Rich Flanagan (@richflanagan33)
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DOWNINGTOWN — Jim Donofrio vividly recalls the last time Plymouth Whitemarsh went four straight seasons without a state playoff appearance. Following a loss to Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and the Chester Clippers in the 2011 PIAA Class 4A semifinals at St. Joe’s University, P-W did not make the state tournament again until 2015. The Colonials were the defending champion and were a game away from a second consecutive state title game appearance but with Jaylen Bond (Temple) out due to injury, the Clippers handled them the entire way.
Donofrio last led the Colonials to the state tournament in 2018 behind a team that fell to eventual PIAA 6A champion, Roman Catholic and finished the season with a 28-2 record. That team was led by 7-foot-4 center Naheem McLeod (Florida State), Ish Horn, Alan Glover and twin guards Ahmin and Ahmad Williams. Since those players moved on, Plymouth Whitemarsh has struggled to find its way back to a postseason where it has had a wealth of success.
The 2021-22 version of the Colonials may not have the star power of a Bond, McLeod or C.J. Aiken, but what it lacks there, it has made up for with determination and the ability to learn from mistakes, according to Donofrio.
“We’ve had teams in the past that were ranked high to start and that’s a different animal,” Donofrio said. “The fun with this team is that as long as we keep coming back, the mistakes are in the past. Clichés work and you learn from them so as long as you’re not losing confidence, you’re going to get better. They had to go through believing they could win these games.”
Qudire Bennett (above) and PW got back to the state tournament after missing out the last three seasons. (Photo: Rich Flanagan/CoBL)
Junior forward Qudire Bennett poured in 26 points and nine rebounds while sophomore guard Jaden Colzie hit four three-pointers on his way to 18 points as Plymouth Whitemarsh downed Downingtown West, 63-58 in the second round of the District 1 6A Tournament. The victory secured the Colonials’ first state playoff berth in four years.
Donofrio was quick to admit that knowing he is going back to the state tournament allows him to breathe a sigh of relief.
“it’s been a while and there was a lot of pressure, particularly on myself, so it would be nice to win this game to get us back into the conversation,” Donofrio said jokingly.
After trailing 22-10 in the second, 22nd-seeded Plymouth Whitemarsh (17-7) completely turned things around and Bennett spearheaded that effort, scoring 10 points in that quarter alone with his final bucket being a smooth left-handed layup just before the halftime buzzer.
At 6-foot-5 with a big upper body, Bennett is able to muscle his way to the rim, but on this night, he was zipping past the taller front line of eighth-seeded Downingtown West in 6-9 junior Jake Warren and 6-5 senior and Penn State football commit Drew Shelton.
“If they’re bigger than you, you need to be quicker than them,” Bennett said. “I was looking for ways to get by them. As you saw, I was able to get by them with ease.”
Bennett began the second half with a 3-pointer then hit two free throws to tie the game at 37-37 at the 3:20 mark of the third. Warren, who had nine points and 11 rebounds, sank two free throws of his own then Dylan Blair, who led the Whippets (17-7) with 20 points, drilled a three-pointer to increase the lead to 42-40. A 3-pointer from Colzie then a tough finish by Bennett gave the Colonials a one-point advantage heading into the fourth. As he did time and again, Colzie knocked down a cold-blooded trey from well beyond the arc then Bennett matched him by hitting a deep one of his own from the wing and Plymouth Whitemarsh led, 53-49.
For Bennett, expanding his game out to behind the three-point line and becoming more explosive while maintaining his stout frame has allowed him to become a much more well-rounded player.
“You have to be versatile in these games, especially the playoffs,” Bennett said. “The regular season and the postseason are two different atmospheres. Guys are prepared so they know how to stop you, so I work on my offensive game constantly.”
Trey Jones (seven points) picked Blair’s pocket and finished at the other end to give the Colonials a four-point cushion with 2:58 remaining. As he had hit four shots from downtown already, the Whippets were finally able to contest one of Colzie’s jumpers, but he was fouled and sank all three to put Plymouth Whitemarsh up, 58-51.
Bennett and Colzie, who holds offers from North Texas and St. Bonaventure, are the two players Donofrio will look to when the Colonials need a basket but there is a distinct difference between the two that is actually benefiting them both.
“Q is a guy that loves it so much and he wants the world to know how good he is,” Donofrio said. “Like it or not, Jaden Colzie is a guy who is known so he has to handle that in a different way. Jaden has pressure on him that he’s supposed to be great every day. Q is more frustrated thinking, ‘Hey, what about me?’ He got a little impatient at times. As a junior, he is starting to realize how good he can be a high school scorer.”
Blair converted an and-one four then Cooper Hardin hit a shot from the elbow to pull Downingtown West within four with 48.8 seconds left, but Jones got free behind the frontcourt of Warren and Shelton then Marshall Baker, who had 12 points on the night, hit 1-of-2 at the line to put the finishing touches on the win.
The Colonials now move on to play Suburban One League Tournament champion and No. 3 seed Cheltenham in the quarterfinals on Friday night. The Panthers won the SOL crossover matchup, 72-56 in January with Bennett scoring 22 points for Plymouth Whitemarsh. Downingtown West has a chance to advance to states in playbacks, hosting 19-seed Perkiomen Valley on Friday, with the winner earning at least a couple more games and the loser done for the year.
By Quarter
Plymouth Whitemarsh: 10 | 19 | 16 | 18 || 63
Downingtown West: 16 | 15 | 13 | 14 || 58
Scoring
Plymouth Whitemarsh: Bennett 26, Colzie 18, Baker 12, Jones 7
Downingtown West: Blair 20, Warren 9, Primanti 9, Hardin 7, Fromhartz 7, Shelton 4
Tag(s): Home Rich Flanagan Boys HS Ches-Mont National (B) Downingtown West SOL Liberty (B) Plymouth Whitemarsh High School