COLLEGEVILLE — Two days after being being blown out on their home floor, the mission was simple for EJ Campbell and Spring-Ford: don’t get out-toughed.
Mission accomplished.
Campbell scored 10 of his team-high 18 points in a decisive fourth quarter that allowed the Rams to upend host Perkiomen Valley 50-41 and clinch a PAC Liberty Division crown. It certainly wasn’t easy at times, especially when Spring-Ford scored just one point in the third quarter while watching a lead as large as 12 evaporate.
With Tuesday’s humbling 71-49 loss to Methacton still on his mind, Campbell dug deep, sinking his final four field goals with the game on the line.
“Earlier in the week, that was one of the worst losses since I’ve been here,” the senior said. “Methacton out-toughed us. Coming into this game, we knew a lot was at stake so we buckled down and didn’t let ourselves get out-toughed again.”
It was a sterling defensive effort for Campbell and company, who held Perkiomen Valley star guard Julian Sadler to 15 points, more than six below his season average. Sadler made just four field goals and took only nine total shots in the game as the Rams limited him to five second-half points.
“Every time we play them, Sadler gets hot in the second half,” Campbell said. “At halftime, we talked about mixing up our defenses. We sent two guys at him, pressed him, just did everything we could to make him uncomfortable and let their other players try to beat us.”
Spring-Ford also got solid contributions from reserve junior Jordan Marsilio, who made both of his field goal attempts and went 7-for-8 from the foul line, scoring five of his 11 points in the final quarter. Junior Tommy Kelly chipped in nine points, and the Rams shot 16 of 22 from the stripe compared to 7 of 14 for Perk Valley.
“We picked a bad night not to shoot well — from outside and the free-throw line,” Vikings head coach Mike Poysden said. “In a game you know is going to be tight, we can’t shoot 7 of 14 from the line. I thought we were too perimeter-oriented, and after holding them to one point in the third quarter, we needed to reward ourselves by getting easier looks. Just wasn’t our night shooting.”
The Rams led by nine after one and again at halftime before PV shaved the deficit down to two entering the final period. The Vikings tied the score three times early in the fourth, but every time they did, Campbell came up with a clutch bucket. With the Rams holding on to a 37-34 lead, Campbell scored on consecutive possessions to push the lead back to seven, and Perk Valley got no closer than five the rest of the way.
“Sadler was dogging EJ on defense, so it wasn’t easy for him to get space,” Spring-Ford head coach Joe Dempsey said. “Once we started spreading the floor, EJ got to the rim. We needed him at the end, and he came through for sure.”
By virtue of winning the Liberty Division title, Spring-Ford (9-1 Liberty, 12-1 PAC, 17-5 overall) will receive a first-round bye in the upcoming PAC playoffs and won’t have to play its next game until Feb. 9. That was in large part due to Campbell’s fourth-quarter heroics, as the senior refused to let a brutal third period derail his team.
“It was a rough third quarter,” he said. “My teammates trust me, and being one of our two seniors, I had to put the team on my back. I trusted my skills, played with confidence and put trust in my coaches, who let me be me. I got downhill and really created.”
It was just the fourth loss of the entire season for Perk Valley, two of which have come at the hands of Spring-Ford. The Vikings (7-3 Liberty, 10-3 PAC, 18-4 overall) also got 14 points from senior Josh Tagert. Senior Kyle Shawaluk (eight points) and junior Anthony Rodriguez (four) were the only other PV players to score, accentuating how relentless the Rams played defensively.
“It’s a brand new season, and now you’re only promised one more,” Poysden said. “The margin for error certainly reduces. Our attention to detail has to increase. On a stage like this, mistakes get magnified. The biggest takeaway as we move into our second season is we need to close those gaps a little bit.”
Perkiomen Valley, ranked No. 10 in District 1-6A, have also earned a place in the PAC tournament. The Vikings, who will serve as host, will return to action in Tuesday’s opening round against an opponent to be determined.
Two days after one of the worst losses of his career, Campbell and the Rams walked out of Perkiomen Valley as division champions. And while Campbell said he was thrilled to win the PAC Liberty title, he believes Spring-Ford is far from finished.
“It feels great,” he said. “It was one of my goals this year to win the division. Trying to win a PAC championship is our next goal. We’ll take it one game at a time. We have some time off, so we just have to stay locked in.”
Spring-Ford 50, Perkiomen Valley 41
Spring-Ford 17 8 1 23 – 50
Perkiomen Valley 8 9 8 16 – 41
Spring-Ford: Kelly 2 1 2-4 9, Nguyen 1 0 3-4 5, Campbell 6 1 3-4 18, Dellangelo 0 2 1-2 7, Mokonchu 0 0 0-0 0, Marsilio 2 0 7-8 11, Turner 0 0 0-0 0. Totals 11 4 16-22 50
Perk Valley: Harken 0 0 0-2 0, Sadler 2 2 5-8 15, Murphy 0 0 0-0 0, Shawaluk 0 2 2-4 8, Tagert 4 2 0-0 14, Rodriguez 2 0 0-0 4, Wagoner 0 0 0-0 0. Totals 8 6 7-14 41
