Norristown dominates CB West in District 1-6A 2nd round, clinches state berth
WEST NORRITON >> Norristown defeated Central Bucks West, 59-35, Tuesday night in the second round of the District 1 Class 6A playoffs at Norristown Area High School.
The No. 5 seeded Eagles jumped out to a 9-0 lead in the first quarter and kept their foot on the gas for the entirety of the opening eight minutes.
“Defense,” Lyons, who capped the 9-0 run with a four-point play, credited for the early success. “We were all locked in from the beginning.”
Norristown forced six turnovers in the first and built a 16-3 lead. Xavier Edwards finished the quarter with a buzzer-beating three. Edward and Tyler Lyons each had six points in the first.
“We got back to traditional Norristown basketball,” Eagles coach Dana “Binky” Johnson said. “We had time to prepare. Even though we were short-handed with injuries, etc., we had a great week of practice. We were able to get back to our foundational basic defensive principles and these guys really got back to being on one accord defensively. It was really exciting to watch.”
“You can’t start a game that way,” West coach Adam Sherman said. “In the beginning of the game we weren’t doing the little things. We weren’t setting good screens, we missed a lot of easy shots, had too many turnovers — you name it we just didn’t do the right things in the first quarter and that’s not the kind of team you want to play from behind on.”
The No. 21 Bucks were able to get their deficit to single digits late in the first half, 19-10, behind five second-quarter points from Mika Munari, but another Edwards basket extended the lead back to 11. That’s how the teams went to the locker room — Norristown ahead, 21-10.
The Eagles added to their lead in the third, building it up to more than 20 points. Edwards had seven in the quarter while the defense forced four more turnovers to head to the fourth with a 41-22 advantage.
“They tried to press us,” Lyons said of the third quarter, “but we’re too disciplined to get trapped.”
Norristown, which played without guard Vernon Tubbs and forward Aaron Reddish, did enough in the fourth to maintain a comfortable lead, advance in the district playoffs, 59-35, and clinch a state playoff berth. The Eagles will face Pennridge Friday night in the district quarterfinals.
Edwards led Norristown with 18 points, Lyons added 16 and Mickeel Allen 10.
Munari led CB West with 13 points and Jack Neri added 10.
West will get a chance to earn a state playoff berth, needing to win two more games. The first is Friday at Spring-Ford.
