Defense the key as Chester catches up to Plymouth Whitemarsh

CHESTER — You had the Division I signee on one side, a player who someday soon will likely be paid to play basketball. You had raucous fans filling the gym and the colors of two of Pennsylvania’s most storied basketball programs lining the benches.

Everything Tuesday night, except for the comically early juncture of the playoffs at which the game transpired, about Plymouth Whitemarsh’s voyage to Chester screamed district final.

And in harkening back to a clash of PIAA titans for the 17th time in postseason play, it was the truest and most reliable facet of the rivalry that ultimately won the day: A little signature Chester defense.

The Clippers forced 24 turnovers, including four in a frenetic stretch in the fourth quarter that led to eight unanswered points and the decisive momentum swing in a 77-73 classic of a District 1 Class 6A second round victory.

The win is the 14th straight for the sixth-seeded Clippers (18-4), who advance to the quarterfinal to take on No. 3 Lower Merion. The win also books Chester’s 26th states berth in the last 27 seasons.

No. 11 Plymouth Whitemarsh (14-9) slides into playbacks to take on No. 14 Conestoga, which fell to LM. PW must win twice to secure one of the two playback state berths.

Chester holds the all-time series lead in the postseason, 12-5. Five of those games were district semifinals, four were finals. Tuesday’s felt like one at the Fred Pickett Gymnasium, with the antagonistic to-and-fro that got the crowd involved and yielded three technical fouls.

“It was back-and-forth buckets, going back and forth, back and forth,” said point guard Michael Smith, who likened the atmosphere to a 2017 visit from Lonnie Walker and eventual state champ Reading. “It was just like, whoa. And we had to get a stop and stop them, and we made a little run after that.”

Chester’s plan brought the mantra of defense-first to life. The tactics concentrated on Plymouth Whitemarsh’s Naheem McLeod, the 7-3 center bound for Florida State. He was the most influential player when he was on the court, with 14 points (on 6-for-8 shooting), six rebounds and three blocks. But he committed five turnovers, was baited into a technical foul and played tentative late, due to foul trouble and a leg injury that twice required stoppages and cost him most of the third quarter.

Another cause of frustration: Zahmir Carroll, the 6-5 Chester forward tasked with sticking the giant. He did so more than ably. One of those fouls was Carroll standing in the lane to absorb the freight-train impact of the 230-pound McLeod.

“It’s a great opportunity,” Carroll said with a grin, “knowing that I’m going up against someone that’s going to Florida State next year. … It’s heart over height.”

Watkins for 2. Its now 70-68 Chester. pic.twitter.com/56yUwmqiU3

— Matthew De George (@sportsdoctormd) February 20, 2019

Carroll added nine points, his most since the fourth game of the season, and nine boards, all while McLeod spent most of the game as his primary defender instead of marking the more explosive Karell Watkins.

“I think Zahmir played a great game on him,” Smith said. “That’s the first game I’ve seen Zahmir ever play full-blown defense. He was all defense, not worried about offense. All he wanted to do was stop him, and that was great. I love that from my big guys.”

“He’s huge,” PW guard Anthony Straface said of McLeod. “He’s the most important player on the court. When a guy like him goes down, it changes the entire game.”

PHOTO GALLERY: Plymouth Whitemarsh at Chester

Part of the plan was not to challenge McLeod’s dominion in the lane. There was some tentativeness early, with Watkins calling a few nervous early shots that were altered by the threat of McLeod’s gargantuan reach, “just practice shots.”

But with Smith taking the lead, the Clippers drove hard to the glass. And despite a few misses around the hoop, they kept on attacking.

Taylor the board and feed to Gilbert. Chester up 6 pic.twitter.com/yyRjJZVam4

— Matthew De George (@sportsdoctormd) February 20, 2019

Watkins scored 24 points on 10-for-16 shooting. Smith added 18 points, and Akeem Taylor joined Carroll with nine. The Clippers were 22-for-28 at the line.

“I’m used to these courts, so it’s easy to adapt,” Watkins said. “One or two shots, feel the game, feel how their defense is and then from there, I’m used to it and I’m in the mix.”

Chester forced the Colonials into 16 first-half turnovers, useful since PW didn’t miss once they got over half-court. They shot 15-for-23 in the first half and made 21 of their first 32 looks from the field.

Straface led the way with 29 points. Kyree Pendleton scored 19 points on 8-for-11 shooting, but foul trouble limited him, and his was the only 3-point make of the second half after a 6-for-10 onslaught beyond the arc in the first half.

The decisive run started under the Clippers’ basket. PW led by six at half and as many as nine in the third. Chester yo-yoed between two and six points late in the third, capitalizing with McLeod and point guard Caelin Peters sitting with injury and foul trouble, respectively. But a six-point PW lead survived the quarter, putting the Clippers in a make-or-break juncture to get even.

The defense made it happen. Straface put PW up, 64-58. Rahmee Gilbert scored, Watkins stole the inbounds, Smith scored. Down to two. Gilbert picked off a pass, dished to Smith, who hit two at the line. Tie game.

“It’s all about defense,” Carroll said. “Defense runs into offense. When we play defense, we can get easy buckets.”

Watkins then pocketed a steal, missed his first shot but put his miss back, and in the blink of an eye, without the ball crossing halfcourt, the Clippers were up 66-64. PW wouldn’t lead again, and with Peters fouling out for an offensive foul against the smothering coverage of Smith, the Colonials didn’t recover.

Kyree Pendleton the second chance basket. PW up 8. Late 3Q. pic.twitter.com/X6i3vOhN6f

— Matthew De George (@sportsdoctormd) February 20, 2019

“It’s tough because our point guard was in foul trouble, and it killed us,” Straface said. “They came out and they raised it, and we threw the ball away a little bit and it killed us.”

Taylor hit three free throws, and cleaned up a missed bucket by outletting to Gilbert for a deuce, putting Chester up six in the final minute. That led to something else very much in keeping with the atmosphere of the night … the Clippers rolling into states.

“It was exciting,” Carroll said. “We stayed in the game, got back to playing defense and got to where we needed to be.”