Morgan Wilson, Josh Twersky lead Wissahickon to Senior Night win

LOWER GWYNEDD >> Morgan Wilson laid flat on his back along the baseline early in the fourth quarter Tuesday night. The senior just converted a layup through contact and was about to make a free throw to give Wissahickon a 10-point lead over Abington while a full student section went wild.

A couple possession later, Wilson grabbed back-to-back offensive rebounds and put the second one in the basket. He turned to his classmates and flexed before getting back on defense with another 10-point lead and just over five minutes remaining.

Wilson’s high-energy plays helped the Trojans build a large enough advantage to withstand a late Abington rally and pick up a 51-47 Suburban One League Liberty Division win at Wissahickon High School.

“It was just an awesome moment,” Wilson said. “I knew it was Senior Night. I had to go out there and do something. I just brought the energy. I wanted to get my teammates hyped up, the crowd hyped up, because like I always say, when we get the crowd involved we always play better. I knew exactly what to do and fortunately I was able to get it done.”

Wilson, who finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double, was honored alongside classmates Josh Twersky and Phil Dias prior to the game for Senior Night. All three played big roles in the Trojans (12-6, 9-3 SO Liberty) win to keep pace for first place in the league.

Josh Twersky finished with 13 points and four rebounds. He made an additional impact on the defensive end drawing three charges. Dias grabbed four rebounds, including a key offensive board in the fourth quarter, and had a highlight-reel backdoor pass that led to a Twersky layup in the first half.

After Wilson’s putback layup gave Wissahickon a 10-point lead with 5:25 remaining, both teams went scoreless for nearly two minutes. The Trojans extended their lead to 12 when a no-look Twersky pass found Dominic Vacchiano for a reverse layup and 41-29 advantage with 3:40 to go.

Abington’s Derrius Lucas made back-to-back layups to get the Ghosts within eight, 41-33. On the Ghosts (9-8, 8-5 SOL Liberty) next possession, Lucas collided with Twersky in the lane and was called for a charge. Twersky was fouled on the inbounds pass and Abington coach Charles Grasty was given a technical for arguing the charge call.

“It just takes us out of the flow of the game,” Abington coach Charles Grasty said. “I understand good defense, but our guy is a hell of a player and he knows and he’s been playing against teams that flop for years now. We just felt like we aren’t getting a chance. They played good defense, but it was, what, four flops? It’s ridiculous. It’s called flop for a reason. Let us play basketball. It just takes us out of the flow and I have to control myself a little more, but how much can we take? Our guy is a hell of a player and you’re taking the ball out of his hands. I just didn’t think they were all great calls and I was voicing my opinion.

“Credit to (Wiss) and I’m not saying that they don’t play good team defense. I’m not saying (Twersky) isn’t trying to get position. I’m just saying give us a chance.”

“(Twersky) is just so good at his positioning,” Wissahickon coach Kyle Wilson said. “He takes contact, he falls back. I totally get their coach being upset, but I thought the one he got upset on – that was the most legit one of them all. When you play well throughout the game, you can take those chances late in the game on putting yourself there, sacrifice.

“(Twersky) loves taking (charges) because it’s a thing he can do as a leader to contribute on defense. He’s not going to block shots at the rim or dunk on offense, but getting those extra possessions by taking charges is huge and it slows the other team’s attack.”

Twersky needed to go to the locker room because he was bleeding and Vacchiano came off the bench to hit 3-of-4 free throws for the foul and technical to extend the Trojans lead back to 11, 44-33, with 1:51 to play.

Wissahickon went 11-for-22 from the charity stripe in the fourth quarter while Abington’s Jeremiah Lee scored 10 points and Lucas added nine to get within four at the final buzzer, 51-47.

Wissahickon, Upper Dublin and Plymouth Whitemarsh hold the top three spots in the SOL Liberty Division with three league losses. The Trojans host Upper Dublin and travel to Plymouth Whitemarsh next week.

Abington’s fifth loss in league play makes an SOL Liberty title unlikely. The Ghosts entered Tuesday No. 25 in the District 1-6A rankings. The top 24 teams qualify for playoffs.

“I’m sure we’ll drop some,” Grasty said. “We have five left. Our guys know what it takes. We’re going to keep plugging. We’re going to practice (Wednesday) and get after it.”

Jaylon Williams and Earl Stout also scored in double figures for Wiss, each chipping in 10 points.

Lucas led Abington with 19 points, Lee added 13 and Connor Fields had 12.

Wissahickon 51, Abington 47
Abington 8 10 8 21 – 47
Wissahickon 14 10 10 17 – 51
Abington: Rawls 0 0-0 0, Fields 6 0-2 12, Scutt 0 3-6 3, Lee 5 0-0 13, Marino 0 0-1 0, Glants 0 0-0 0, Lucas 8 2-3 19, Rardin 0 0-0 0. Total 19 5-12 47.
Wissahickon: Lassiter 0 0-0 0, Twersky 5 3-5 13, Williams 4 1-2 10, Wilson 5 1-2 11, Dias 0 2-6 2, Vacchiano 1 3-7 5, Stout 4 2-4 10. Total 19 12-26 51.
3-point goals: A: Lee 3, Lucas. W: Williams.