City of Basketball Love

Will Slover (@WillSlover31)
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Following a league championship game in which they had the title ripped from their grasp, Perkiomen Valley had just three days to bounce back and try to keep its season alive.

The Vikings did just that as they beat Cheltenham 49-45 in a tightly-played thriller at Cheltenham on Friday night to advance to the second round of the District 1 AAAA tournament.

In front of a nearly sold out crowd in favor of the home team, the visiting Vikings, seeded No. 20, didn’t let the noise get to them.

“We’ve been in that situation a lot,” said junior guard Justin Jaworski.  “We’ve been there before, we’re a pretty old team so we’ve all been there before.”

Jaworski definitely showed that the big crowds don’t bother him, as he cashed in for 29 points on 7-of-12 from the field and 13-of-15 from the free throw line.

“We tell him all the time: he could be the best player in every gym he walks in,” said Perkiomen Valley coach Mike Poysden.

Being the best player in the gym is definitely something that happens pretty frequently for the two-sport standout, who finished the PAC-10 season second in scoring at 19.7 ppg and leading the league with 56 3-pointers.

In addition to Jaworski’s 28 points, the Vikings also got solid efforts from fellow junior guard Sean Owens and senior forward Sean Moriarty, who finished with nine and eight, respectively.

This upset win isn’t the only big win PV has pulled off this year, as they clinched a PAC-10 playoff berth by beating District 1’s 12-seed Spring-Ford on January 29 and followed that up with a win over Phoenixville, who was previously unbeaten in league play, in the PAC-10 Final Four.

“We believe we belong in every gym we walk into and it speaks to the character of those guys.” said Poysden.

Perkiomen Valley would have had another statement win to add to their already impressive list if it weren’t for a questionable call made by the officials during the PAC-10 championship game, which ultimately cost the Vikings the game.

Rebounding from such a heartbreaking loss certainly wasn’t a task for the faint of heart, as PV overcame a 1-3 league start to rally and sneak into the Final Four just to have the ultimate reward snatched from them by the blow of a whistle.

“I have to be completely honest with you and tell you that those guys did it themselves,” said Poysden “It’s a testament to their character, it’s a testament to how much they believe in one another. Weaker individuals would have crumbled around those situations and those guys dealt with it, buried it and moved on.”

Although burying the situation might not have been the easiest thing to do, Perk Valley knew that bigger things were ahead.

“We used that as motivation. It happened, it’s over with. You can’t dwell on it,” said Jaworski.

Motivated was exactly what Jaworski was as he saw his team head into halftime trailing 24-20, and came out of the half by scoring 13 of his team’s 14 third quarter points while not missing a shot.

This loss marks the end of a great season for Cheltenham, as the Panthers went 16-5 overall and 10-4 in the ultra-competitive Suburban One league American division.

Senior-laden Cheltenham will graduate 11 seniors, leaving them with just five returning players for next year.

Two of those graduating are Khalil White and Anthony White (no relation), who were two huge contributors for the Panthers in their game against PV.

Khali, who finished with 10 and Anthony, who finished with 16--14 of those coming in the first half--are leaving two of the many voids the Panthers will have to fill in the future.

One player that will be back with Cheltenham next season is junior forward Trevonn Pitts, who recorded 10 points and a game-high 10 rebounds on Friday.

With Pitts and four sophomores returning, the Panthers will hope to build on this season’s success for next season.

While Cheltenham’s focus has moved onto the 2016-2017 season, PV’s focus remains on what lies ahead, as they play 4-seed Ridley on the road Tuesday night.

“We started slow and had a lot of must win games,” said Jaworski. “But we picked it up and we’re playing our best basketball of the season.”

With the Vikings playing their best basketball to date, led by the outstanding Jaworski, you can bet the Vikings are planning to continue their Cinderella run throughout the PAC-10 and District 1.

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More CoBL District 1 AAAA First-Round Coverage
-- Lower Merion 68, Penn Wood 66 (OT)
-- Academy Park 53, Upper Merion 51
-- Spring-Ford 69, Penncrest 60

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