Methacton brings its own energy in road win over Boyertown

BOYERTOWN >> With none of his team’s fans in the away gym Wednesday afternoon, Methacton senior forward Ryan Baldwin said it was up to him and his teammates to generate the energy.

From the start of Wednesday’s contest, Baldwin and the Warriors were demonstrative, energized and engaged.

Methacton stormed out to a lead in the first quarter and held an advantage the rest of the way in a 53-39 road victory over Boyertown.

Brett Byrne led the Warriors with 24 points, knocking down three 3-pointers, and Stephen Penjuke followed with eight. Tre Diguglielmo had 13 and David Leh 10 for the Bears.

“The energy right from the start surpassed anything that we’ve had in any of our earlier games,” said Baldwin, who chipped in six points. “That momentum, especially in a gym with no crowd, to generate momentum you have to generate it yourself. Right off the start, if you’re going strong that lead can really help the rest of the game.”

PHOTO GALLERY: Methacton-Boyertown Boys Basketball 2.10.21

.@MHS_BoysBBall senior Ryan Baldwin helped the Warriors bring the energy from the opening tip in Wednesday’s win over Boyertown. pic.twitter.com/OYz4mrnhax

— Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue) February 10, 2021

Methacton came in losers of two of their last three games — a stretch uncommon during the past two seasons. The team’s offensive struggles in a 38-35 loss to Perkiomen Valley last week and a 45-43 loss to Upper Merion on Monday were a point of emphasis during practice Tuesday.

The Warriors led 36-28 entering the fourth quarter before the offense really started to click in the final period. After Boyertown scored the first basket, Methacton reeled off eight straight to go ahead 44-30 with 4:21 left in the game and cruise down the stretch.

“I think that definitely woke us up and definitely humbled us,” Byrne said of the losses to Upper Merion and Perkiomen Valley. “Luckily, we were able to look at the positives in the losses and not sulk on them. I feel like we’re on the right track of getting in the right direction.”

“Last practice was a big turning point for us,” he added. “We really sat down together, figured out what the problem is, what’s going on, what’s up with our offense. Yesterday, we really found a way to get the offense going. Tonight, it got better, but there’s room to improve still.”

Screens by Baldwin — one of the forms of generating energy he mentioned — freed up Byrne for 3-pointers on two straight possessions during Methacton’s fourth-quarter outburst.

“Whenever the team can rally around something it’s big,” Baldwin said. “Offensive rebounding and defense, especially defense, can translate into great offense. And I think big screens. I had a couple screens on the wing for Brett where he hit two big threes down the stretch there. Six points right there can swing the tide of the game.”

After falling behind by as many as eight points in the first quarter, Boyertown trimmed Methacton’s lead down to three, 19-16, in the second period.

The Warriors answered with six straight points and held at least a two-possession cushion the rest of the contest.

Baldwin and Cole Hargrove were a big reason why, combining for 22 rebounds and controlling the glass for the Warriors.

“There’s no doubt that their energy on the offensive board was something we didn’t handle,” Boyertown coach Mike Ludwig said. “We didn’t find bodies, we didn’t box out. We weren’t pursuing the ball and they were. Give their kids credit because they just took the bull by the horns and took control of the game.”

Why were the offensive boards such a morale booster for the Warriors?

“You can’t not be excited when you get a chance to score,” Baldwin said.

Without a league postseason, the Pioneer Athletic Conference will award its division winners at the end of the conference slate. An overall PAC champion will not be named.

The Warriors’ 3-1 mark the first time through the division (Norristown has yet to play this season) currently ties them with Perkiomen Valley for first place with Spring-Ford right behind at 2-1.

“I feel like (Wednesday’s win) is really good start for us to get back on the right track and let those losses stay in the past,” Byrne said.

The Bears have dug themselves into a hole in the Liberty Division with losses to Owen J. Roberts, Perkiomen Valley and Methacton already.

There’s still plenty of time left to put themselves back in the mix in the league as well as the District 1 power rankings, but they’ll have to regroup fast

Boyertown gets its rematch with OJR on Friday and faces the Warriors a week from then.

“You’ve got some good senior leaders, and they’re not happy with the way they’re playing,” Ludwig said. “We’re not happy with where we are as a team, and in a normal season you have some time to figure that out. We gotta figure it out. The good news is this group of kids wants to be successful at this game. Whatever that means, they want to be successful and they will. We’ll keep working, we’ll keep fighting and we’ll find it.”

NOTES >> Boyertown had nine threes compared to four for Methacton. Diguglielmo had three and Griffin Hummel knocked down two.