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Central League Semifinals: Jones' buzzer-beater lifts Lower Merion past Penncrest

02/12/2017, 10:30pm EST
By Zach Drapkin

Terrell Jones (above, in Jan.) delivered Lower Merion a win over Penncrest in the Central league semis. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Zach Drapkin (@ZachDrapkin)
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With 8.4 seconds to go in a tie game, Lower Merion head coach Gregg Downer knew exactly whose number he was going to call.

Having held for the final shot, the Aces put the ball in the hands of senior wing Terrell Jones to break the deadlock with Penncrest and send them to the Central League championship game.

“You try to get your best player the ball in that situation,” Downer said. “He’s our best player and you try to give him the opportunity to make a play.”

After inbounding the ball to point guard Steve Payne, Jones dashed to the left wing, circled back behind Payne to take the dribble-handoff, and darted towards the lane.

He was supposed to take it to the rim, but with a Penncrest defender draped all over him, Jones decided to pull up and, falling backward, let one fly.

“It’s not my first time being around last-second shots, so I felt confident,” Jones said. “Whenever I got an open look, I was going to shoot it.”

The shot flew through the net just as the clock hit zero.

As teammate Jack Forrest described it, “fadeaway, swish, and that’s game.” Lower Merion 53, Penncrest 51.

“Penncrest guarded it extremely well and Jones just made a really tough shot at the buzzer,” Downer said. “He’s hit some big shots in his career, and that one tonight was another one for his resume.”

A four-year player under Downer, Jones has seen his fair share of high-pressure, late-game scenarios.

In the first round of Districts last season, he sunk a game-winning three to lift Lower Merion over Penn Wood and extend the Aces’ season.

Jones has become LM’s go-to guy and he came through once again on Sunday. He finished the contest with a double-double of 17 points and 11 rebounds.

“We give him the ball at the end of every game when it’s close. He’s just the clutchest player on our team,” Forrest said.

This contest really did come down to a battle of the playmakers in the end. Lower Merion (16-7, 14-3 Central League) just got the ball last.

Down 51-48 with under 90 seconds to play, Penncrest head coach Mike Doyle put the ball in the hands of his star, junior Tyler Norwood, and Norwood stepped up to the task, knocking down a game-tying three with 47 seconds remaining.

The 5-foot-10 do-it-all guard matched Jones’ point total of 17 on the night, hitting four threes to lead the Lions (16-7, 12-5 Central League).

Unfortunately for him, Lower Merion ran down the clock and waited for the final shot, which Jones executed to perfection.

“There were two star players there,” Downer said. “[Norwood] made the big three and then my star player answered the bell at the very end.”

Those final moments were the culmination of a very tight, back-and-forth game which saw the Lions control things early on at a rapid pace before a 15-2 Lower Merion run ended the first half with the Aces up 31-26.

Coming out of the break, LM was able to stay in the lead for the majority of the final two periods, but Penncrest kept the deficit within a possession or two.

Each time the Lions came knocking, Lower Merion had an answer.

With Steve Payne picking up his fourth foul on a controversial charge, Jack Forrest was thrust into a key role for the Aces in the second half, and he delivered.

Despite shooting struggles in the first half, Forrest found his stroke for 10 fourth-quarter points, finishing with 15 points and six rebounds on the afternoon.

His jumper put LM up 51-44 with under three minutes left in the fourth, but a couple of blunders from the Aces ensued, allowing Mike Mallon to score four straight for Penncrest and set up Norwood’s game-tying three.

Mallon had 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Lions alongside Norwood and Chris Mills, who ended up with eight points and 10 boards.

Lower Merion now advances to Tuesday night’s Central League championship game, where the Aces will take on Strath Haven, which beat top-seeded Conestoga earlier on Sunday.

“This four-team format, mathematically everyone’s got like a 25-percent chance to win it,” Downer said. ”You just want to make it to the final and put yourself in a position to win it.”


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