Plymouth Whitemarsh clinches outright SOL Liberty title with win over Abington

WHITEMARSH >> Abington has been a thorn in Plymouth Whitemarsh’s side for the last six years. The Ghosts beat the Colonials in District 1 championship games in 2015 and 2018, a Suburban One League Tournament championship game and District 1 semifinal game in 2017 and swept the season series in 2019 to win the SOL American title by two games.

PW finally got a win over Abington on Jan. 22 and completed the season sweep Tuesday night. The Colonials had already clinched a share of the SOL Liberty championship, but their 73-44 win over the Ghosts at Plymouth Whitemarsh High School means they’re the only ones who can hang “2021” on a banner.

“It’s a mindset,” PW center Zuri Jerman said of having the championship to themselves. “It’s something we’ve worked for since the summer. There’s no point of giving it to someone else if we’ve been here this whole time, just working every single day for it.”

“(Clinching a share of the title) had something missing from it,” PW forward Luke DiCianno added. “It didn’t feel like we actually won it. We wanted to get that outstanding title and it feels great.”

The Colonials (12-0, 9-0 SOL Liberty) pulled away in the fourth quarter. After Abington’s Oreck Frazier scored the first basket of the final frame to trim the Ghosts (5-3, 5-3 SOL Liberty) deficit to seven, PW went on a 15-2 run to build a 20-point lead and a 27-5 sprint to the finish line, 73-44.

PW freshman Jaden Colzie immediately responded to Frazier’s basket with a three-pointer and junior Marshall Baker hit a pair of three throws. Frazier added another basket and Abington’s defense got a stop to have a chance to make it a single-digit deficit with six minutes remaining.

The Plymouth Whitemarsh defense delivered with its best half-court possession of the game. The group of Colzie, Zende Hubbard, Baker, DiCianno and Jerman didn’t give Abington any openings. Hubbard ended the possession with a steal and found DiCianno at the other end for a layup and 53-41 lead with 5:40 to play.

Hubbard and Jerman added putbacks – the latter resulting in a three-point play – before DiCianno hit a three-pointer to make it a 20-point game, 61-41.

“Everyone decided to step up again and we all woke up a little more,” Jerman said of the fourth quarter defense, specifically crediting Hubbard. “We made sure we could get our year on that banner.”

DiCianno finished with a game-high 26 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.

“I felt like I wasn’t really that hot,” DiCianno said. “I got on a little roll with the threes, just trying to win. I wasn’t really focused on scoring.”

“Luke, from where he was as a sophomore to what he’s doing right now, to making huge threes,” PW head coach Jim Donofrio said, “that’s what he’s heard us talk about – those guys you see on the wall, kids who have great senior years – they perform when it’s time to perform. Man, is he doing that lately.”

Jerman also recorded a double-double with 10 points and 16 rebounds. Colzie added 15 points and Qudire Bennett had 11.

Abington’s offense managed just seven points in the fourth quarter – five after making it a 46-39 game in the first 20 seconds of the frame. The Ghosts committed five of their 21 turnovers in the fourth.

“Effort,” Abington coach Charles Grasty pointed to as the difference in the final eight minutes. “(The game) got away because they played a lot harder than we did. They played a lot harder, a lot smarter, they finished and they did the things that their coach asked them to do. They played hard. Once you make a couple mistakes they compound on your mistakes and you can see it get out of hand quickly.”

Frazier led the Ghosts in scoring with 12 points and Rob Bell added nine.

Plymouth Whitemarsh tries to make it a perfect 10-0 when they close out SOL Liberty play against Wissahickon on the road Thursday at 7 p.m.

Abington will look to get back on track at Quakertown Thursday at 7 p.m.

Plymouth Whitemarsh 73, Abington 44

Abington 9 13 15 7 – 44

Plymouth Whitemarsh 16 14 16 27 – 73

AB: Marino 0 2-2 2, Ellis 2 0-0 6, McFarlane 2 2-2 6, Frazier 6 0-1 12, Bell 2 5-9 9, Fields 1 1-2 4, Morris 0 0-0 0, Lucas 0 0-0 0, Baker 1 0-0 2, Fhenyx 0 1-2 1, Boyd 1 0-0 2. Total 15 11-18 44.

PW: Z Hubbard 2 1-2 5, Colzie 7 0-0 15, DiCianno 8 8-11 26, Bennett 4 2-2 11, Jerman 4 2-3 10, Baker 0 2-3 2, T Hubbard 0 0-0 0, D Harris 0 0-0 0, Forchielli 1 1-1 4, Flynn 0 0-0 0, Benson 0 0-4 0. Total 26 16-26 73.

Three-point goals: AB: Ellis 2, Fields. PW: Colzie, DiCianno 2, Bennett, Forchielli.