Pottstown boys basketball outlasts Pottsgrove in second half surge, claims first PAC Frontier win

POTTSTOWN >> Against his alma mater, Ken Ivory saw an opportunity to right the ship.

The second-year Pottstown boys basketball coach had his team coming off a gut-punch, one-point divisional loss to Upper Merion just four days prior. And with crosstown rival Pottsgrove in his gym, Ivory knew the fuel was there to go full steam.

“We didn’t want to fall two games behind,” Ivory said on the Pioneer Athletic Conference Frontier race. “It’s not where you want to be, especially on the small side. We feel we can compete with anybody on our side, so it was very important to get back even.”

That’s just what the Trojans did.

After finding itself down nine points at halftime, Pottstown surged back with 20 in the third quarter and took a 51-47 win over the Falcons at Strom Gym on Tuesday.

Jullian Beasley (11 points) keyed the comeback with back-to-back baskets to start the half. A 3-pointer from Abdul Jackson (nine points) capped a 10-0 run that put Pottstown (4-2, 1-1) back on top, 32-31. The gas pedal was held down the rest of the way.

“He got hot. He can get hot that way,” Ivory said on Beasley. “You got guys like Sadeeq (Jackson) and Ty (Elliot-Moore), Abdul (Jackson), but we get loose and we preach that. We try to be spread out. We have nights like that, we’ll be hard to beat when guys are stepping up and contributing.”

Q3, 5:20 — Pottstown retakes the lead, 32-31 after this three from Abdul Jackson.

That’s 10 unanswered points for the Trojans to start the second half. pic.twitter.com/Zo8GeeZghG

— Evan Wheaton (@EvanWheaton) December 21, 2022

Elliot-Moore put up a game-high 19 points with seven of them in the final eight minutes. The senior guard entered Tuesday night averaging 15.8 ppg, a team-high ahead of the holiday break.

A stout defense on the other end of the floor complimented the dialed-up offensive production with Dimark Lyons playing key minutes during that time. Pottsgrove (3-5, 0-2) was held to nine points in the third quarter and seven in the fourth as a result.

“We started helping more,” Elliot-Moore said. “We were just playing aggressively. And defense, that does it all.”

Nadhir Ward had a loud presence for the Falcons in the post through the first half. The 6-foot forward was able to drive to the rim, make tough finishes and scored 11 of his 15 points through the opening 16 minutes.

That being said, a strong night for the Pottsgrove big man is one that the Falcons have been trying to replicate through the season this far.

According to Pottsgrove coach Scott Palladino, it’s been a work in progress for a young team that features just two seniors and multiple first-time starters.

“We’re struggling to find a post player. We’re trying to glue a guy down there,” Palladino said. “It’s just them getting confidence in playing down there. They just don’t have that confidence right now, we’re struggling to find that inside presence.”

Q2, 5:20 — Gabe Rinda hits Nadhir Ward over the middle to go up 20-11 for Pottsgrove. pic.twitter.com/ysoaaFtj5U

— Evan Wheaton (@EvanWheaton) December 21, 2022

Both squads entered Tuesday’s PAC Frontier matchup looking for their first win. The Falcons was outlasted by Pope John Paul II, 48-41 this past Friday before dropping a non-league game against Interboro.

The Trojans had also lost two straight ahead of Tuesday, a non-league contest dropped to Unionville. Pottstown, however, vented those frustrations on the boards all night.

“They wanted it more than we did,” Palladino said. “They got a lot of second-chance shots. I think they had 33 rebounds. We were a lot of one-and-dones.”

Pottsgrove led Daniel Boone 41-23 at the half during the Falcons’ opening game of the season during their home invitational. That’s been the cycle for the young squad thus far, those advantages escaping them after intermission.
What’s the cause of those blown leads? Well, it’s multi-layered.

“We’ve kind of self-destructed in four of our five losses where we had leads at halftime and we’ve come out and just kinda squandered them,” Palladino said. “Just poor execution, turnovers, shot selection and the ability to not get second shots. It’s hurting us. It really is.”

Pottstown 51, Pottsgrove 47

3-point goals: Doctor 2, Ward, Rinda, Beasley 3, Elliot-Moore, A. Jackson