Cheltenham edges Methacton in District 1-6A second round

Patrick Fleury didn’t put much weight on Methacton’s seed. The Cheltenham boys basketball coach knew the Warriors were a much tougher out than the number next to their name indicated.

“With a shortened season, that’s not really a 16 seed team,” said Fleury in a phone interview after Tuesday night’s District 1-6A second round contest.

It took until the final seconds to final settle the rematch of last year’s district final. Visiting Methacton’s shot to send the game to overtime after a full-court inbounds pass hit the iron and the top-seeded Panthers held on to claim a 45-43 victory.

“Obviously it wasn’t how we wanted it to happen, so that was tough to go through,” Fleury said. “But again trusting in the guys and just what the plan was and then at the end, the play before that when they scored and then got the delay of game that was just us having to play through a lot of different circumstances that makes it difficult to win in playoff games when you’re playing good teams.”

Methacton jumped out to a 13-6 lead after a quarter and kept Cheltenham (14-1) at bay until the third when the Panthers’ frenetic defense began to pay off.

Two Mike McClain free throws had Cheltenham up 35-34 entering the fourth with an 8-2 run to open the final quarter gave the Panthers a 43-36 lead after Saleem Payne’s three-point play.

A Brett Byrne 3-pointer pulled the Warriors within 43-41 but Justin Savage’s two free throws with under 20 seconds left in regulation gave Cheltenham a four-point edge.

Michael Merola scored off a drive to cut Methacton’s deficit down to 45-43 while the Panthers missing the front end of a 1-and-1 gave the Warriors a chance to win or tie but needing to go the length of the court.

Methacton opted for the long heave, the ball getting to Byrne, who let go a one-handed runner from the right side but the effort hit the rim and bounced off.

“The play was designed to throw it to Cole (Hargrove) and I think that the pass got a little bit off down there and so Steve (Penjuke) was able to get his hand in there,” said Methacton coach Pat Lockard by phone. “And the ball bounced to your best player for like eight feet from the hoop.

“I didn’t draw it up like that but that’s a great way for us to have an opportunity to tie the ball game but unfortunately we just couldn’t get that bounce from Brett right there but I thought he played a heck of a game.”

Payne scored 10 of his game-high 20 points in the second quarter for Cheltenham, which advances to the district quarterfinals for the second straight year. The Panthers host No. 9 Lower Merion 7 p.m. Friday. The Aces knocked off No. 8 Downingtown West 70-59.

“I think our coaches definitely continued to talk to the guys and I think the guys responded to what was being asked of them within that timeframe,” Fleury said. “And then we got a couple to fall, obviously we didn’t get many, which according to the season we haven’t really been in the 40s but to pull one out with that score, just shows the guys are more worried about winning than anything else.

Byrne connected on five 3-pointers in scoring a team-high 17 points for Methacton.

“He’s been our captain, our leader, our kind of rock to be able to rely on when things got crazy or if the pressure turns up,” said Lockard of Byrne. “He’s been through the battles of the team from last year and so I think he really carried that confidence into this year.”

The Warriors, the defending District 1-6A champ – beating Cheltenham 73-48 in last year’s title game – finish their 2021 campaign at 11-7.

“Our message all season long was every team’s going through kind of the stuff we’re going through with wearing facemasks and then having to play multiple games in a week,” Lockard said. “And it was just about who’d be able to handle that adversity the best and I thought we really did a good job of staying together through all of this.”

In the third, a Payne 3-point play tied the game at 28 while a Savage basket put the Panthers up 30-28 for their first lead since 5-4 in the first quarter.

Rasheem Dearry’s three gave Cheltenham a 33-30 advantage before a Byrne triple and Ryan Baldwin free throw had Methacton up 34-30. But McClain’s pair at the line gave the Panthers the lead for good and sent the host into the fourth ahead by a point.

An Elias Walker jumper made it 37-34 before a Penjuke basket had the Warriors within one. Dearry’s corner three took a high hop of the rim then bounced through for a 40-36 Panthers lead. On the other end, Dearry made a baseline save for a steal led to Payne’s three-point play to put the hosts ahead 43-36.

“‘Sheem is coming off of an injury so we weren’t even sure if was going to be able to go at first,” said Fleury of Dearry. “One, obviously him being able to go was a big for us a junior and a starter, you know we’re working him back in. But I think Ife West-Ingram also came in early in the first quarter and gave us life which allowed us to stick around cause obviously we struggled in the first quarter in terms of scoring.”

Methacton drained a trio of three-pointers – two from Byrne – to end the first quarter on a 9-1 run and lead 13-6.

Payne proceeded to give a jolt to the Cheltenham offense, scoring his side’s first 10 points of the second quarter, getting the Panthers to within 18-16 after connecting on a 3-pointer.

A Penjuke trey had the Warriors up five but Cheltenham was down 23-20 at halftime after McClain’s putback before the buzzer.