Boys Basketball: Nasir Washington finds his feet, carries Penn Wood past Norristown
LANSDOWNE — Penn Wood’s Nasir Washington seems to rely solely on his natural abilities, of which there are many. The 6-foot-3 senior guard works at his craft, even if there can be a few stumbles along the way.
Washington also likes to work out three times a day. That’s a heavy load, but it’s hard to argue with the results.
Thursday, for instance, Washington made 300 shots in a nighttime workout and that paid huge dividends against Norristown in the opening round of the District 1 Class 6A opener Friday night.
Washington poured in 37 points in just three quarters to pace Penn Wood to a 78-48 romp over the Eagles.
“I just came in today all confident,” said Washington, who finished three points shy of equaling his career high. “This is my last year, so I’m just doing whatever I can to help the team.”
Myron Kirlew led the 19th-seeded Eagles (10-14) with 22 points but it wasn’t enough to offset Washington’s torrid shooting performance. He didn’t miss many.
Washington was 12-for-17 from the field overall and a blistering 9-for-12 from 3-point range. He also handed out a pair of assists to send the 14th-seeded Patriots (16-6) into Tuesday’s second round at No. 3 Plymouth Whitemarsh. The winner of that game automatically qualifies for the PIAA tournament. The loser goes into the playback round.
Washington scored 15 points in the first quarter to stake Penn Wood to a 27-13 lead the Patriots would never relinquish. He added 10 more points in the second period and 12 in the third before calling it a night after taking a few hard falls in the quarter.
“I always fall,” Washington said. “I don’t know what it is but I just can’t keep my balance sometimes, but I’m good.”
As good as Washington was, it was the defense that set the tone for the Patriots. The Patriots forced nine turnovers in the first half, six in the opening quarter, and turned those Norristown miscues into 14 points and a 46-19 lead at the break.
“Our coach (Matt Lindeman) wanted to pressure them because we knew they couldn’t handle as good as people thought they could,” he said. “Our coach came in with a game plan and we carried out the game plan and we won.”
“That’s been our story, taking care of the basketball,” Norristown coach Rick Bell said. “That’s why we got into certain jams. We just don’t take care of the basketball. Those turnovers kill us. If you have double digit turnovers it’s hard to win a basketball game.”
This game was a far cry from the nailbiter in December between the teams, one that the Patriots won, 54-53. The Eagles rallied in the fourth quarter to make it close. Washington and the Patriots weren’t about to let that happen again.
“You can’t let up,” Washington said. “It’s a playoff game. You can’t let them come back.”
