City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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ROYERSFORD — The first time Methacton squared off with Norristown this season, the Warriors blew out the Eagles by 25 points. Their second matchup, Norristown kept it closer, though it was still a double-digit Methacton victory.

With a third matchup occurring in the Pioneer Athletic Conference semifinals, Methacton head coach Patrick Lockard knew his squad was about to take Norristown’s best shot yet.

“Anytime you play a team three times in a season, you know they’re going to have counters to the counters to the counters,” he said. “We had to come out here and prove that, hey, we’re the No. 1 overall seed for a reason, but we knew we were going to get teams’ best shot.”

Methacton certainly got Norristown’s best shot yet, but it wasn’t enough. The PAC Liberty Division champ advanced to the league championship for the fourth time in a row courtesy of a 47-42 win at Spring-Ford High School on Friday night.

They’ll play Pope John Paul II for the PAC championship on Tuesday night, 7 PM at Spring-Ford.

After a few late-season losses, Methacton (20-2) did what it needed against Norristown (17-7), in a game that featured quite a bit of back-and-forth and little separation between the two programs for most of the 32 minutes of action. The gap was two in Methacton’s favor after one quarter and one in Norristown’s at halftime, the Eagles forcing an uncharacteristic eight Warriors turnovers in the first half alone.

The difference came in the third quarter, which ended 12-6 in Methacton’s favor, the top seed taking a 33-28 lead into the final eight minutes. Norristown didn’t back down at any point, even as Methacton expanded its lead to nine with a couple minutes left; Binky Johnson’s squad responded to get within five with 35 seconds remaining, before a layup by Colin Meyer and a pair of foul shots from Matt Christian helped Methacton hold on.

“We can’t be surprised when teams come out and they’re hitting shots, they’re making plays, we have to make sure we match their energy,” Lockard said. “We knew Norristown was going to come out and be crazy energetic, have a lot of intensity, so I thought we did a good job, we let them have a few runs here and there but overall, we did enough obviously to win the game.”

The Warriors benefitted from an 11-point, 14-rebound, four-assist, four-block outing from senior forward Cole Hargrove. The 6-foot-8 senior forward has been one of the better defensive presences in the PAC the last couple years, and has rounded out his offensive game as well, knocking down a 3-pointer to cap the first quarter. 

Hargrove was a little limited defensively in the first half due to two early fouls, but he had a big rejection at the end of the second quarter, and got more assertive on that end as the game went on. All four of his blocks were emphatic swats, reminders to an undersized Norristown squad that his post presence was not to be underestimated. 

“I just have to be a leader and I’ve got to lead in my actions and show the younger guys and the juniors that even if you have a slow start, you can still pick it up,” he said. “In 2020 […] I wasn’t really a leader on that team, I was mainly a sixth man, a contributor, and being a leader on the team in the championship, it’s great to do that.”

Brett Byrne led Methacton with 12 points and six assists, the senior guard playing his typically tough, smart brand of hoops, with a couple terrific finishes to boot. Meyer, a 6-4 forward, had 11 points and four rebounds, getting a number of layups off backdoor cuts and taking advantage of attention paid to Hargrove to find himself free around the rim. 

With Norristown paying extra-close attention to Cam Chilson and Matt Christian, holding the pair of confident-scoring juniors to a total of 10 points combined, the double-figure outing from Meyer was crucial.

“This is what playoff basketball’s all about, you have to earn every single point that you’re out there. You’re not going to get any gimme possessions,” Lockard said. “I thought we did a great job of crashing the boards. Colin Meyer with a big fourth quarter from us. You’re going to need those contributions from other guys.”

DJ Johnson led Norristown with 12 points, adding four rebounds, three assists and four steals as Norristown forced 13 Methacton turnovers. Righteous Mitchell added 11 points, while Nassir Williams scored all nine of his in the second quarter.

The PAC, along with the rest of the area’s public high school leagues, didn’t hold a league postseason or crown a champion last year. That prevented Methacton from making it four titles in four years, after Jeff Woodward (Colgate), Erik Timko (Jefferson) and Co. made it a three-peat before exhausting their high school eligibility.

Hargrove and Byrne were both sophomores on that squad; Byrne one of the Warriors’ starters, while Hargrove was their sixth man and a key two-way cog in helping spell the 6-10 Woodward. Now they’re the two most important pieces for a group that has its eyes set on not just league but the District 1 6A title, another feat the 2020 group accomplished.

But unlike two years ago, when Methacton was the clear favorite in both — as well as on the short list to take home a PIAA state title before COVID canceled everything — this year’s group is one of several bunched at the top of the district rankings. They’re one of the favorites, for certain, but it’s far from a surefire conclusion.

“This year, we really have to take one game at a time and have that mindset that we have to fight through every game, it’s not going to be an easy win,” Hargrove said.

In Pope John Paul II, Methacton will face off against the same program it beat in the 2020 championship game, but it likely won’t be anywhere near the 74-49 romp it was two years ago. 

The Golden Panthers earned their way into the PAC title game with a 55-43 win over Phoenixville, getting 19 points from JP Baron to make it back to the championship.

“It’s going to be important for us to defend the 3-point line,” Lockard said in a text after the second semifinal game. “Their depth of ball-handling and offensive playmakers makes them tough to key on a specific guy or two. 

“Offensively, we have to take great shots and limit our turnovers. If we do that, I think we’ll put ourselves in a position to win the game. But they’re a tough squad, and it won’t be easy.”

By Quarter

Methacton:  11  |  10  |  12  |  14  ||  47
Norristown:  9   |  13  |   6   |  14  ||  42

Shooting

Methacton: 18-33 FG (4-9 3PT), 7-12 FT
Norristown: 17-46 FG (3-10 3PT), 5-7 FT

Scoring

Methacton: Brett Byrne 12, Cole Hargrove 11, Colin Meyer 11, Matt Christian 8, Cam Chilson 2, Matt Blakemore 2, Jason Lagana 1
Norristown: DJ Johnson 12, Righteous Mitchell 11, Nassir Williams 9, Zaki Gomez 4, Rayshon Stinson 2, John DiNolfi 2, Myon Kirlew 2