at 10.7 ppg. Midway through December, the 6-foot-2 guard led the entire PAC with 21.3 ppg ahead of Friday’s contest.

“Julian certainly has the ability to impact both sides of the ball pretty well,” Vikings coach Michael Poysden said. “It’s fun to watch his growth over these three years together. We’re excited he’s on our squad.”

Eleven of Sadler’s points came in the fourth quarter — highlighted by a spinning layup in traffic and a 3-pointer — where he often retook the lead for Perkiomen Valley.

And with 52 seconds left in the game, Sadler drilled a pair at the line, setting up the 47-47 tie before Hermann snapped it to go the distance.

“Perk Valley does a great job of playing at their pace and their tempo,” Warriors coach Pat Lockard said. “We knew that going into this game. We knew that’d be the case, so we wanted to pick up the pressure against them, try and extend our defense a little bit. They handled it very well, didn’t get rattled at all.”

Q4, 4:30 — Sadler drains a three, Perk Valley back up 41-40. pic.twitter.com/nkNmcxPdDt

— Evan Wheaton (@EvanWheaton) December 17, 2022

Methacton has won four of the last five PAC titles and six in the last decade. With huge departures from Hargrove and Brett Byrne (12.9 ppg), the Warriors are still finding their identity in order to keep their conference dynasty going.

Though Perkiomen Valley has good size with Hadi Iskandarani, McKinney and Nelson — all 6-foot-3 forwards — and star power in Sadler, Methacton was able to pull out a tight road win to put down an early marker in the Liberty divisional standings.

“We have to find our own identity and what this team’s really about,” Lockard said. “These first six games of the season, I think we’re starting to understand how we can succeed as a team. Tonight was a great example of that.”

Methacton 49, Perkiomen Valley 47