Jake Kapp, Boyertown boys basketball cruise past Phoenixville in PAC crossover

BOYERTOWN >> A 9-13 record and missing the Pioneer Athletic Conference tournament last season left a bad taste in Boyertown’s mouth.

The mouthwash in 2022-23 so far has been a starting core of Jake Kapp, Dylan Klass, Zach Ward, Ryan Tinney and Richard Black — all seniors — who’ve been taking last year’s shortcomings out on the court.

The latest rinse, a 66-52 win over Phoenixville at Bear Gym on Thursday, allowed Boyertown to bounce back from its first loss and improve to 6-1.

“There’s definitely a lot of leadership in this group,” Kapp said. “We’ve got a lot of seniors and we’ve been playing together forever. We’ve been practicing day-in and day-out, trying to get up and down the floor as fast as possible. The defense has been our focus lately because we know we can score.”

FINAL — Boyertown 66, Phoenixville 52

Kapp dribbles out the clock.

The Bears rebound after their first loss of the season with a PAC crossover win against the Phantoms. pic.twitter.com/Zpnrr2Qu36

— Evan Wheaton (@EvanWheaton) December 23, 2022

Kapp has certainly done a lot of that. An All-PAC Liberty shooting guard who led the Bears in scoring last season, Kapp is currently averaging 18.2 ppg, second most in the PAC. Against the Phantoms (2-6, 1-1), he amassed a game-high 25 points with three rebounds and a pair of steals.

Ward crashed the boards all night, finishing with 11 rebounds and one point shy of a double-double. Winning the loose balls and banking putbacks was key against a sizable, albeit young Phoenixville squad.

Max Lebisky (6-foot-5), Aidan McClintock (6-6), Deacon Baratta (6-3) and Bryce Absher (6-4) all make up for starting experience with sheer size and talent. That nucleus responded to the Bears at different points, such as an 8-0 run in the first quarter and outscoring Boyertown 17-8 in the third.

“They’re young, but they got some size,” Bears coach Travis Miller said. “They’ve got some athleticism and guys who can make plays, make shots. We kind of switched up some different defenses and zones and tried to keep them guessing, keep them uncomfortable.”

Boyertown pulled away in the second quarter, piling on 22 points for a 37-21 lead at halftime. Phoenixville was able to get within seven points in the second half, but the Phantoms couldn’t get their heads above water against the Bears’ shooters.

Dawson Brown led the Phantoms with 11 points and Baratta added 10. Phoenixville led just once in the game after clawing back from a seven-point run for Boyertown off the opening tip.

“That’s kind of where we’re at right now with our mentality. We have to believe in ourselves,” Phantoms coach Eric Burnett said on his group dishing back early. “Being such a young team and losing 11 seniors last year, it’s a full new roster, a new experience. We have to learn that not every possession is gonna go our way. I think sometimes we’re pretty hard on ourselves to play perfectly.”

Phoenixville has graduated 19 seniors over the past two seasons. Ali Green and Wade Carruthers are the only two seniors rostered this winter.

Through the first six games this season, Boyertown has averaged 68.2 points — the most in the PAC. The Bears put up 80 points on Antietam and 93 against Valley Forge to kick the doors open on their campaign.

Much of that explosiveness on the offensive end comes from establishing cohesiveness in the Philly Live, Allentown Throwdown and Big 64 tournaments. The momentum over the summer and fall is carrying into the PIAA season.

“We’re always on the court, literally year round,” Kapp said. “We come into the season ready to go. We never want to take any time down because we know the other teams in the PAC are gonna be in the gym a lot as well.”

Q4, 2:16 — Richard Black drains a three, 64-49 Boyertown.

Black led the PAC in 3-pointers last year with 16 and is currently averaging 10.3 ppg. pic.twitter.com/g3XzJogoGp

— Evan Wheaton (@EvanWheaton) December 23, 2022

Both Boyertown and Phoenixville are split 1-1 in the Liberty and Frontier divisional standings respectively. The Bears will take on non-league Avon Grove and Governor Mifflin this month before PAC divisional games pick up the first week of the new year.

The break could be one well spent for the Phantoms, who were already in the beginning stages of finding their rhythm and identity before the early start to the season.

With some experience now and a split Frontier record, as well as responsiveness against a Liberty contender, Phoenixville will look to bounce back against Upper Merion on Jan. 3.

“This is a great group and they respond well. They’re eager to learn and they’re all pretty much new to playing varsity basketball, freshmen, sophomores and juniors getting into the mix,” Burnett said. “That’s been their MO, responding to adversity and they’ve been pretty good at that. We just have to find a way to put together a full four quarters.”