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District 1 5A: Upper Merion finds redemption in win over Strath Haven

02/22/2017, 10:15pm EST
By Josh Verlin

Matt Faw (above) and Upper Merion won their first district playoff game in 12 years on Wednesday night. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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There was a feeling that Upper Merion waited an entire year and a few extra days to try and experience. It was elusive, teasing, leaving the Vikings unsure all season long whether or not they would get a chance to taste it.

And then finally, it came, as sweet as ambrosia.

Redemption.

Emotion hit the Vikings like a wave at the final buzzer of their District 1 5A first-round home game against Strath Haven on Wednesday night, as a group whose season ended in disappointment in that same gym a year ago finally got to taste postseason success with a 55-45 win.

“Best feeling in the world,” senior forward Ethan Miller said. “This is the climax of our careers, and hopefully it keeps going up.”

Last year, Upper Merion walked out of its gym with its heads hanging after getting upset by Academy Park in the first round of the District 1 AAAA tournament, which had been the state’s largest classification.

After that loss, Upper Merion coach Jason Quenzer stayed optimistic, knowing that he had the vast majority of his rotation -- including his best three players -- back the following year.

But optimism and success are two separate emotions. And as comforting as optimism can be, the relief of eventual success can’t be matched.

“With this group of kids, they’ve been working for so long, it’s just validating to know that hard work does pay off,” Quenzer said. “For these guys -- for these guys, this group of guys, these seniors that I have on the roster, it’s just a tremendous feeling.”

“After last year, it’s good to feel what a playoff win feels like,” senior forward Matt Faw agreed.

It’s the program’s first district playoff win since 2005, when it was in the AAA classification.

Faw, a 6-8 forward bound for Holy Cross in the fall, led the way with 20 points. Miller, a 6-6 forward with all sorts of high-academic Division III schools in pursuit, poured in 14; their classmate, point guard Aiden Newell, chipped in 10.

All 55 points scored by Upper Merion were by seniors. Even those who didn’t score deserved mention.

Joseph Breece, a 5-11 “power forward,” as he’s listed on the team’s roster, grabbed six rebounds and four steals, providing a big impact on the game without attempting a single shot.

“You’re not going to see him in the box score all the time; he knows that, we know that,” Quenzer said. “But he’s invaluable...you can’t replace him.”

With Faw, Miller and Newell among others returning from last year, Upper Merion was one of the more talked-about squads in the region coming into the season.

After a 6-0 start to the season, things went south. A broken bone in Faw’s foot knocked the sharpshooting big man out of the lineup for six weeks starting in late December, and the Vikings (14-10) struggled without him.

But they got enough wins to earn a home game in districts, which was all they needed to get over last year.

“After I got hurt, we had to grind out all our wins,” Faw said. “They fought a lot of games, we won some big games and got a home playoff game, which is all we can ask for.”

Strath Haven didn’t go quietly into the cool February night, giving Upper Merion some reminders of last year’s season-ending loss, when Academy Park stormed back in the second half for a 53-51 win.

The Vikings held a 41-33 lead on the Panthers going into the fourth quarter before Strath Haven big man John Harrar ripped off seven points in a row to cut the lead to just one with 6:30 remaining.

“Flashes going in your mind a little bit,” Quenzer admitted. “You look up at the scoreboard, it keeps getting cut.”

Faw got a key bucket inside to get the lead back to three (45-42) with two minutes left, but it was largely a defensive struggle over the fourth quarter. Both teams had turnover issues -- each finished with 17 giveaways -- and when it wasn’t turnovers, it was missed shots.

Strath Haven went scoreless for the last five minutes, save for a 3-pointer by Ryan Morris with under 20 seconds to play and the game out of hand. Upper Merion knocked down 8-of-12 foul shots in the last two minutes to close out the win.

Harrar, a 6-foot-9, 250-pound center and one of the more physically impressive players in the region, finished with 21 points and six rebounds as well as four steals. But after that initial fourth-quarter salvo, the Strath Haven big man didn’t score again.

“He’s a good player, he imposes his will, and he’s very patient,” Quenzer said of Harrar, “but I think [senior forward] Anthony Sheppard played tremendous defense on him tonight and the surrounding guys played good defense, enough to win the game.”

In the 5A quarterfinal round, Upper Merion will have to travel to Chester, the top seed in the district. The Clippers took out No. 16 seed Upper Moreland 75-59 on Wednesday night.

The Vikings will qualify for the state playoffs unless they lose that one and the two play-back games that follow; seven of the eight first-round winners get spots in the PIAA 5A bracket.

Upper Merion hasn’t been to the state tournament since 1993.

“We have to keep gelling as a team and stay focused,” Miller said. “When we are focused, we are unstoppable.”

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In other District 1 5A action:

No. 1 Chester 75, No. 16 Upper Moreland 59
Jamar Sudan led the way for Chester as they downed Upper Moreland in the first round in 5A district play; the senior chipped in 16 points and 8 rebounds for the host Clippers. Upper Moreland trailed by seven at the break, but the perennial district powerhouse was able to hold on for the win. Ahrod Carter and Brian Randolph contributed 10 and 12, respectively.

No. 2 Great Valley 54, No. 15 Upper Perkiomen 43
After leading 21-15 at half, the Patriots of Great Valley never looked back as they defeated Upper Perk 54-43. Alex Capitano led all scorers with 16, including going 8-8 from the free throw line down the stretch. Great Valley as a team finished 18-20 from the stripe. For the visiting Indians, Ryan Kendra scored 16, while big man Nolan Graber added 10 points and 8 rebounds.

No. 3 Penncrest 51, No. 14 Harriton 44
Tyler Norwood 
scored 23 and Justin Ross added 14 as the Lions triumphed over the visiting Rams. That was revenge for Penncrest, which had lost to Harriton during the Central League season by six in late January. It was a 23-20 lead at the half for Penncrest, which widened that advantage to eight during the third quarter and then held on for the win.

No. 4 Bishop Shanahan 59, No. 13 Academy Park 39
The Eagles flew away from the Knights early, jumping out to an 33-14 halftime lead as Danny Browne scored all 11 of his points in the first half. Academy Park never threatened down the stretch as Shanahan moved on behind 19 points from senior forward John Kozinski and a 12-point, eight-rebound outing from junior forward Kevin Dodds. Senior guard Nick Simmons led AP with 17 points. 

No. 5 West Chester Rustin 57, No. 12 Glen Mills 50
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No. 10 Springfield (Delco.) 58, No. 7 Holy Ghost Prep 42
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No. 11 Wissahickon 67, No. 6 Phoenixville 48
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