City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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When Perkiomen Valley coach Mike Poysden put then-freshman Tyler Stretchay into the Pioneer Athletic Conference championship game a year ago, the young athlete was perhaps a little too amped up for the biggest minutes yet of his career.

“He went in and he heaved one eight feet past the rim,” Poysden recalled.

A year later, Stretchay found himself in about as pressure-filled a situation as a high schooler can have: standing at the foul line inside the gym at St. Joseph’s Prep, his team clinging to a slim lead it had held all game, under a minute left on the clock. The fact that it was a 1-and-1 situation only added to the tension.

But the 6-foot-3 sophomore guard didn’t sweat it in the slightest.

“I’ve made that shot so many times in practice and over the summer, that’s what you prepare for, that’s what you think about, so it was just really cool to get the chance to go up there,” he said. “And making them, the feeling was just awesome.”

Stretchay’s clutch foul shots, and two more by senior guard Sean Owens in the final 10 seconds, helped Perk Valley pull off a stunning 57-55 win over Roman Catholic in the first round of the PIAA Class 6A state tournament.

It’s the first state tournament win for Perkiomen Valley while playing in the state’s largest classification -- currently 6A, previously AAAA -- and only the second in program history, after a singular victory in 1972.

“It just feels great to come down here and beat them in a Philadelphia Catholic gym,” said senior Justin Jaworski, who led the Vikings (as usual) with a 27-point, five-rebound, four-assist performance. “Not one person believed in us, except for us.”

Fellow senior Hogan Millheim added 12 points for the Vikings. Owens chipped in four points, rebounds and assists apiece.

In beating the Cahillites, the Vikings knocked off the program which had won each of the last two PIAA Class AAAA tournaments, though it was far from the same team. Previous Roman stars Tony Carr, Nazeer Bostick and Paul Newman were in the gym at St. Joe’s Prep, though the two Penn State freshmen and Brown-destined big man -- Newman spent this year at prep school -- were on the baseline taking it in as spectators.

The most prominent returning member of last year’s rotation, senior Dak’Quan Davis, finished with six points and six rebounds; fellow senior J.P. Sanders had 15 points in their final game in Cahillite uniforms.

Roman (20-6) was paced by junior wing Allen Betrand, who had 21 points and four rebounds. Betrand, Davis, Sanders and sophomore Seth Lundy (five points), four usual starters, all came off the bench in favor of typical deep reserves Quamere Garrick, Charlie Alcorn, Nate Nicholson and John Kelly, who played the first four minutes.

By that point, the Cahillies were already in a 10-5 hole, and never quite seemed to recover.

Perkiomen Valley (23-6) hadn’t looked itself since earning the state tournament bid with a win over Garnet Valley on Feb. 21, losing games to Cheltenham, North Penn and Penn Wood to fall to the eighth seed out of District 1 heading into the state playoff.

But the Vikings had what Poysden called the “best week of practice all year” following the Penn Wood loss last Friday, setting the stage to come out strong in the school’s first state playoff game since 1974.

“I can’t explain how it happened or why it happened or what it did,” Poysden said, “but I think there was a reshuffling of the world that now we’re climbing up again.

“I thought for a long stretch of district play, and even in league play, posting those [power] rankings made it even harder to get things done,” he added, referring to Perk Valley’s No. 1 slot in the District 1 6A tournament. “Because now everyone knows and you’re going to get everyone’s best shot, and we walked into this week back with the chip on our shoulder we had in the preseason.”

After leading 24-16 at half, Perkiomen Valley weathered a third quarter that saw Roman pick up the tempo, getting 10 points from Jaworski and a bucket each from Owens and Millheim to stay on top 39-35 going into the fourth.

Roman took its only lead of the game on a Davis layup with 3:34 left to make it 47-46, but a Jaworski layup and-one put it safely back in Perk Valley's hands with 90 seconds to play.

That set up Stretchay's foul shots; Owens' came at 55-53 with 10 seconds remaining.

“That really speaks to our senior leadership because I think me, Sean and Hogan really took us down the stretch,” Jaworski said. “So to respond like that after they came back like that is a real sign of our senior leadership and our team. Everybody did something in that win.”

Stretchay, a standout pitcher for Perk Valley’s baseball teams who’s already hearing from Division I programs like Old Dominion and West Virginia for his hurling abilities, finished with eight points and six assists.

Six of his points came during the second quarter, when the 6-2 guard -- a Reading native who moved to California when he was eight and back to Pennsylvania before eighth grade -- had several aggressive takes to the hoop, converting on three of his four shots as Perk Valley turned a 12-8 lead after one quarter into that six-point halftime advantage.

“His freshman year, we saw potential in him, he came off the bench a little bit just to shoot 3s,” Jaworski said. “Just to see his game develop, he took it to the basket tonight, a couple of pull-ups. He’s great right now -- in two years, he’s going to be a problem.”

Two years is a long way off for a Perkiomen Valley group that’s playing for its seniors right now, which will go down as the greatest class in school history. Jaworski, Millheim and Owens have been the team’s driving force for the last two seasons, during which team the Vikings have won 45 games and accomplished more on the court than any group before them.

“Next year we’re definitely going to miss them,” Stretchay said, “but every game we get with them is a good opportunity and I’m just taking advantage of it.”

After that, it’ll be Stretchay’s team.

Don’t expect him to miss by eight feet anymore.

~~~

CLASS 6A
FIRST ROUND
Saturday, March 11
Central Dauphin East 64, Abington 63 (OT)
Archbishop Ryan 77, Parkland 55
Hempfield 62, William Allen 57
Williamsport 59, Penn Wood 41
Perkiomen Valley 57, Roman Catholic 55
Reading 58, North Penn 45
Plymouth-Whitemarsh 80, Lebanon 64
Pocono Mountain West 71, Lower Merion 57
Harrisburg 55, Downingtown 34
Emmaus 68, Cheltenham 67
Abraham Lincoln 66, Conestoga 60
Carlisle 64, Coatesville 56
State College 82, Woodland Hills 71
Butler 51, Canon-McMillan 46
Pine-Richland 83, Latrobe 82
Taylor Allderdice 85, North Hills 61

SECOND ROUND
Wednesday, March 15
Sites and times, TBA
Central Dauphin East (3-6, 17-10) vs. Archbishop Ryan (12-3, 21-5)
Hempfield (3-2, 20-9) vs. Williamsport (4-1, 21-4)
Perkiomen Valley (1-8, 23-6) vs. Reading (3-3, 26-3)
Plymouth-Whitemarsh (1-3, 24-5) vs. Pocono Mountain West (11-1, 23-4)
Harrisburg (3-1, 20-6) vs. Emmaus (11-4, 21-6)
Abraham Lincoln (12-2, 23-5) vs. Carlisle (3-5, 19-8)
State College (6-1, 21-4) vs. Butler (7-2, 18-9)
Pine-Richland (7-1, 25-1) vs. Taylor Allderdice (8-1, 19-8)

~~~

CLASS 4A

FIRST ROUND
Saturday, March 5
West Philadelphia 78, Lancaster Catholic 65
Wilkes-Barre GAR Memorial 72, Selinsgrove 59
Conwell-Egan 81, Saucon Valley 59
Nanticoke 58, Bethlehem Catholic 56
Imhotep Charter 74, Harrisburg Bishop McDevitt 41
Scranton Prep 99, Salisbury 46
Universal Audenried 84, Jim Thorpe 36
Berks Catholic 59, Lewisburg 39
Middletown 71, Danville 56
Johnstown 62, Schuylkill Valley 52
Quaker Valley 76, Harbor Creek 52
Grove City 57, Central Valley 50
New Castle 72, Sharon 38
McGuffey 48, Clearfield 46
Beaver Falls 62, Central Martinsburg 52
Erie Strong Vincent 67, South Fayette 48

SECOND ROUND
Wednesday, March 15
Sites and times, TBA

West Philadelphia (12-4, 14-9) vs. Wilkes-Barre GAR Memorial (2-2, 19-7)
Conwell-Egan (12-2, 10-14)) vs. Nanticoke (2-3, 19-7)
Imhotep Charter (12-1, 27-2) vs. Scranton Prep (2-1, 23-3)
Universal Audenried (12-3, 19-5) vs. Berks Catholic (3-3, 22-7)
Middletown (3-2, 21-5) vs. Johnstown (6-1, 16-10)
Quaker Valley (7-2, 23-3) vs. Grove City (10-2, 20-6)
New Castle (7-1, 24-2) vs. McGuffey (7-5, 19-6)
Beaver Falls (7-4, 13-9) vs. Erie Strong Vincent (10-1, 24-3)

~~~

CLASS 2A
FIRST ROUND
Saturday, March 11

Julia Masterman 70, Marian Catholic 62
Halifax 47, Muncy 42 (OT)
Northeast Bradford 41, Mountain View 38
Math, Civics & Sciences 52, Christopher Dock 35
Constitution 53, Church Farm 49
Scranton Holy Cross 52, Shenandoah Valley 35
Ridgway 54, North Penn-Mansfield 50
Berlin Brothersvalley 66, Purchase Line 62
Sewickley Academy 60, Rocky Grove 47
Altoona Bishop Guilfoyle 36, McConnellsburg 35
Greensburg Central Catholic 66, West Middlesex 53
Coudersport 80, United 45
Johnstown Bishop McCort 65, Jeannette 51
Our Lady of Sacred Heart 61, Cambridge Springs 52
Bishop Canevin 74, Brockway 38
Wilmington 69, Chartiers-Houston 38

SECOND ROUND
Wednesday, March 15
Sites and times, TBA
Julia Masterman (12-3, 21-5) vs. Halifax (3-1, 17-10)
Northeast Bradford (4-2, 16-10) vs. Math, Civics & Sciences (12-1, 19-9)
Constitution (12-2, 16-9) vs. Scranton Holy Cross (2-1, 19-8)
Ridgway (9-3, 22-5) vs. Berlin Brothersvalley (5-1, 17-9) Purchase Line (6-3, 16-9)
Sewickley Academy (7-1, 21-4) vs. Altoona Bishop Guilfoyle (6-2, 18-7)
Greensburg Central Catholic (7-4, 24-1) vs. Coudersport (9-1, 25-0)
Johnstown Bishop McCort (6-1, 22-4) vs. Our Lady of Sacred Heart (7-2, 19-7)
Bishop Canevin (7-3, 20-5) vs. Wilmington (10-1, 19-7)