Pope John Paul II outlasts Pottstown in overtime

Royersford >> The standings of the Pioneer Athletic Conference Frontier Division seem to reorder a handful of times each week.

No one has separated itself from the pack.

Entering Tuesday, five teams were separated by fewer than two games. Both Pope John Paul II and Pottstown were looking up at Upper Merion, one game behind in the loss column before their game tipped off.

“Our side is so close,” Pottstown coach Scott Palladino said. “Every night they’re knocking each other off.”

Drew McKeon scored 20 points for @PJPII_Hoops in an OT win over Pottstown. pic.twitter.com/BNx4e00SfR

— Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue) January 23, 2019

The game between the Panthers and Trojans mirrored the tussle going on in the Frontier standings, as neither team could fully take control of the game until the final buzzer. Even then, five extra minutes were needed.

Eventually, Pope John Paul was too much, taking down Pottstown, 75-70, in overtime on Tuesday night and moving into a tie for first place in the division standings with Upper Merion’s loss to Pottsgrove.

“I feel like everyone’s even,” PJP coach Brendan Stanton said. “There’s not a bad team in our division … I think it really just comes down to who makes shots that day, who makes hustle plays, and that’s something that we’ve been trying to preach.”

Pope John Paul II (6-3 Frontier, 10-8) trailed by two with 11.5 seconds left. After a scramble, the ball found its way into the hands of senior guard A.J. Williams. He got off a shot from behind the 3-point line and was fouled with 5.6 seconds left. Williams made 2 of 3 shots and a decent look by Pottstown (4-4 Frontier, 7-10) didn’t fall at the other end to send the game into overtime.

“A.J. stepped up huge as a senior leader,” said PJP junior Drew McKeon, who finished with 20 points.

McKeon was the hero in PJP’s overtime win over Phoenixville on Saturday when he hit a three in the finals seconds. He started the scoring in Tuesday’s overtime with a three.

After two free throws by Williams and a bucket by senior Sean Bustynowicz, who finished with 16 points, McKeon helped seal the game when he scooped up a loose ball in the final seconds. PJP outscored Pottstown, 8-3, in overtime.

“I think in this league it’s just going to come down to who makes big plays,” Stanton said. “Drew McKeon made a big play for us against Phoenixville the other night, A.J. Williams, who was hurt at the beginning of the year and hasn’t played big minutes, stepped up tonight, made big plays, and that’s what high school sports are about.”

PJP took the lead into halftime after senior guard Tyshyre Malachi, who used to play for Pottstown, found sophomore forward Justin Green for a bucket in the final seconds of the half.

It was hard to keep track of who was ahead in the third quarter as the lead switched hands eight different times in the final five minutes of the period. Panthers’ senior guard Jack Phillips closed the quarter with a layup to give PJP a 49-48 lead entering the fourth.

Pottstown scored seven straight to start the fourth and take a 55-49 lead with 6:33 remaining before the Panthers’ cut into the deficit and Williams’ free throws sent the game into overtime.

Senior guard Floyd Dashiell led Pottstown with 19 points, sophomore forward Robert Burress finished with 15, and juniors Donovan Towson and Tre Bass scored 13.

“It wasn’t due to lack of effort,” Palladino said of his team’s loss. “They made one or two more plays than us down the stretch. We came up on the losing side, but it wasn’t because of lack of effort.”

The Trojans have a tough stretch upcoming. They host Methacton on Friday and Upper Merion on Saturday. They then finish off their season with a road trip to Boyertown and home games against Upper Perkiomen and Hempfield.

“Tonight put us in a situation where we don’t control our own destiny any more,” Palladino said. “We’ve gotta win our last two (division games) and see how it all shakes out.”

The Panthers’ upcoming stretch is just as difficult. After Wednesday’s non conference game against Lansdale Catholic and a home game against Norristown on Friday, PJP goes on the road to play Perkiomen Valley and Upper Merion next week.

PJP found itself close to the bottom of the division standings in early January, but after four straight division wins the Panthers are in a great position entering the homestretch of the season.

“We’re all focused, we’re all locked in,” McKeon said.