After rough roads, Penn Wood, Lower Merion renew acquaintances

Two years ago, as Central League and Del Val champs, respectively, Lower Merion and Penn Wood were fated to the lousy draw of a second-round tilt. Lower Merion, as the eight seed, won that one, 58-43, and went to states. No. 9 Penn Wood bowed out in playbacks.

In the present, with neither side having the kind of season it’s become accustomed to, a rematch in the first round of the Class AAAA tournament Friday night seems fitting for two of the titans of District One.

No. 22 Penn Wood (12-10) takes the trip to Lower Merion, a daunting ambience even if the team that calls it home hasn’t been as consistent a force as in recent years.

Lower Merion’s 15-7 record is impressive. Their nonleague track record, whipping York and JP McCaskey, fosters hope in the even they get to states. But they limp into the postseason, losers of four of seven. That late freefall, which included a 54-44 setback to Haverford Jan. 30, excluded them from the Central League tournament, consigning them to fourth. They lost by identical 63-57 margins at home to Conestoga and Ridley in the last two weeks after being pounded by them away from home.

The Aces are a bit of a conundrum. They have talent, for sure. But their best scorer, Terrell Jones, is also their most steady ball-handler. In the loss to Ridley Jan. 8, for instance, their offense was disjointed, generating mostly when Jones isolated on a defender, which he’s really good at. But without a point guard running the show – as senior KJ Helton did ably last year but not as consistently this – it’s tough to get shooters like Noah Fennell and bigs Dion Harris and Jeremy Horn involved.

When Lower Merion can establish a halfcourt rhythm, they’re tough to beat. But that’s occasionally a big if. The 6-foot-8 Horn is tremendously mercurial, but he’s a matchup problem for Penn Wood. Jordan Johnson, a football lineman by trade, has the muscle to body him up but stands just 6-foot-5. The lankier Vincent Smalls (6-foot-4) and Pernell Ghee (6-foot-3) are quicker of foot and can pester him defensively. (With his ability to handle the ball, Harris may present an even graver challenge.)

Penn Wood has the potential to ratchet up the tempo and make Lower Merion uncomfortable or force them into jump shots. With the strength of Calvin Melton, the length of Javon Lindsey-Terrell and the guidance of Kairi Jones, the Patriots will likely have to ride the defensive momentum to a victory.

Offensively, Penn Wood has its question marks. No one is averaging more than 11.1 points per game. Their leading scorer in the last six games is Ryan Kelly, who was a bench player to start the season but has averaged 12.5 per down the stretch. His quickness and ability to get easy buckets in transition is precisely what Lower Merion must curtail.

While there’s no marquee scorer like in years past, Penn Wood has nine players who’ve scored in double-figures on multiple occasions this season. That’s almost two starting lineups of guys that can be the leading scorer every night. That’s rare. And if they spread the wealth, they can give the Aces fits.

Penn Wood’s key to victory: Get Lindsey-Terrell going. As many long-range shooters go, he can be hit-or-miss. But the Patriots are 9-4 in games where he hits a 3-pointer. He leads the team with 19 makes, but his last double-figures scoring game was Jan. 7. If Lindsey-Terrell can hit some shots and force Lower Merion to respect the 3, then Penn Wood’s dribble-drive game becomes that much more deadly.