skip navigation

District 1 6A: Penn Wood tops Perk Valley to enter states with momentum

03/03/2017, 11:45pm EST
By Tyler Sandora

Tyler Sandora (@Tyler_Sandora)
--

It has been an exciting year for Penn Wood, to say the least.

After winning the talented Del-Val conference, winning its first two games in district play, qualifying for the 6A state tournament, and winning 12 of their last 15 games, first year head coach Matt Lindeman couldn’t be prouder of his team.

The senior-laden Patriots added onto their successful season with a 68-56 win over Perkiomen Valley Friday night, clinching the No. 7 seed out of District 1 in the PIAA 6A state tournament.

They’ll play either Hazelton or Williamsport -- who face off tomorrow in the District 2/4 6A championship -- in the first round of the state bracket next Saturday, March 11.

“This season speaks about how much work these guys have put in,” Lindeman said. “Most of the team returned from last season when the were about .500, so it’s great to see them doing well.”

Penn Wood, who beat Neshaminy and Pennsbury convincingly to open up district play, had dropped their last two games to Abington and Conestoga. Now the Patriots (19-8) will enter the state tournament on a win, providing them with an special ingredient they need to be successful.

Energy.

“We need to move the ball to create energy,” Ghee said. “We play our best when we play like that. We’re going to go at whoever we play with energy.”

The Patriots were guided by a pair of seniors, Kairi Jones and Pernell Ghee, two of the 10 on the roster.

Jones, a 5-foot-9 point guard, led the way for Penn Wood with 22 points, including four 3-pointers and a few highlight-reel layups.

“I’ve been off the last few games, haven’t been playing well at all,” Jones said. “Coach asked me to step up tonight and I feel like I did.”

Ghee, a 6-foot-4 slashing win added 14 points in the win. The senior, who spoke with PSU Harrisburg and Gwynedd Mercy after his impressive performance, knows what it is going to take to continue his last season of high school basketball.

“In the playoffs, everybody is a good team, so we gotta play with lost of energy,” he said. “Coach tells us to keep our heads up and follow the gameplan, and when we play with lots of energy we are hard to stop.”

Senior Vincent Smalls added an inside presence, taking advantage of the lack of height on the Perk Valley front line. Smalls added 11 points, all of them coming in the paint. Jay Fitzgerald, another senior, provided the outside shooting, connecting on three 3-pointers en route to nine points.

“They love to play together,” Lindeman said. “They have great chemistry with each other.”

Penn Wood jumped out to an 35-24 lead at half, and started off the third quarter with a 15-4 run, thanks to Jones’ defensive intensity leading to multiple Perk Valley turnovers early in the second frame.

“We knew their game, and we knew we needed to step up in the second half,” Jones said. “I feel like I stepped up.”

Penn Wood was able to use its defining full-court press to limit the game speed on defense.

When they got to offense, however, it was a completely different story.  The Patriots were able to get out and run almost at will, leading to multiple fastbreak opportunities.

“Tonight was all about getting back on the floor,” Lindeman said. “We didn’t give our best effort on Tuesday, so it feels great to get this win.”

As for Perk Valley (22-6), the Vikings will enter the state tournament as the No. 8 seed out of District 1, which sends 10 6A teams onto states. They were led by senior star Justin Jaworski, who contributed 14 points in the loss.

Jaworski, also a standout on the gridiron, was watched by representatives from American, Lafayette, and Colgate, in addition to some D-II schools.

The Vikings, who came into district play as the No. 1 overall seed, have dropped the last three decisions, all at home. While they will still be playing in the state tournament, they are well aware that this is not the team they knew and loved all year.

“We need to hit the reset button,” coach Mike Poysden said. “We know that we can win these games, we just need to get it out of ourselves.

“It is easy to get hung up in a loss, but we need to start enjoying these games,” he continued. “After all, making it here, this is the reward.”

Fellow senior Sean Owens added nine points for the P2AC champs, all in the second half. Owens, the primary ball handler, was having trouble getting his shot to fall in the first frame.

“We need to put this game behind us,” Owens said. “We have a target on our backs, and district play is always than the regular season, so we need to start playing with this intensity in the first half of our games.”

Despite the loss, Poysden given some optimism from some of his non-seniors, junior Dante Graves and sophomore Tyler Stretchay. Graves earned his first start, and it proved successful.

The duo combined for 22 points including five 3’s between the two of them.

“It's really refreshing to see them do well,” the coach said. “I thought Dante played especially well tonight.”


HS Coverage:

Recruiting News:

Tag(s): Home  Old HS  Boys HS  Delaware Valley (B)  Penn Wood  PAC-10 Liberty (B)  Perkiomen Valley  Tyler Sandora