Plymouth Whitemarsh holds off Lower Merion, advances to 1st District 1-6A final since 2018

LOWER MERION >> As Chase Coleman rose up towards the basket Lower Merion’s John Mobley went up to meet him.

But the Plymouth Whitemarsh junior evaded the block attempt, double-clutching in the air in drifting past Mobley before putting a shot in high off the backboard and drawing the foul with just 64 seconds left in the first half.

“That’s something I work on,” Coleman said. “I watch A.I. a lot – Allen Iverson so I like watching the way he do his hands, his layups so that’s something I really work on.”

Coleman made the ensuing free throw to complete the sensational 3-point play. He then added a putback in the half’s final seconds to cap his 11-point second quarter and send the third-seeded Colonials into the break with a 34-25 lead on the No. 2 Aces in their District 1-6A semifinal Tuesday night.

PW pushed its advantage to 14 early in the third quarter then staved off the two-time defending district champion’s comeback bid the rest of the way – host Lower Merion eventually pulling to within three in the contest’s last minute but the Colonials holding on for a 64-58 victory at Kobe Bryant Gymnasium.

“We really wanted it,” Coleman said. “We talked about it all year so we really worked for this. If people don’t know we really put the work in, put the time in. We practice like four hours a day, I swear, watch film, study, so we put a lot of hour and time to this so this is big for us.”

Coleman collected 13 of his team-high 19 points in the first half, combining with Jaden Colzie for a 12-0 run in the second quarter that put PW ahead for good as the Colonials (26-2) advance to the district finals for the first time since 2018 with their 19^th consecutive victory.

PW faces top-seeded Spring-Ford – a 66-52 winner over No. 5 Downingtown West  – in the title game 6 p.m. Saturday at Temple University’s Liacouras Center. The Colonials last claimed a district championship in 2016 when they topped Chester in the Class 4A final.

“We’re special, we’re really, really special,” Plymouth Whitemarsh junior Jah Pendergrass-Sayles said. “Like I said we kept our composure and feed off our energy and play for each other, we really different. I feel like we one of the best teams out here.”

Pendergrass-Sayles was one of the Colonials tasked with trying to slow down Lower Merion senior guard Sam Brown. The Penn commit knocked down four 3-pointers in finishing with a game-best 25 points but PW did what it could to make sure the total did not come easy.

“I just went to the game knowing just that I could lock it down, confident in myself, get under his skin, make him uncomfortable,” Pendergrass-Sayles said. “Use my length – just get up under him and I feel like that worked for us tonight.”

Colzie had a trio of 3-pointers in scoring 12 of his 16 points in the first half. Qudire Bennett had 11 points, six coming during an 8-0 run in the fourth that had PW leading 61-49 with 1:46 to go.

Lower Merion, however, scored the next nine – five straight points from Brown getting the Aces within 61-58. But Ben Marsico put the Colonials up five with two free throws with 38.0 seconds left. After a Lower Merion 3-pointer was short, Bennett grabbed the rebound and was fouled at 30.1 seconds. He made the second of two from the line for the game’s final margin.

“Just couldn’t really find our synergy offensively,” Lower Merion coach Gregg Downer said. “Some of that is their length, some of that is they were throwing multiple guys at Brown and it wasn’t one of our better outings but No. 3 (Coleman) played great for them. We knew coming in he was a key component.”

Sam Wright chipped in 11 points for Lower Merion (22-5), who were looking to become the first team to win three straight District 1-6A titles since Abington from 2017-2019.  The Aces host Downingtown West in the third-place game 6 p.m. Friday.

“They’re good and electric crowd, good atmosphere,” Downer said. “Didn’t think we got many great whistles, so you need a lot to advance. Congratulations to (PW coach) Jimmy (Donofrio), they’re a good opponent, he’s a good coach but I think they’re length and overall athleticism kind of just wore us down.”

Brown had eight points in the first quarter, which ended with him riffling a pass inside to Justin Poles for a buzzer-beating layup to give the Aces a 16-14 edge.

The second quarter’s scoring started with a Brown 3-pointer that made it 19-14 but that ended up being Lower Merion’s last field goal of the half.

“Just come in the game focusing in on him, he did his thing but we just had to lock down the other players,” Coleman said. “Just play hard, push the ball and just speed up the game cause they can’t play fast with us.”

Coleman hit two free throws at 7:04 then his tough hanging finish in transition cut PW’s deficit to 19-18. A Colzie 3-pointer put the visitors ahead 21-19 with another Colzie triple extending the lead to five.

A Coleman basket off a drive made it 26-19 before Mobley stopped the run with a pair of foul shots at 2:18.

“We feed off of each other’s energy,” Pendergrass-Sayles said. “We find our shooters. If you’re hot, we’re not going to pass the ball away from you, we’re going to keep giving it to you. Jaden was really hot tonight then Chase was really good then Q was really good so I feel like we all just played great tonight.”

Coleman’s double-clutch 3-point play had Plymouth Whitemarsh up 31-23 with 1:04 remaining in the quarter. Two Wright free throws at 46.2 seconds had the Aces down six, but a Colzie foul shot at 17.1 seconds then Coleman’s putback gave PW a nine-point advantage at intermission.

The Colonials scored the second half’s first five points, a basket by Lincoln Sharpe pushing their lead to 39-25. Mobley, however, sliced the margin in half with a personal 7-0 run capped by a putback dunk to make it 39-32.

Coleman responded with the next four points, his jumper giving PW a 43-32 lead with the Colonials going to the fourth up 47-36 thanks to a Bennett basket after rebounding his own miss.

A Coleman jumper had Plymouth Whitemarsh’s lead at 49-39 but a Wright 3-pointer then Mobley basket as he was fouled pulled the Aces to within 49-44.

Sharpe’s bucket had the Colonials ahead seven before Brown’s 3-point play off a drive at 4:43 made it 51-47. Colzie connected on a jumper but Wright scored on a drive to have the Aces again within four at 53-49.

After a Colzie free throw at 3:53, Bennett’s putback gave PW a 56-49 lead. Sayles-Pendergrass added a basket and was fouled at 2:42 while two more from Bennett put the Colonials up 60-49.

Plymouth Whitemarsh led 61-49 after a Sharpe foul shot with 1:46 left, but an Owen McCabe basket then two Teddy Pendergrass III free throws at 1:14 had the Aces trailing 61-53.

Brown drained a 3-pointer then after a PW turnover converted on a drive to put Lower Merion’s deficit at just 61-58. But the Aces could not pull any closer and Marsico made it a two-possession game with his two free throws at 38.0 seconds.

District 1-6A Semifinals
(3) Plymouth Whitemarsh 64, (2) Lower Merion 58
Plymouth Whitemarsh 14 20 13 17 – 64
Lower Merion 16 9 11 22 – 58
Plymouth Whitemarsh: Chase Coleman 8 3-3 19; Jaden Colzie 5 3-7 16; Qudire Bennett 5 1-4 11; Lincoln Sharpe 4 1-2 9; Jah Pendergrass-Sayles 3 0-5 7; Ben Marsico 0 2-2 2; Totals 25 10-23 64.
Lower Merion: Sam Brown 9 3-3 25; Sam Wright 4 2-2 11; John Mobley 3 3-3 9; Justin Poles 3 0-1 6; Teddy Pendergrass III 0 3-5 3; Owen McCabe 1 0-1 2; Jordan Meekins 1 0-0 2; Totals 21 11-15 58
3-pointers: PW-Colzie 3, Pendergrass-Sayles; LM-Brown 4, Wright.