Brown pours in 25 to power Unionville past Upper Merion
EAST MARLBOROUGH >> Some might consider the lack of star power a deficiency for a basketball team. But with the Unionville boys, it’s a strength.
It’s been the case all season and was apparent once again in the District 1 5A Quarterfinal clash with visiting Upper Merion. Rarely his team’s leading scorer, junior guard Ryan Brown came within a point of his career high, and the Longhorns needed a lift to overcome a slow start and pull away late for a hard-fought 69-50 victory over the Vikings.
“We have five or six guys that average eight to 12 points (per game),” Brown said. “So that definitely makes it tougher on opponents because a couple guys can be cold but we have other guys that can get hot.”
Brown was that guy Wednesday, pouring in a game-high 25 points. Now 21-4 overall, third-seeded Unionville will travel to No. 2 Chichester for a district semifinal contest on Saturday.
“We have talented guys and when they are being unselfish, then naturally the scoring is going to be spread out,” said Longhorns’ head coach Chris Cowles. “And it will be different guys in different games. To tell you the truth, I don’t know how many points (Ryan) had.”
When told, Cowles just smiled. Upper Merion head coach Jason Quenzer acknowledged that it is, indeed, a challenge for the opposing defense.
“We scout a lot of teams, and we identified two guys in (Unionville’s) rotation that don’t look to shoot it – but everybody else lets it fly,” he said. “They find the guy and they ride the hot hand.”
The 11th-seeded Vikings fall to 14-12, but they hung with the ’Horns well into the fourth quarter. The margin was just five with less than five minutes on the clock, but Unionville scored 18 of the game’s final 22 points.
“The score is not indicative of the kind of game it was,” Quenzer said. “I’m proud of my guys, but I wish we could have a few possessions back.”
In one key sequence, the Longhorns grabbed two offensive rebounds, which led to a Brown bucket with 3:58 to go. On the ensuing possession, freshman James Brenner blocked an Upper Merion shot and that led to a Brown 3-pointer.
Then Unionville’s Charlie Kammeier drew an offensive foul, and that led to a couple free throws by teammate Robbie Logan. And moments later, J.T. Anderson turned a steal into an uncontested lay-up, and with 1:41 remaining it was 62-48.
“(Unionville) made a couple plays in a row down the stretch, and in a game like this, that can be the difference,” Quenzer said.
“We hit a few shots and carried that momentum over to the defensive end,” Brown added. “Brenner had the block, we went down and scored, and then Chuck (Kammeier) draws an offensive charge. That was a huge stretch.”
The Longhorns then converted seven of the next eight from the free throw line to close it out.
“We were in a similar situation in the last game we played (against Downingtown West in the Ches-Mont Final), but we had stronger movements tonight,” Cowles explained. “We got into the (free throw) bonus instead of making turnovers, and that’s the different between that game (a 46-43 loss) and what happened tonight.”
It was yet another slow start for the Longhorns, who missed their first seven shots and turned it over two other times. But it would have been even worse if it wasn’t for Brown, who scored Unionville’s first seven points, and 13 of the first 20.
The Vikings were unable to fully advantage of the start, however, and actually trailed 11-10 heading into the second period.
“At the end of the first quarter, we could have scored 20 and we ended up with 10,” Quenzer said. “We rushed some shots and been a little more patient. We had the early momentum, but we gave it up.”
Brown buried two more 3-pointers early in the second period to key a 9-0 run which opened a 20-14 lead. And his backcourt mate, Anderson, sparked a late 6-0 run to make it 32-24 at the half.
Trailing by as much as 11 in the third, Upper Merion made one last surge with a 9-3 rally that was capped off by a 3-point play by Colin Hirshorn to make it 51-46 early in the fourth. But that was as close as the Vikings would get.
“Every time we found ourselves down by 11 or so, we found a way to cut it down,” Quenzer said.
“But you need to defend the (3-point) line like crazy against (Unionville) because they can get out and shoot from wherever on the court. They move the ball very well and they play a fast pace.”
Brown finished with four 3-pointers, and Anderson added 16 points for the ’Horns. Elijah Davis and Allen Cole each scored nine to pace Upper Merion.
“Today my shot felt good. Once I made the first shot, I just kept shooting,” Brown said.
“We definitely did not start off the way we should have. But we started going back to what we traditionally do, playing solid defense and hitting a couple 3’s and that got us back on track.”
Unionville 69, Upper Merion 50
Upper Merion 10 14 17 9 — 50
Unionville 11 21 16 21 — 69
UPPER MERION – Smiley 3 0-0 7; Ethridge 2 2-2 6; Cole 3 0-0 9; Swayze 3 0-0 6; Davis 4 1-1 9; Hirshorn 3 2-3 8; Riley 2 0-0 5. Totals 20 5-6 50.
UNIONVILLE – Ash 0 0-2 0; Logan 1 4-4 7; Napolitano 2 0-0 5; Anderson 5 4-5 16; Kammeier 2 0-0 4; Diehl 2 1-1 5; Brenner 2 3-3 7. Totals 22 16-22 69.
Three-pointers: Smiley, Cole 3, Riley, Logan, Anderson 2, Brown 4.
