Downingtown West tops West Chester East to clinch Ches-Mont National
WEST GOSHEN >> The first rung of the title ladder has been reached. But for head coach Stu Ross and his Downingtown West basketball squad, there are many more rungs on the horizon to clear as the playoffs approach.
His Whippets secured the Ches-Mont National regular season crown on Thursday by outlasting host West Chester East, 45-38, in a defensive battle that had a postseason feel to it.
“We knew a Ches-Mont game, on the road, for an opportunity to clinch the division was going to be a hard battle,” Ross said.
“(East) is the reigning champs, so we knew heading in that they wouldn’t just lay down. They always play hard, and it was a little more being at home and playing in front of their fans.”
Now 10-0 in the league (15-4 overall), West will head into the Ches-Mont Semifinals on Feb. 12 at West Chester’s Hollinger Field House as the clear favorite. But C-M American champ Great Valley is also in the running. And despite the loss, West Chester East is still in the mix to make the four-team tournament.
“This is just the first rung on our list of goals,” Ross said.
“It was definitely a hard fought battle, and I thought we earned this win. But we talked afterwards and we are not done. We have a long way to go. We have two more league games, the Ches-Mont Final Four and then hopefully districts and states.”
West Chester East is now 7-4 (13-5 overall) and is tied with rival West Chester Henderson in the loss column for second place. The Vikings do own the tiebreaker after beating the Warriors twice during the regular season.
“We have to beat (Downingtown) East in our final game, and they beat us at our place,” pointed out Vikings’ head coach Tom Durant. “So it’s climbing a mountain – it’s not going to be a downhill ski.”
With a big front line and skilled point guard in junior Dylan Blair, the Whippets have outscored many foes this season. But on Thursday West turned to its defense in the middle two quarters to limit East to 12 total points and get some separation that the home team was unable to overcome.
“Rebounding and defense is something we try to use as our calling card. That is the game plan every game,” Ross said.
“Playing them on their home gym, we wanted to limit their runs and limit their momentum,” added senior guard Cooper Hardin.
“We just had to stay locked in defensively and make sure they didn’t get any offensive rebounds. That was their main source of points in the first quarter.”
The Vikings fell behind in the early going, but caught up after a 13-4 first quarter rally the featured 3-pointers by Joe Ramos and Ryan Price, and some key offensive rebounds.
Clinging to a one point lead with two minutes remaining in the first half, Durant decided to hold the ball for a last shot. But Blair forced a turnover.
“Momentum is everything,” Durant said. “We were holding for the last shot and we didn’t execute. We had to fight like heck to make sure (West) didn’t score at the end. So now we go into the break a little angry.
“We were hoping to get a little bit of a cushion, get our crowd into it and put some pressure on them.”
The Whippets then quickly seized the lead for good by scoring 11 of the first 13 points of the second half, including five points by Hardin. The Vikings made two late pushes to slice the deficit to six and later to five, 43-38, with 44.6 seconds to go. But Blair and teammate Jake Warren closed it out by combining to go 4-for-4 from the free throw line the rest of the way.
“When (Dylan) Blair gets comfortable, you are in trouble,” Durant said.
According to Durant, Downingtown West has become such a difficult matchup due to the presence of 6-foot-6 senior Drew Shelton, who was a four-star football recruit and is headed to Penn State. He did not play basketball a year ago, but with Shelton and Warren (6-foot-11 junior) on the floor together, the Whippets have a formidable front line.
“(Shelton) makes them much better than they were last season,” he said. “He’s like the X factor because you have to play a big lineup and have to take some shooters out.”
Blair notched a game-high 17 points and Warren chipped in 12 points and seven boards for West. Junior Jack Kushner paced East with 15 points, and scored all six of the Vikings’ points in the third quarter.
Hardin added seven points, all in the second half. And when asked about securing the Ches-Mont National title, he said: “I think it’s great. It’s been an awesome experience to be a part of. Now I want to win the (Ches-Mont) Tournament more than anything.
“It does feel like we are coming together nicely. We believe in each other and our energy and spirit is up.”
Downingtown West 45, West Chester East 38
Downingtown West 14 6 15 10 — 45
W.C. East 15 6 6 11 — 38
DOWNINGTOWN WEST – Hardin 3 1-2 7; Blair 6 4-7 17; Bell 1 0-0 2; Warren 3 6-6 12; Fromhartz 2 0-0 5; Shelton 1 0-0 2. Totals 16 11-15 45.
W.C. East – Sherlock 2 2-2 6; Ramos 2 0-0 5; Kushner 6 2-3 15; Porter 2 0-0 4; Price 3 0-0 7. Totals 15 4-5 38.
Three pointers: Blair, Fromhartz, Ramos, Kushner, Price 2.
