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Wilson edges Methacton in potential PIAA playoff preview

02/02/2020, 12:05am EST
By Chris Wasson


Methacton coach Jeff Derstine (above) and the Warriors finished the regular season 20-2. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Chris Wasson (@CWWasson)
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If you did not know the calendar just turned to February, you might have thought it was mid-March and deep into the PIAA state playoffs at Methacton’s gym on Saturday. 

The stands were filling up with anticipation during the second half of the junior varsity game between Methacton and Wilson West Lawn, and few seats remained at the tip. The host Warriors came into the game at 20-1, with their only loss coming to Catholic League power Roman Catholic, and the Wilson Bulldogs sported an equally impressive 18-1 mark out of District 3. 

The game was back and forth all afternoon, but Wilson got two late free throws and survived a last-second open look to beat Methacton, 58-56. This match-up could easily repeat itself late in the PIAA 6A state playoffs as both teams have the talent to make it all the way to Hershey in the state’s big-school division.

Methacton coach Jeff Derstine was thinking about playoff preparation when he scheduled this late season non-conference game. 

“The way our league schedule sets up, we finished on Thursday, league playoffs don’t start, if you’re in the first round, it’s Wednesday, so you have a little buffer there,” he said. “So it was a logical day to try and play, and we wanted to test ourselves in non-conference, and it was a great opportunity for us to play a high-level team.” 

“It’s a tough loss, but this game was really for both team, just kind of like a tune-up game, what we need to come to expect in both districts and states,” said Methacton senior Jeff Woodward, the team’s Colgate-bound big man. “They’re a state championship-level team...just getting the experience in a regular-season game, that will translate into those bigger moments, is huge for us.”

Methacton got off to a sluggish start, allowing Wilson to jump out to a 10-2 lead in the first quarter. 

Senior Eric Timko kept the Warriors close with 17 of his team-high 21 points in the first half. Timko scored on a variety of mid-range jumpers, driving lay-ups and a 3-pointer in an all-around strong performance. 

Wilson pushed the tempo with suniors Stevie Mitchell and Mykel Huffman getting out in transition and 6-6 senior Evin Timochenko leading the way inside for the Bulldogs. Nothing came easy for either team as the defensive intensity was high all afternoon, and Wilson headed to the locker room with a 33-30 halftime lead.

Methacton’s second half adjustment was to feed the ball inside to Woodward as much as possible, and Wilson had no answer as Woodward was able to back down any Bulldog defender and get easy lay-ups. 


Methacton senior Jeff Woodward (above) had 16 points, 16 rebounds and five blocks in a losing effort. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

“I thought Jeff did a good job of trying to keep things simple in the post, when we got him in good low-post position, I thought he was pretty decisive, he took the ball strong,” Derstine said about the burly big man, who finished with 16 rebounds and five blocks to go along with his 16 points. “But Timochenko did a good job of battling with us, too.”

Mitchell continued to take the ball strong to the basket for Wilson and spent much of the game at the foul line. Woodward and the Warriors used a strong run to even the game at 47 at the end of the third quarter, sending the Methacton student section into a frenzy.

Baskets were hard to come by in the fourth quarter, but Woodward continued to dominate inside whenever he got the ball, getting six of Methacton’s nine points in the quarter. 

The Warriors took their first lead in the four and pushed it out to 55-51 with just over three minutes to play. Mitchell paced the Bulldogs, scoring five of Wilson’s fourth-quarter points and tying the game at 56-56 from the line with under a minute to play. 

The last 50 seconds saw both teams commit turnovers trying to take the lead, but Huffman was fouled in transition near half court with 4.7 seconds to play with Methacton already in the penalty. The Wilson junior calmly sank both foul shots to give the Bulldogs the lead at 58-56. 

Methacton took a time-out and drew up a full court pass to Woodward, trying to use the senior’s height to get a shot or quick pass to a teammate for an open look. Wilson tipped the ball out of bounds, and Methacton inbounded from underneath its basket, but the ball was tipped away again leaving .5 seconds left. That was just enough time for the Warriors to get an open look just beyond the foul line for sophomore Brett Byrne, but the shot bounced off the rim and the traveling fans from Wilson went wild in their section of the stands. 

“We had a play set up, and Byrne got wide open, and unfortunately it didn’t drop,” Woodward said. “It’s okay, I told him in the locker room next time, we’re going to have him take that shot every time, we have confidence in him...we’ve got confidence in everybody to take that shot.”

Mitchell led Wilson with a game-high 22 points, with Huffman (10), Timochenko (11) and senior Avanti Lockhart (10) all scoring in double figures. 

Both teams struggled from deep, with Methacton shooting just 2-14 and Wilson making 2-of-9.

The Warriors will be in nothing but playoff mode from here on out, with the Pioneer Athletic Conference playoffs first, where they’re the overwhelming favorite to repeat. They’re also going to be one of the top four seeds in the District 1 6A tournament, where they’re on the short list of favorites, and are in the running to go deep in the state tournament as well.

It’s a run that Woodward, Timko, Eberly and the rest of the Methacton seniors have been gearing towards for four years, and now it’s upon them.

“I think they completely get it, and I think that’s been their focus all season long,” Derstine said. “You have the conference tournament, district tournament, you see where you stand, and you have to take it one game at a time and that’s what we try to do...and I think these guys have been incredible at that mindset, going one game at a time, and I think they’ll take this [loss] the right way and get better.”

By Quarter
Wilson:          13 | 20 | 14 |  11 | 58

Methacton:    15 | 15 | 17  |  9  | 56 

Shooting
Wilson: 18-48 FG, 2-9 3PT, 20-26 FT

Methacton: 21-47 FG, 2-14 3PT, 12-17 FT

Scoring
Wilson: Mitchell 22, Timochenko 11, Lockhart 10, Huffman 10, Borian 5

Methacton: Timko 21, Woodward 16, Eberly 8, Kropp 6, Byrne 5


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