Plymouth Whitemarsh rallies past Wissahickon
LOWER GWYNEDD >> The Wissahickon boys basketball team played about as perfect a first quarter as it could against Plymouth Whitemarsh Tuesday night. It led by 11 points after eight minutes and put on a passing clinic to beat the Colonials pressure defense.
The good times for the Trojans didn’t last much longer than that.
Their lead peaked at 13 points early in the second quarter, but after PW coach Jim Donofrio called for time, his team went on a game-changing run en route to a 58-52 win at Wissahickon High School.
The Colonials got within five at halftime and continued dominating through the third quarter. What proved to be a 30-8 PW run took the Suburban One League American Conference leaders from a 28-15 deficit to a 45-36 lead heading into the fourth.
The PW defense played a big part in the run. After forcing just one turnover in the first quarter, it forced eight in the second quarter and held the Trojans to just 15 points in the second and third quarters combined.
Offensively, it was the high-energy twins that got the Colonials back in the game. Juniors Ahmin and Ahmad Williams combined for 20 points in the middle quarters after totalling just three in the first.
Ahmad finished with a game-high 16 points, Ahmin added 14 and sophomore center Naheem McLeod scored 14.
The game tightened up late in the fourth quarter. Wissahickon trailed by eight for most of the final session but went on a 6-2 run to cut its deficit to four, 56-52 with 30 seconds remaining.
PW immediately extended the lead back to six and all but ended the game when a long in-bounds pass to Cheo Houston resulted in a breakaway layup to make it 58-52, which turned out to be the final score.
The third quarter was all Colonials. The visitors out-scored the hosts 20-5 after the half. Senior Matt Walker hit two threes to help the Colonials score the first 11 points after intermission.
The third ended with Ahmad Williams playing ball control. He held the ball near mid-court with no one guarding him for more than a minute before slicing through the defense for a layup with two seconds left to put PW ahead by nine.
The Trojans got off to a white hot start in the first quarter. They executed perfectly against PW’s press and their only turnover was an offensive foul.
Shane Ford nailed a three on his team’s first possession and finished the quarter with nine points. Max Rapoport made both of his three-pointers in the first and Chaz Owens took advantage of some nice passes for a pair of layups.
Ford finished a team-high 15 points, Rapoport added 12 on four threes and Owens and Zach Reiner eached scored seven.
Plymouth Whitemarsh remains perfect in SOL American play — now sporting an 8-0 record. Both of its closest games came against the Trojans — a 67-60 win in December and Tuesday’s 58-52 triumph.
The Colonials have all but guaranteed a district playoff berth. In the latest unofficial ranking released Monday, they were the No. 2 seed in District 1 Class-6A. The top 39 teams make the playoffs.
Wissahickon falls to 5-3 in SOL American play, fighting with Hatboro-Horsham for third place behind PW and Cheltenham.
The Trojans entered the week No. 13 in District 1 Class-5A, where the top 26 teams make the playoffs.
