BOYS’ BASKETBALL: Pottstown dominates second half, beats Norristown in PAC quarterfinals

GRATERFORD >> Pottstown forgot to put Jahmir Jackson’s name in the scorebook for its Pioneer Athletic Conference quarterfinal matchup against Norristown Wednesday night at Perkiomen Valley High School. The coaching staff knew they’d get an indirect technical foul for adding him in the middle of the game and waited for the right moment.

They decided to take it after halftime and Norristown split its two free throws. Jackson, seeing action for the first time since Jan. 13, certainly provided enough on the floor to counteract the one-point swing on the scoreboard.

The junior brother of senior stars Sadeeq and Abdul entered the game in the third quarter and provided a spark. With the Trojans ahead by three late in the third quarter, he grabbed a steal and found Sadeeq leading a fast break for a three-point play. He grabbed another steal moments later and went end-to-end, beating the buzzer, to give his side an eight-point lead with eight minutes remaining.

The five straight points started a 17-3 run through most of the fourth quarter that sealed the game. No. 3 Pottstown defeated No. 6 Norristown, 77-57, to advance to the PAC semifinals for the second straight season.

“You know what you get from (Jahmir Jackson),” Pottstown coach Ken Ivory said. “You’re going to get buckets. You’re going to get energy. He’s downhill automatically. He’s intense. He was sitting there itching, but we had to wait it out and decide when was the best moment to do it.”

“I come in 100-percent focused,” Jahmir Jackson said. “That’s just what I do every day. I’ve got to be confident. It’s all about confidence.”

During the 12-3 spurt to start the fourth and put the game out of reach, Sadeeq Jackson had eight of his season-high 34 points and Jurrell Young scored four of his 17. At the end of the run the advantage was 71-54 with less than three minutes to play.

“I was just waiting for it to come,” Sadeeq Jackson said. “I knew the spark was going to happen. I didn’t know when, but I knew it was going to come. I knew our team was going to take off.”

“Our kids are in shape,” Ivory said. “They work hard. We push them to the limit and they respond every time. Hills and suicides and constant conditioning is what I think led to us being able to keep it going.”

Norristown made just two shots in the fourth quarter while turning the ball over four times.

“We started to fracture a little bit at the seams,” Norristown coach Chris Podsobinski said. “I think the gravity of ‘it could be your last game’ set in. We fought, but we missed layups, not getting calls, getting frustrated, overly frustrated due to the situation.”

Sadeeq Jackson scored consistently throughout the night to get his 34 points. He had seven in the first quarter, six in the second, nine in the third and 12 in the fourth. He hit one three – his first basket of the night – and 14 twos. He was 3-for-3 from the free-throw line.

“Just coming prepared and locked in,” he credited for the big performance. “I’m going to be honest. Coming prepared and locked in – that’s just key. It’s real important for me to set the tone and be a leader and set the tone for my team to have them locked in and ready to go. Nothing is coming easy in this league and nobody’s going to give us nothing. We have to go get everything that we want.”

The win sends Pottstown (16-6) to a PAC semifinal matchup with Frontier Division champion Phoenixville at 6 p.m. Friday evening back at Perkiomen Valley High School. The second-seeded Phantoms swept Pottstown this season, 64-55 on Jan. 5 and 55-40 on Jan. 30.

“I told my young kids before the game we want this to be the new normal,” Ivory said. “Some of these kids play JV and they’re here just to see what this experience is like and understand – don’t take it for granted. It’s expected now from them. This is something we want for our program and our community. The history here is epic and it’s awesome and I want to be a part of that. I don’t want to be satisfied with just getting here.

“We want to bring a trophy back to Strom (Gymnasium). That’s our goal. Big game on Friday with a team that had our number twice. We just want to put the pedal to the metal and try to live up to the legacy of those guys that came before us.”

Pottstown and Norristown (12-11) were close until the final seconds of the third quarter. Just five days after Pottstown won a regular season meeting, 72-69, the teams were tied 14-14 after the first quarter. Pottstown built a seven-point lead late in the second quarter, but Norristown’s Jayden Byrd, who finished with 23 points, scored five straight to end the half and get the Eagles within two, 33-31.

Myon Kirlew split the technical free throws to start the second half to get the Eagles within one. Kirlew, who finished with 17 points, gave Norristown a pair of one-point leads in the third quarter, but Pottstown answered right back each time.

The loss ends Norristown’s season. The Eagles finished just outside of the District 1-6A playoff field.

“I’m proud of them,” Podsobinski said. “We met in July. I wish I had these guys for two or three years. We’ve come a long way from July until now, from the beginning of the season until now. The six seniors – they have a pretty good bond together. I just wish I would have had them longer. If we started the season at the mid-point and give us another month, I think we’re doing something, but we just ran out of time.”

Pottstown 77, Norristown 57

Norristown 14 17 20 6 – 57

Pottstown 14 19 26 18 – 77

N: Jayden Byrd 9 1 2-3 23, Miles Daniels 1 0 2-3 4, Rashon Giddens 3 0 0-0 6, Kevin Bonds 2 0 3-5 7, Myon Kirlew 4 2 3-4 17. Total 19 3 10-15 57.

P: Dillon Mayes 1 0 0-0 2, Abdul Jackson 4 0 5-7 13, Jurrell Young 6 1 2-4 17, Sadeeq Jackson 14 1 3-3 34, Nahzier Booker 2 0 1-3 5, DiMark Lyons 1 0 0-1 2, Jahmir Jackson 2 0 0-0 4. Total 30 2 11-18 77.