Norwood takes next step in pacing Penncrest

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MIDDLETOWN >> Tyler Norwood’s ability to generate offense for himself shouldn’t take anyone in the Central League by surprise. After all, the diminutive Penncrest guard’s shiftiness and scoring knack have underpinned the Lions’ offense since the start of his sophomore year.

But the next step in the junior’s development — and the next level he and his teammates aspire to unlock — involves Norwood becoming a consummate floor general as dangerous when not scoring as when he’s lighting it up.

Norwood struck that balance with aplomb Friday, pairing a game-high 20 points with six assists as Penncrest trounced Strath Haven, 64-40.

Norwood’s damage came in the first three quarters, most in devastating spurts from which an undermanned Strath Haven (3-1, 1-1 Central League) couldn’t recover. More importantly, Norwood involved his teammates early and often, with the knowledge that sustained balance will ultimately pilot the Lions (2-2, 2-0) to their goal of a ninth straight District 1 postseason nod.

“He finds people,” guard Mike Mallon said. “Most of the time he’s scoring, but when someone’s open, he’ll find them. He’s very versatile. He’s a great point guard to have.”

Mallon added a career-day with 18 points, including 4-for-5 shooting from 3-point range. Justin Ross was the team’s leading scorer at the break with 11 points. And even the sophomore duo of Matt Arbogast and Malcolm Williams added six points apiece, their outputs sparked by pinpoint Norwood dimes.

“When I go on my own 6-0 run or when I drive, I look for my shooters,” Norwood said. “I kick it to them and they knock it down. If (the other team) stops that, then we’ll figure out what to do next. But until they figure that out, we’re going to keep going to it.”

Norwood also took matters in his hands plenty, like contributing five points to an 11-0 spurt to end the first quarter, erasing Haven’s first and only lead. There was Norwood setting up a Mallon deuce as the guard drove to the hole, then following the play to swipe the inbounds pass and lay-in for two more lightning-quick points in a 12-0 second-quarter run.

Or there was Norwood’s run of 10 points in five trips up the floor, bookended by 3-pointers, the latter a savage step-back over a defender to put Penncrest up 45-24.

Where all of Penncrest’s horses pulled in the same direction, the Panthers were deprived of one of theirs at the last moment. Starting forward Cooper Driscoll rolled an ankle in warmups and left the gym on crutches.

Without the 6-foot-4 forward, taller than anyone at Penncrest coach Mike Doyle’s disposal, the vertical element of the inside-out game that Driscoll and 6-foot-9 John Harrar run so successfully was disrupted.

Penncrest collapsed its defense around Harrar in 2-3 and box-and-1 zones, limiting the big man to six shots. He still drew 10 fouls (on a night where Penncrest was whistled for 23 to Haven’s nine) and shot 11-for-12 from the line for a team-high 15 points. But his inability to generate consistent, easy offense weighed on a young roster that dressed just 10 players.

“I was getting frustrated,” Harrar said, “and I just need to be better in that situation to trust my team and just play basketball.”

It took until the 1:20 mark of the second quarter for someone other than Harrar to hit a basket, a triple from Jordan Graves doing the trick. Graves hit three 3-pointers, including two late in the second quarter to cushion a 36-18 halftime doubling-up. But the Panthers shot 3-for-18 from 3-point land and 27.2 percent from the field (9-for-33). Nearly half of their points (19 of 40) were scored at the charity stripe.

“Our game plan all year has been inside-out, and the inside just wasn’t there,” Harrar said. “We’re always going to look to get layups and close jump shots, and we couldn’t get that going.”

Penncrest, meanwhile, found its offense every which way. They were 8-for-14 from distance and connected on all manner of back cuts and off-ball movement to generate open looks. Williams, for instance, dished four assists, including three on Mallon buckets in the fourth quarter.

That distribution to lift the scoring load off Norwood’s shoulders will serve the Lions down the road.

“It’s very important because once we start playing like a team, everything starts flowing,” Mallon said. “Everyone gets scoring, our whole bench was in the game. Everyone was participating, everyone was doing their job. So it’s very important, and that’s how we won this game.”

Also in the Central League:

Garnet Valley 65, Lower Merion 61 >> Brandon Starr scored a game-high 20 points, and Austin Laughlin added 17 as the Jags (3-1, 1-1) connected on nine of 13 attempts from the free throw line in the fourth quarter to stem the tide of the Aces’ comeback attempt.

Springfield 50, Marple Newtown 47 >> Great Orjih scored 16 points, Kyle Sullivan added 13 and Alex DeAngelis contributed nine as the Cougars (4-0, 2-0) remain unbeaten.

Mark Dever led Marple Newtown with 13 points.

Upper Darby 52, Haverford 38 >> Bayir Hodges scored 13 points, and Noah Walker chipped in 10 as the Royals (1-1, 1-1) notched their first league win.

Dan Roe led the Fords (0-4, 0-2) with 12 points, while Trey Blair chipped in 10.

Conestoga 48, Ridley 25 >> Damir Fleming led the Green Raiders with 12 points, but Ridley (1-2, 1-1) had just nine points after three quarters.

Charlie Martin paced Conestoga with 15 points.

Harriton 66, Radnor 61 >> Mason Ressler went 13-for-13 from the line for a game-high 25 points, and Sami Ghazzi canned six 3-pointers to finish with 18 points for the Raiders.

Tommy Webb added 11 points for Radnor (1-3, 0-2).

Idris Ransom scored 23 points, and Will Esposto added 22 for the Rams.

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Matthew De George

Matthew De George
Matthew De George is the Asst. Sports Editor and the lead Union writer for The Daily Times.

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