Fast start to 4th quarter sends Plymouth Whitemarsh past Penn Wood, into District 1-6A quarterfinals
WHITEMARSH >> Plymouth Whitemarsh scored the first 10 points of the fourth quarter of its District 1-6A second-round playoff game against Penn Wood to turn a seven-point deficit into a three-point lead.
The final seven minutes of the game were played within one possession and when the seasaw stopped moving it was No. 3 Plymouth Whitemarsh on top, advancing to the quarterfinals with a 64-62 win over No. 14 Penn Wood at Plymouth Whitemarsh High School.
Chase Coleman’s three-point play after an offensive rebound gave the Colonials (24-2) their first lead of the second half, 47-46, with 6:23 left in the game and another Coleman putback gave the Colonials the lead for good, 63-62, in the final 30 seconds.
“They don’t expect me, as a six-foot guard, to go get rebounds,” Coleman, who had six offensive rebounds and eight total boards, said. “Where I come from, though, you have to be hard so I play with that type of energy, physicality, so I go in and try to get offensive rebounds. I’ve got one of the best big mans (Lincoln Sharpe), like a Dennis Rodman-type big man, he goes and gets it. It doesn’t matter where it’s at he’s going to go get it. (Qudire Bennett), he’s going to go in there and he’s going to rebound. Just go get rebounds and play hard – that’s what we did on the offensive end. That’s how we win.”
On the Patriots (16-7) ensuing possession, Sharpe grabbed a steal and Jahseir Sayles was fouled with 12.8 seconds to go. He split the free throws to make it a two-point game, 64-62.
With less than three seconds left in the game, Sharpe blocked Nasir Washington’s game-tying shot from just outside the paint, but the Patriots would get one final chance with 1.6 seconds left. Coleman and Sharpe both guarded Washington, who received the inbounds pass in the corner. His game-winning three-point attempt was just short, bouncing off the rim and sending the Colonials into a celebration.
Coleman scored 10 of his game-high 26 points in the fourth quarter while Bennett had eight of his 22 to help the Colonials overcome a 46-39 deficit through 24 minutes.
“Chase was not going to be denied the offensive boards, ripping the ball out of guys’ hands and finishing,” Plymouth Whitemarsh coach Jim Donofrio said. “That’s where you’re at – what a great lesson for us. Hopefully we can memorize this and take it forward. (Bennett) just rumbled to the rim and almost placed the ball in the basket. Him and Chase showed major, major heart and Rodney Willis had a big layup (in the fourth).”
Coleman scored six points while Sharpe had a putback layup for the eight straight points that gave the Colonials a 47-46 lead with 6:23 left in the game. While the Plymouth Whitemarsh offense was getting points in the paint, the defense was forcing turnovers. They grabbed five steals in the first 105 seconds of the fourth quarter.
“We played our game,” Coleman said. “We just started trapping. We played P-Dub basketball. That’s P-Dub defense. We swarm and go get them. That’s how we play basketball.”
“(Plymouth Whitemarsh is) a really good team,” Penn Wood coach Matt Lindeman said. “We knew how they play. I think it’s just a good team making plays. They just made a couple more, there. We were ready for it. I give them the credit for the way they came out with the extra little step. We’d like a couple possessions back, but the way they played defense, give them credit.”
Bennett’s basket with 5:45 to go put Plymouth Whitemarsh up three, 49-46, before the teams traded two points back-and-forth for nine possessions. Penn Wood’s Sadiq Fountain made two free throws and a basket, sandwiched around an empty Colonials possession, to put the Patriots ahead, 58-57, with 2:30 remaining.
Bennett and Washington, who scored a Penn Wood-high 23 points, traded one-point leads for more than a minute. Bennett put his side ahead, 59-58 and 61-60, while Washington raised his team to 60-59 and 62-61 advantages, the latter coming with less than 50 seconds on the clock.
“I love the way we played,” Lindeman said. “It was a great game. Two teams punching back and forth. That’s what we expected. We expected to be in that spot and it came down to an inch or two tonight. I’m proud of my team. We’re not happy with the result, but it was a great high school game.”
Coleman’s putback gave Plymouth Whitemarsh the lead for good while Sharpe’s steal and block, along with Sayles’ free throw, helped the Colonials seal the game.
“We have a rotation when we trap where you have to guard two guys at once,” Sharpe said. “In that second half, I was just locked in. At that time, I just read it perfectly. The first half I think I was a little off. I think the second half when you just completely shut everything off, that’s when you can see everything slow down a little bit.”
Penn Wood took control in the second quarter, scoring eight straight points for a 21-16 lead. Fountain made one basket and had three assists to account for all eight points.
The Patriots advantage grew to 28-21 and had a chance to get larger, but a missed dunk turned into a Bennett three-point play at the other end. Instead of a 30-21 lead it was 28-24. They went into halftime ahead, 30-25.
Plymouth Whitemarsh got within one twice in the third quarter, 30-29 and 35-34, but couldn’t move ahead or get even. Washington had eight points in the third while the Patriots out-rebounded the Colonials 10-1 to extend the lead to seven, 46-39. Mekhi Shillingsford had five rebounds, three of which were offensive, in the quarter.
Plymouth Whitemarsh clinches a spot in the state playoffs and will face No. 6 North Penn in the District 1-6A quarterfinals Friday.
Penn Wood goes into the playback bracket and will need to beat No. 11 Coatesville for a spot in states.
“We’re going to let this hurt for a little bit, drive us into the next game,” Lindeman said. “We’ll be ready for Friday.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh 64, Penn Wood 62
Penn Wood 13 17 16 16 – 62
Plymouth Whitemarsh 14 11 14 25 – 64
Penn Wood: Nasir Washington 8 6-6 23, Mekhi Shillingsford 4 2-2 10, Sadiq Fountain 3 2-2 8, Jayden Thompson 1 0-0 2, Donald Hairston 4 2-2 10, Kivaleon Clarke 1 0-0 2, Chris Taylor 1 2-3 4, Prestin Washington 1 0-0 3. Total 23 14-15 62.
Plymouth Whitemarsh: Jaden Colzie 2 0-2 5, Chase Coleman 7 11-12 26, Qudire Bennett 7 6-7 22, Jahseir Sayles 0 1-2 1, Lincoln Sharpe 4 0-2 8, Jimmy Flowers 0 0-0 0, Rodney Willis 1 0-0 2, Ben Marsico 0 0-0 0. Total 21 18-25 64.
3-point goals: Penn Wood: Nasir Washington, Prestin Washington. Plymouth Whitemarsh: Jaden Colzie, Qudire Bennett 2, Chase Coleman.
