Plymouth Whitemarsh headed back to District 1-AAAA final
PHILADELPHIA >> When teams get to the semifinals of the District One-AAAA playoffs, experience matters.
Plymouth Whitemarsh, with its starting five composed entirely of seniors, never trailed and topped Lower Merion, 53-42, at the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia Tuesday night.
The No. 2 Colonials used an 11-2 run that covered the end of the third quarter and beginning of the fourth to turn a 32-32 tie into a nine-point lead.
The No. 11 Aces were able to survive that run and cut the lead to three, 43-40, in the middle of the fourth.
Lower Merion’s 6-0 run to get within a single possession included two of Jeremy Horn’s team-high 12 points and four of KJ Helton’s 11.
That’s as close as the Aces would get the rest of the way.
“After we cut it there in the fourth,” Lower Merion coach Gregg Downer said, “We went really dry there and had to start fouling and we just could never get over the hump.
“It was kind of a combination of our inability to stop them and us going cold on offense – that was a bad combination.”
PW’s Ahmin Williams hit a jumper to extend the lead to five and Ahmad Williams drew a charge on Lower Merion’s ensuing possession.
Over the final 3:33, the Colonials went 8-for-11 from the free-throw line to close out the win.
The Colonials defense deserves the bulk of the credit. On Lower Merion’s first possession of the game, Xzavier Malone grabbed a steal at midcourt and scored a layup and-one. That set the tone for what was to come – an 18-turnover game for the PW D.
“Defensively, what I have seen from late in the season until now, it’s been giving us a chance in every game,” PW coach Jim Donofrio said.
“Coach D wants us to get the mentality to be a killer on the defensive end,” Malone said. “Don’t be soft on teams. Hold your ground and fight back. I think we have actually gotten tougher mentally and physically (compared to earlier in the season). Hopefully we can carry this into Friday and the state playoffs.”
“Eighteen turnovers is a lot of turnovers,” Downer said. “But Plymouth gets a lot of that credit. They play really good defense and they throw a lot of 85-foot pressure at you. They make you play fast and they make you make bad decisions.”
Malone finished with a game-high 19 points for PW, Oakley Spencer added 14 and Mike Lotito 12.
The Colonials not only have players with a lot of high school experience, they have players who played on Temple University’s floor in last year’s district semifinal and final.
“The kids – so much different than a year ago,” Donofrio said. “They wouldn’t look at the bench at all last year. They were just kids in a candy store. This year every five seconds ‘Where are we at?’ It’s the major difference. It’s a much more veteran group. I’m proud of them.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh will face No. 9 Chester in the final Friday night at Temple University at 8 p.m.
Lower Merion will play a game against the loser of the Ridley/Chester game Friday for third place in the district.
