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District 1 6A: Fourth-quarter energy boost puts Abington in semifinals

02/24/2017, 11:15pm EST
By Will Slover

Robbie Heath (above, last week) surpassed 1,000 points as Abington made its way into the district semifinals for the second time in three years. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Will Slover (@WillSlover31)
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With a packed crowd in its home gym and a spot in the District 1 6A semifinals at Temple University’s Liacouras Center on the line, Abington was in need of a boost with just a four-point lead headed into the fourth quarter.

As the final period got underway, that needed boost came in timely fashion for the host Abington Ghosts. 

After rattling off two quick buckets to start the quarter, the Abington faithful got to their feet and the Ghosts were off and running. 

“We knew we would have a big student section and it was a nice crowd, the community came out and supported us,” Abington head coach Charles Grasty said. “I thought that we had the energy and that energy just carried in that fourth quarter, that was amazing.”

Abington’s fourth quarter boost propelled the No. 3 Ghosts to a 67-49 win over No. 11 Penn Wood and gave Abington and spot in the District 1 quarterfinals for the second time in three years. 

Topping Penn Wood was no easy task for the the reigning Suburban One League champions though, as the Patriots were fresh off an upset of No. 6 Pennsbury in the quarterfinals and weren’t going to go down easily to Abington.

“We watched a couple of games and we were super impressed. They’re really good. We saw that Pennsbury game and we were like, ‘Wow, this team is very good,’” Grasty said. “They’re very good and they’re going to make a lot of noise in the state playoffs. We just worked our butts off in practice, prepared, and we were able to be successful.”

Abington’s huge final frame, in which it outscored Penn Wood 26-12, was a thing of beauty as the Ghosts shot 7-of-10 from the field in the final frame while also knocking down 11 of their 16 free throw attempts while forcing a number of Penn Wood turnovers and grabbing nearly every possible rebound. 

“We just felt like stuff started to click. I felt like in the fourth quarter, they wanted it. They knew what was in front of them and I thought they stepped up,” Grasty said. “You’re going to make shots, you’re going to miss shots, you’re going to turn the ball over but I think our energy just skyrocketed in the fourth quarter.”

Abington’s late push was propelled by stellar outings from all five of their starters, as the group combined to score all but three of Abington’s points on the night. 

Leading the way for the Ghosts was junior guard Robbie Heath, who became the newest member of Abington’s 1,000-point club on Friday night. 

Heath scored 11 of his game-high 21 points in the fourth quarter and capped off the huge frame with a fastbreak slam, his final points of the night that raised his career total to 1,001, which cements him in the Abington record books as the second non-senior and joining his father, Robert "Tiger" Heath, as the first father-son duo in school history to accomplish the feat. 

While scoring 1,000 is a great feat, Heath was more thrilled with the outcome of the game. 

“I just wanted to win but everyone at school before the game was saying, ‘Oh you’re 20 points away, you’re 20 points away,’” Heath said. “First of all, I just wanted to win and the cherry on top was the 1,000th point. I’m just glad we got it.”

Scoring wasn’t all Heath did on Friday night, as he also came up with six rebounds and four assists while altering a number of Penn Wood passes with his notable speed and athleticism.

“He worked his tail off for three years. He came in as a freshman, he played his role and took his time and now he’s a leader,” Grasty said. “We expect that from him and he stepped up and we’re super proud of him.”

Helping Heath carry the scoring load was sophomore Eric Dixon. The 6-foot-7 forward was a matchup problem for Penn Wood from the opening tip as the tallest player on the Patriots’ roster stands at just 6-foot-4. Noticing the mismatch on the other side, the Division I target took advantage as he finished with 20 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.

“He’s very good and he’s only a sophomore. The sky’s the limit for Eric and he knows that and he’s just going to keep working,” Grasty said. “He’s extended his game and it’s great to see the development. He’s going to keep getting better because that’s the type of kid he is. He’s going to work his tail off and we’re excited to have him here.”

Another sophomore, Lucas Monroe, turned in another noteworthy performance for Abington as the 6-foot-5 guard scored 12 points and also grabbed three rebounds and dished out three assists.

“Lucas is huge for us. He handles the ball for us, he rebounds for us, he does everything for us,” Grasty said. “He still has a lot to learn as a sophomore but Lucas is undoubtedly super important to this team.”

Rounding out the massive contributions from Abington’s go-to group were a seven-point, six-assist, two-rebound showing from senior point guard Robert Young and a four-point, seven-rebound, two-block outing from senior center Joseph O’Brien

On the other side, Penn Wood was led by 13 points apiece from guards Rashaad Anderson and Sharif Goff.

Up next for Abington is a rematch of the Suburban One League title game in a clash with Plymouth-Whitemarsh in the District 1 semifinals.

After topping PW in the league title game by a score of 70-66 back on February 13, Abington knows the the Colonials will have a little extra incentive to make sure the same thing doesn’t happen this time around. 

“I’m sure they have a little chip on their shoulder but so do we. We’re not done, we have goals,” Grasty said. “One of our goals is to get to Temple and get down there and be successful so we’re going to enjoy tonight and be ready to get to work tomorrow.”

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In other District 1 6A quarterfinal action...

No. 8 Cheltenham 64, No. 1 Perkiomen Valley 53
Click here for coverage

No. 2 Plymouth Whitemarsh 44, No. 7 Conestoga 29
The defending district champions have become known for their defensive prowess, which Conestoga found out the tough way as the Pioneers couldn’t get to 30 points in the loss. According to PAPrepLive, the Colonials had 14 blocks against just nine field goals made by ‘Stoga, and though 44 points is far from P-W’s best offensive output of the season, that’s certainly good enough when their defense is clicking at that level. It was only a one-point P-W lead after one quarter, but the Colonials held the Pioneers to only two points in the second. Ahmad Williams had 17 points for P-W.

No. 4 Coatesville 62, No. 5 North Penn 51
Info coming soon

Playbacks
No. 9 Spring-Ford 93, No. 16 Garnet Valley 85 (2 OT) 
It was a crazy night in play-backs, as three of the four games went to extra sessions. Spring-Ford kept its state playoff hopes alive for another game, but not without the best efforts of Garnet Valley, who got buckets from Cade Brennan at the end of both regulation and the first overtime to extend things an extra eight minutes. But a combined 49 points from Noah Baker (25) and Austin Hokanson (24) got it done for the Rams, who will host Downingtown West with the hopes of going to the PIAA state tournament for the third time in four years.

No. 13 Downingtown West 62, No. 21 Hatboro-Horsham 50
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No. 10 Lower Merion 58, No. 18 Central Bucks East 54 (3 OT)
In the wildest game of the night on the 6A side, senior Noah Fennel (10 points) nailed the game-tying three-pointer in the final minute of regulation to force overtime, capping a ten-point rally in the final three minutes for the Aces. Sophomore Steve Payne hit four consecutive free throws in the third overtime to seal the victory. Senior Terrell Jones and sophomore Jack Forrest led the way with 19 points apiece for Lower Merion, which advances to play Pennsbury for a spot in the PIAA Class 6A Tournament.

No. 6 Pennsbury 84, No. 19 Norristown 83 (OT)
Down by six with under a minute to go in regulation, Pennsbury rallied back to force overtime on a Mark Flagg tip-in of a missed free throw with 2.2 seconds to play. In the overtime period, Pennsbury guard Tyler Sessa-Reeves went a perfect 6-for-6 from the line to keep his squad’s season alive. Senior guard Addison Howard paced Pennsbury with 29, while the St. Francis commit Flagg added in another 25 and 6-foot-7 forward Billy Warren scored another 12. Norristown was propelled by a balanced scoring effort from Xavier Edwards (19), Mickeel Allen (15), Mike Dorman (15), and Darius McGowan (15). 

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