Plymouth Whitemarsh turns up the defense, pulls away from Abington in District 1-6A playbacks
WHITEMARSH >> Defense pumped new life back into Plymouth Whitemarsh Tuesday night, and by the second quarter, the Colonials were alive and kicking.
“We knew we came out slow. We came out real flat. But we all started turning it up on defense and it was just fun,” said Taji Hubbard. “(Abington’s Derrius Lucas and Connor Fields) were real good at rebounding and we (went with a small lineup), so we just had to work hard and it went good for us.”
With a spot in states already secured, PW used a dominant second quarter to pull away to a 53-38 victory over the Ghosts in District 1-6A Playbacks. The win advanced No. 22 PW to another home game Friday night, against No. 24 Garnet Valley, for fifth place in the district. No. 23 Abington will be at No. 4 Bensalem on Thursday night for seventh place.
Hubbard made key contributions on the defensive end and also added 10 points. He called them “momentum baskets.”
Said Hubbard: “I know scoring’s not my high point, so I had to get up the line, get my push by dribbling, or at least get good passes, anything to just build energy and get us a win.”
PW played with plenty of gusto in the second quarter, blowing the game open and taking a 36-16 lead into the break.
“We put the mantra out there: we’re just gonna learn every game, until they tell us we can’t play anymore,” said Colonials coach Jim Donofrio. “And Cheltenham taught us a lot about ourselves (in the quarterfinals), just in terms of adding the physical. I thought defensively, we did some really good things at Cheltenham. And I thought they showed that tonight.
“So the energy and the physicality that we added defensively for Cheltenham – we added and changed some things up in terms of positioning in our man, and it’s just tougher, which I like. With a little bit of a discipline.”
After both teams took some time to settle in, PW began to pick up the pace, with Qudire Bennett, who had a game-high 17 points, scoring on a rebound, and then a three-point play by Zende Hubbard gave the Colonials a 10-6 lead in the first.
Jaden Colzie hit his second 3-pointer of the quarter, this one from deep, to give the Colonials a 13-6 lead after one.
PW made a major push in the second.
The Colonials began to run, forcing turnovers and scoring in transition.
The points came in waves, beginning with buckets by Trey Jones and Bennett.
Taji Hubbard scored in transition, Bennett and Zende Hubbard each drove for two, and a 15-3 run by PW spiked the lead to 30-11 in the second.
Jones made some tough baskets for the Colonials in the pivotal quarter, the last of which widened the gap to 32-14. A drive by Zende Hubbard made it 36-16 at the break.
The Ghosts, led by Paul Glants’ nine points, closed to within eight in the third.
“Abington is very long and they can be very physical at the rim,” Donofrio said. “That’s the next lesson we have to learn, is how do you – in a rather cagey manner – get to the foul line. I think when you have a first half like we did, the team that is up gets the impression that it’s supposed to be a 30-point win or something. And Abington’s not going away. They never have. And we wouldn’t go away.
“Sometimes in a game like that when you’re up 20 at halftime, you have an emotional hangover to start the third quarter. And the other team is mad at themselves and their pride is gonna kick in. We haven’t always punched back this year in the fourth, losing some close games, so every time the kids win one of those, it’s just one more positive, which I liked.”
The Colonials’ defense tightened its grip in the fourth and key foul shots by Bennett and Taji Hubbard padded the lead. Next up is Garnet Valley.
“They’re all shooters so we know we have to close out and play the same type of defense we did tonight,” Taji Hubbard said.
The Ghosts look to go into states with some momentum as well.
“We just need to figure some things out – we have practice (Wednesday) and get back at it Thursday so we’ll watch film, get a good day of practice,” said the Ghosts’ Derrius Lucas. “Thursday night is gonna be just as hard as this one, and if we don’t play better than we did tonight, it’ll be the same outcome.”
District 1-6A Playbacks
Plymouth Whitemarsh 53, Abington 38
Abington 6 10 15 7 – 38
Plymouth Whitemarsh 13 23 3 14 – 53
Abington: Connor Fields 2 2-4 6, Fhenyx Scutt 2 1-2 7, Jeremiah Lee 1 0-0 3, Derrius Lucas 1 4-8 6, Paul Glants 4 0-1 9, Jim Maring 1 0-0 3, Eli Benjamin 0 2-2 2, Damon Rawls 1 0-0 2. Totals 12 9-17 38.
Plymouth Whitemarsh: Jaden Colzie 2 0-2 6, Marshall Baker 0 3-6 3, Trey Jones 4 0-0 8, Taji Hubbard 4 2-2 10, Qudire Bennett 6 5-6 17, Pat Flynn 0 0-2 0, Zende Hubbard 4 1-1 9. Totals 20 11-19 53.
3-pointers: A-Scutt 2, Lee, Glants, Maring; PW-Colzie 2.
