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District 1 5A: Great Valley powers way past Springfield, into semifinals

02/25/2017, 11:45pm EST
By Tyler Sandora

Nate Graeff (above) and Great Valley will take on Penncrest in the District 5A semifinals next Wednesday. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Tyler Sandora (@Tyler_Sandora)
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You will never find Great Valley’s best attribute on the stat sheet.

They have shooters, rebounders, and passers, but there is one piece missing from the engine that powers the Patriots game.

Intensity.

They definitely brought that intensity on Saturday night as they defeated Springfield (Delco.), 41-38.

With the win, Great Valley punched its ticket to Temple University for the 5A district Final Four, where it will meet the No. 3 seed Penncrest Lions. The Patriots also qualified for a spot in the PIAA 5A state playoffs.

The main catalyst of the intense game play was junior forward Nate Graeff. At 6-foot-2, Graeff needed to play shut-down defense to make up for his lack of height.

Whether it was diving on the floor after loose balls, boxing out Springfield’s big man Great Orjih, or making shots just as the score was getting closer, Graeff was seemingly everywhere on the court

“Nate Graeff played the game of his life,” coach Paul Girone said. “I thought he defended their big men well. He is three or four inches shorter but he took him right out of the game. He did exactly what we needed.”

Graeff, also a linebacker on the football team, scored nine points for the host Patriots, who limited Springfield to 5-of-25 shooting in the second half.

Girone preached to his team the need to slow the game down, and not get into a track race.

Graeff wasn’t the only momentum-builder on the team, as sophomore Alex Capitano sparked a six-point spurt to start the fourth quarter. The majority of his scoring came on slashing layups or putbacks off of offensive rebounds.  

“I was making my shots so I had to keep shooting,” said Capitano, a 6-4 wing and the team’s brightest young player. “Coach told us we had to bring the intensity tonight and we certainly did.”

Capitano totaled 15 points for the night, including a nine-point outburst in the second quarter.

Great Valley spent the majority of the game in a 2-2-1 press, hoping to produce energy and turnovers. They did just that, forcing the Cougars into 10 turnovers, while slowing down the game to their tempo when they couldn’t get easy layups on the break.

Girone knew coming in that the Patriots would need to rely on their defense if they wanted to win the game.

“The challenge was steep. They have all the ingredients,” Girone said. “It came down to our defense and the execution of our offense.”

After trailing 28-27 at half, the No. 2 seeded Patriots were prepared for a zone offense, and they handled it just as they wanted. Great Valley worked through its offense, getting everyone touches before they took a shot. Junior Liam Ward was able to knock down back-to-back three’s early in the third quarter, getting the crowd involved, and shifting momentum back towards the Patriots sideline.

“When they went to zone, I told them there is no need to rush,” Girone said. “We need to be there in the end. Our guys didn’t panic in the zone. Eventually they had to get out of it.” 

For the visiting Cougars, senior Justin Collins led the way with nine points.

Springfield was having trouble finding its rhythm in the second half after only trailing by one at half. The Cougars shot 12-of-46 from the field, and 3-of-18 from beyond the arc.

Great Valley was making it difficult for Springfield guards Kyle Long and Kyle Sullivan to get clean looks, holding them to a combined 11 points.

“They contested everything at the rim,” Cougars coach Kevin McCormick said. “We missed a lot of layups, and they executed their game plan very well.”

Springfield isn’t finished its season yet. The Cougars will play host to Wissahickon on Wednesday in the play-back round, gaining a state playoff berth with a win; even with a loss, they’ll have one more opportunity to get into the state bracket.

Most of all, Girone was happy with the way his guys embraced the idea of playing as a team.

“That’s the concept of a team, know your role and do your role,” he said. “Shooters know they have to shoot, cutters have to cut. Everybody knew what to do.”

~~~

In other District 1 5A Quarterfinal action:

No. 8 Upper Merion 53, No. 1 Chester 50
The Vikings pulled off the only upset of the day, and it was a big one, traveling down to the Clip Joint and knocking off the top seed. Holy Cross commit Matt Faw looked like he was back to full health after missing nearly two months with a broken bone in his foot, going for 23 points and grabbing 10 boards to offset the Chester frontcourt of Jamar Sudan (14 points) and Jordan Camper; the Clippers also got 18 points from senior guard Ahrod Carter. Fellow seniors Ethan Miller (12 points) and Aiden Newell (11 points) chipped in double figures for the Vikings.

No. 3 Penncrest 60, No. 11 Wissahickon 56 (OT)
Tyler Norwood
had one of his brightest games at the most crucial points of the season, dropping 30 points, including five 3-pointers, while also surpassing the 1,000-point mark to lead his team into the state tournament for the second time in three years. Norwood, a 5-10 junior guard, had the go-ahead bucket with 75 seconds left, but Mike Doyle’s group had to survive a last-minute turnover to get past the Trojans. Chris Mills sealed the win with a clutch pair of foul shots with under 20 seconds to play, as Wissahickon came up empty on its final possession.

No. 4 Bishop Shanahan 54, No. 5 West Chester Rustin 39
The Eagles advanced to the PIAA state tournament for the first time in 22 years with a complete-team effort against the Golden Knights. Shanahan never trailed, building up a 33-14 lead late in the first half, though Rustin was able to cut it to eight in the third quarter, but got no closer. Junior David Angelo and senior Brendan Dearing had 10 each to pace the Eagles, which had six players score between six and 10 points in the win. Rustin was led by 11 points from sophomore Jake Nelson; the Knights will take on Chester in the play-backs.


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