The Reporter/Times Herald/Montgomery Media Feb. 21-22 Basketball Preview
The District 1 playoffs are in full swing and the Philadelphia Catholic League tournament is down to the semifinals. The Reporter/Times Herald/Montgomery Media area is well-represented with teams still competing for championships.
On the boys side, Plymouth Whitemarsh, Central Bucks East, North Penn and Dock Mennonite Academy are among teams starting their district runs this week while Abington and Upper Merion are among schools that pulled off first-round upsets to advance. In the PCL, Archbishop Wood is still chasing a league title.
For the girls, Souderton and Gwynedd Mercy are among schools with first-round byes while Upper Dublin and Upper Moreland advanced with first-round wins. Lansdale Catholic, Archbishop Wood and Archbishop Carroll account for 75 percent of the PCL semifinals, along with Cardinal O’Hara.
Below are game-by-game previews for area teams.
BOYS
D1-6A
Methacton at Garnet Valley >> The ninth-seeded Warriors travel to take on the eighth-seeded Jaguars in the second round Tuesday at 7 p.m.
Methacton won its first-round matchup, 48-38, over No. 24 Conestoga. Methacton’s Owen Goldstein played big minutes off the bench, scoring key baskets and providing tough defense. Alex Hermann scored a team-high 15 points and Matt Christian added 11.
Garnet Valley had a first-round bye.
The winner will face the winner of No. 1 Spring-Ford and No. 17 West Chester Henderson in the quarterfinals Friday.
Abington at Central Bucks East >> The 20th-seeded Ghosts travel to take on the fourth-seeded Patriots in the second round Tuesday at 7 p.m.
Abington upset No. 13 Pennsbury in the first round, 45-42 in overtime. Jeremiah Lee led the Ghosts with 16 points while Damon Rawls added 11.
CB East had a first-round bye.
The winner will face the winner of No. 5 Downingtown West and No. 21 Haverford in the quarterfinals Friday.
Plymouth Whitemarsh vs. Penn Wood >> The third-seeded Colonials host No. 14 Penn Wood in the second round Tuesday at 7 p.m.
Plymouth Whitemarsh is coming off a first-round bye while Penn Wood. beat No. 19 Norristown, 78-48.
The Colonials enter the playoffs riding a 16-game winning streak and won 23 of their last 24 games. Senior Qudire Bennett and juniors Jaden Colzie and Chase Coleman can all score at all three levels and make it tough on opposing defenses.
The winner will face the winner of No. 6 North Penn and No. 11 Coatesville in the quarterfinals Friday.
North Penn vs. Coatesville >> The sixth-seeded Knights host the 11th-seeded Red Raiders in the second round Tuesday at 7 p.m.
North Penn is coming off a first-round bye while Coatesville handled No. 22 Harriton, 56-38.
The Knights won 12 straight games before losing their regular season finale against CB East. They split two games in the Suburban One League Tournament to enter districts and 18-6 and winners of 13 of their last 15 games.
The winner will face the winner of No. 3 Plymouth Whitemarsh and No. 14 Penn Wood in the quarterfinals Friday.
D1-5A
Upper Merion vs. Unionville >> The 11th-seeded Vikings travel to face No. 3 Unionville in the quarterfinals Wednesday at 7 p.m.
Upper Merion, the PAC Frontier Division champion and PAC runner-up, beat No. 6 Pottstown for the third time this season in the first round, 55-50. Nick Smiley and Colin Hirshorn each scored 14 points for the Vikings while Zayd Etheridge added 12.
Unionville had a first-round bye.
The winner will face the winner of No. 2 Chichester and No. 7 Holy Ghost Prep in the semifinals Saturday.
D1-4A
Springfield Montco at Collegium Charter >> The fourth-seeded Spartans travel to face No. 1 Collegium Charter in the semifinals Tuesday at 6 p.m.
Springfield heads to the playoffs with a 7-15 record while Collegium Charter is 12-10.
The winner will face the winner of No. 2 Pope John Paul II and No. 3 Bishop Shanahan in the championship Saturday.
Pope John Paul II vs. Bishop Shanahan >> The second-seeded Golden Panthers host No. 3 Bishop Shanahan in the semifinals Tuesday at 7 p.m.
PJP sits at .500 this season with a 10-10 record. Shanahan is 7-15.
The winner will face the winner of No. 1 Collegium Charter and No. 4 Springfield Montco in the championship Saturday.
D1-2A
Dock Mennonite Academy vs. Calvary Christian Academy >> The top-seeded Pioneers host No. 4 Calvary Christian in the semifinals Tuesday at 7 p.m.
Dock is 23-2 going into districts after winning the Bicentennial Athletic League championship over the weekend. Hoyt Bultje had 15 points and Nathan Lapp added 10 in the win over Church Farm.
Dock beat Calvary Christian 67-29 on Jan. 10.
The winner will face the winner of No. 2 Church Farm and No. 3 Delco Christian in the championship Saturday.
PHILADELPHIA CATHOLIC LEAGUE
Archbishop Wood vs. Roman Catholic >> The fourth-seeded Vikings take on the second-seeded Cahillites in the PCL semifinals at 6:15 p.m. Wednesday at the Palestra.
Wood is coming off an 84-73 win over No. 5 St. Joseph’s Prep in the quarterfinals. Catholic League MVP Jalil Bethea hit six three-pointers in a 30-point performance while Josh Reed added 16 points and Milan Dean had 13.
Roman handled No. 7 Cardinal O’Hara, 76-52, in the quarters. Jermai Stewart-Herring led Roman with 20 points while Xzayvier Brown added 19 and Erik Oliver-Bush 17.
The teams met in the PCL opener on Jan. 3 and Roman won, 77-56. Wood hung tough for a half before getting outscored 46-24 in the third and fourth quarters.
The winner advances to the PCL championship Monday Feb. 27 against the winner of No. 1 Neumann-Goretti and No. 6 West Catholic at the Palestra at 8 p.m.
Girls
D1-6A
CB East at Perk Valley >> The 17th-seeded Patriots travel to face the top-seeded Vikings in the second round Wednesday at 7 p.m.
East knocked off No. 16 West Chester Henderson, 55-50, in the first round while Perk Valley had a bye.
The winner will face the winner of No. 8 Neshaminy and No. 9 Unionville in the quarterfinals Saturday.
Souderton vs. Garnet Valley >> The fourth-seeded Indians host No. 20 Garnet Valley in the second round Wednesday at 6 p.m.
Souderton had a first-round bye while Garnet Valley beat No. 13 Pennridge, 45-42.
The Indians, led by Northwestern commit Casey Harter, have had a week off since a hard-fought overtime loss against Plymouth Whitemarsh in the SOL Tournament championship game. They had won seven straight games going into that contest.
The winner will face the winner of No. 5 Spring-Ford and No. 21 North Penn in the quarterfinals Saturday.
North Penn at Spring-Ford >> The 21st-seeded Knights will travel to face the fifth-seeded Rams in the second round Wednesday at 7 p.m.
Spring-Ford had a first-round bye while North Penn got past No. 12 Great Valley, 59-57.
The winner will face the winner of No. 4 Souderton and No. 20 Garnet Valley in the quarterfinals Saturday.
Methacton at Haverford >> The 15th-seeded Warriors will travel to face No. 2 Haverford in the second round Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
Haverford had a first-round bye while Methacton handled No. 18 Coatesville, 58-38. Cassidy Kropp led the Warriors with 19 points and Mairi Smith added 17.
The winner will face the winner of No. 7 Springfield Delco and No. 10 Conestoga in the quarterfinals Saturday.
Upper Dublin at Plymouth Whitemarsh >> The 19th-seeded Cardinals travel to face the third-seeded Colonials in the second round Wednesday at 7 p.m.
Upper Dublin won its first-round matchup, 53-48, over No. 14 Council Rock South. PW had a bye.
The Cardinals and Colonials met twice during the SOL Liberty regular season and PW won both matchups. They won 33-29 on Dec. 20 and 28-26 on Feb. 2.
The winner will face the winner of No. 6 Abington and No. 11 Pennsbury in the quarterfinals Saturday.
Abington vs. Pennsbury >> The sixth-seeded Ghosts host the 11th-seeded Falcons in the second round Wednesday at 7 p.m.
Abington had a first-round bye while Pennsbury crushed No. 22 Penncrest, 48-12.
The Ghosts have been off for more than a week. Their last game was an overtime loss against Plymouth Whitemarsh in the SOL Tournament semifinals on Saturday, Feb. 11.
The winner will face the winner of No. 3 Plymouth Whitemarsh and No. 19 Upper Dublin in the quarterfinals Saturday.
D1-5A
Gwynedd Mercy Academy vs. Upper Moreland >> The fourth-seeded Monarchs host the fifth-seeded Golden Bears in the quarterfinals Tuesday at 5 p.m.
Upper Moreland beat No. 12 Strath Haven, 52-35, in the first round while GMA had a bye. Holly Gohl scored 12 of her team-high 18 points in the second half to help the Golden Bears pull away. Mikel Lancit aded 13 points.
GMA has had a week off since losing the AACA championship game to Villa Maria Academy, 55-32. The Monarchs have five losses this season – three of which came against VMA.
The winner will face the winner of No. 1 West Chester Rustin and No. 9 West Chester East in the semifinals Friday.
Mount St. Joseph Academy at Bishop Shanahan >> The seventh-seeded Magic travel to face No. 2 Bishop Shanahan in the quarterfinals at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
The Mount beat No. 10 Marple Newtown, 62-42, in the first round while Shanahan had a bye.
Georgia Pickett led the Magic with 24 points in the win while Kiersten Pumilia added 17 points.
The winner will face the winner of No. 3 Villa Maria Academy and No. 11 Phoenixville in the semifinals Friday.
D1-4A
Pope john Paul II vs. MaST Charter >> The fourth-seeded Golden Panthers travel to face No. 1 MaST Charter in the semifinals at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
PJP went 9-11 in the regular season, but faced a tough schedule in the PAC against Class-6A and Class-5A schools. MaST charter was 17-5, also facing some big schools, such as Cheltenham and William Tennent.
The winner will face the winner of No. 2 Nazareth Academy and No. 3 Merion Mercy Academy in the championship Saturday.
D1-2A
Faith Christian Academy vs. Calvary Christian >> The top-seeded Lions host No. 4 Calvary Christian in the semifinals at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
The teams met early in the season on Dec. 13 and Faith won handily, 40-20.
The winner will face the winner of No. 2 Sacred Heart and No. 3 Delco Christian in the championship Saturday.
PHILADELPHIA CATHOLIC LEAGUE
Archbishop Wood vs. Cardinal O’Hara >> The second-seeded Vikings face the third-seeded Lions in the PCL semifinals at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Saint Joseph’s University-University City.
Wood won its quarterfinal over No. 7 Conwell-Egan Catholic, 69-26. Ava Renninger scored a career-high 24 points and the Vikings hit 16 three-pointers in the dominant performance.
O’Hara handled No. 6 West Catholic 54-29.
Wood won the regular season meeting, 47-37, on Jan. 24, but the Vikings have revenge on their mind after losing to O’Hara in the PCL playoffs last year.
“We’re going to take all weekend getting prepared,” Renninger said. “We know how bad, since we lost to them last year in the semis, that we want to make it to the Palestra this year. Neither of us (Renninger or teammate Deja Evans) have been to the Palestra, so it’s a goal of both of ours to get there and play in the PCL championship.”
The winner advances to the PCL championship Monday Feb. 27 against the winner of No. 1 Lansdale Catholic and No. 4 Archbishop Carroll at the Palestra at 6 p.m.
Lansdale Catholic vs. Archbishop Carroll >> The top-seeded Crusaders face the fourth-seeded Patriots in the PCL semifinals at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Saint Joseph’s University-University City.
LC hammered No. 8 Archbishop Ryan, 53-27, in the quarterfinals. Gabby Casey led the way with 17 points, Olivia Boccella added 11 and Jaida Helm had nine.
Carroll cruised past No. 5 Neumann-Goretti, 57-41. Taylor Wilson led the Pats with 33 points and Brooke Wilson added 15.
These teams played less than two weeks in the PCL regular season finale. Lansdale Catholic picked up a road win, 42-39, behind 21 points from Casey and 10 from Helm. Taylor and Brooke Wilson combined for 33 points for Carroll.
“I’m big fans of my team first and foremost,” LC coach Eric Gidney said after that game, “but if I had to pick two other kids in the PCL that I really admire how they play and their resiliency and their determination – it’s those two. I even said to Taylor in the handshake line, ‘Good luck at Army, but I’m not going to miss you.’ They’re tough.”
The winner advances to the PCL championship Monday Feb. 27 against the winner of No. 2 Archbishop Wood and No. 3 Cardinal O’Hara at the Palestra at 6 p.m.
