City of Basketball Love

Andrew Robinson (@ADRobinson3)
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ROYERSFORD — No matter where Cole Hargrove has to go, Matt Blakemore will get him there.

The two Methacton seniors grew up just a few houses apart on the same street, the childhood buddies starting out as basketball teammates not long after they first picked up a ball. Hargrove would soon start growing taller and taller, moving on to more and more elite teams while Blakemore gravitated more to the football field, leaving hoops behind for a few years when they got to high school.

This season, Blakemore came back to basketball and as the unofficial official chauffeur for Hargrove; he's served an important role on and off the court for the Warriors including making sure Hargrove gets to the court to do his thing in the first place.

On Tuesday at Spring-Ford High School, Hargrove was dominant with 22 points, 17 rebounds and four blocks as the top-seeded Warriors used a key fourth quarter stretch to down No. 2 seed Pope John Paul II, 55-42, to win the PAC tournament title. Blakemore was right there with him at the end in an impactful defensive effort.

"It all starts on the defensive end for us," Blakemore said, clutching his piece of the championship net. "We know we can score the basketball and we always have the advantage of Cole, but it's all about defense. At halftime in the locker room, we were all telling each other it was about who wants it more and that's what the game would come down to.

"You saw it the last 16 minutes of that game. We really gave it all we had and put everything out on the floor."

Methacton took home its fourth PAC tournament title in the last five years the league has held a postseason playoff, technically repeating after the 2019-20 season with no tournament being played last year. The Warriors, the top seed in the District 1 6A bracket, will now turn to that playoff as will PJP II, the top seed and defending champion in Class 4A.

Blakemore scored just two points on Tuesday, although they were an important two that tied the game 36-36 going into the fourth quarter, but added two assists and a block. The 5-foot-10, 175-pound guard, one of Methacton's top reserves, never knows exactly how much he'll play in any given game, but when he does get in, the senior goes all out.

An all-league safety each of the last two seasons for the Warriors, it makes sense that some of that ballhawk football style carries into Blakemore's basketball game. The team-leader in tackles as a junior, Blakemore's job on Tuesday was to match up with PJP II's Jaden Workman and keep the Golden Panthers' energetic wing in check.

"In preseason I told him, 'Put me in a position where it's hard to take you off the floor.' I wanted him to put me in that difficult position and earn the way up there," Warriors coach Pat Lockard said. "In the beginning of the season, he didn't play a whole lot, but as we kept going, he started playing a bit more and now it's become game to game. Tonight, I thought Blakemore did a really good (job) understanding the game plan and defensively, he was flying around and being a nuisance while making under-control plays."

The story of how Blakemore became Hargrove's driver is actually pretty simple. Hargrove doesn't have his driver's license yet, he's known Blakemore for a long time and his neighbor and fellow senior has a car. That's the easy part of the exchange.

Hargrove (above) had a big double-double to lead his team to the PAC championship title Tuesday night. (Photo: Andrew Robinson/CoBL)

Getting all 6-foot-9 of Hargrove and his endless gaggle of arms and legs into Blakemore's car - a Honda Civic - is the challenge.

"The first time he got in my car, he smacked his head on the door," Blakemore said. "He sits with his head ducked down, he looks like a clown trying to fold into a box. It's funny."

Hargrove all but confirmed it's a bit of a contortionist act.

"I make a way, I squeeze in. I usually have to put the seat back," the senior big man said. "I can text him to drive me anywhere. It's nice to have."

Being that big does have its advantages though, as there's only one place in Blakemore's sedan that Hargrove can even fit.

"He has to sit in the front," Blakemore said. "We carpool. I have a couple other guys on the team that live around me, but they know they have to get in the back."

Hargrove called Blakemore "a gritty guy, intense," and a nice asset to have on the team. With the guard's efforts on Tuesday so effective, Hargrove said it was also a huge boost defensively in the second half and especially in the fourth quarter when the Warriors made their run.

If Hargrove and senior Brett Byrne, who bagged 18 points on Tuesday, are Methacton's two cornerstone players, then surely the guy who drives one of them around has to be in the next tier of valuable players to the program?

"Absolutely," Lockard said with a big laugh. "It's a total team effort on the floor and off the floor. Whatever it takes to get us here, whether it's a ride to practice, setting a screen or cheering on the bench, everyone has their part."

As for the game, it more than delivered. The teams essentially traded shots for three-and-a-half quarters, with Byrne and Hargrove carrying most of the load for Methacton while PJP II was a little more balanced following JP Baron's lead.

A free throw from Hargrove gave Methacton a 37-36 lead 20 seconds into the fourth, and the Warriors didn't give that lead back. With a seven-inch height advantage over the tallest player on the Panthers' roster, Hargrove had a natural advantage, but he still worked hard and aggressively to get his points and made some nice catches on post lobs from his teammates on the perimeter.

Hargrove just took over in the fourth. He dismantled a driving layup attempt, with Blakemore grabbing the board and springing Byrne for a layup and 39-36 lead after he had put the Warriors in front from the foul line. A lob from Cam Chilson turned into a basket that kicked off the game-changing run with the dagger play coming when Chilson tight-roped the sideline for a steal that led to Blakemore setting up the guy who crams into his passenger seat every morning for an and-one layup.

"I had to be a leader, talking on defense and assertive on offense," Hargrove said. "I wanted to make the right reads and just be focused. I only had one foul, so I was able to go up, block and contest shots and be aggressive."

By Quarter

Methacton: 13 | 13 | 10 | 19 || 55
PJP II:          10 | 16 | 10 | 6 || 42

Scoring

M: Cole Hargrove 22, Brett Byrne 18, Matt Christian 5, Cam Chilson 4, Colin Meyer 2, Matt Blakemore 2

PJP: JP Baron 16, Kevin Green 8, Jaden Workman 6, Dylan Russ 6, Luke Sykes 3, Trey Rogers 3