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Garnet Valley stuns Spring-Ford to reach district quarters

02/22/2022, 11:45pm EST
By Zak Wolf

Zak Wolf (@ZakWolf22)

At this point, you might as well call Garnet Valley the comeback kids. The Jaguars pulled off yet another miraculous comeback to advance to the District 1 quarterfinal, clinching a state playoff berth in their 53-50 win over Spring-Ford on Tuesday. 

Once again, Garnet showed its grit and determination, never giving up even when they found themselves down big. 

It was almost deja vu for Garnet Valley. Garnet was down 18 to Upper Dublin in the third quarter of Friday’s first round, but clawed their way back to win right at the end. The same thing happened on Tuesday, with the No. 24 seed seemingly dead and buried. Down by 16 at one point in the third, Garnet finally found their groove late and stole the game right at the death. 


Max Koehler (above) had a fourth quarter to remember as Garnet Valley beat Spring-Ford. (Photo: Zak Wolf/CoBL)

“Unfortunately it was kind of like the start to Upper Dublin,” junior guard Max Koehler said. “It wasn’t looking great the entire third quarter. We brought it back just like we did last game — what can I say? Never count us out.”

Getting out to slow starts is not a habit you want as a basketball team, but Garnet was snake bitten once again. Poor shooting in the first half allowed Spring-Ford to jump out to a 31-20 lead at halftime, with Garnet Valley not leading at any point. 

The Jags remained patient throughout the third even when things looked bleak. Every time Garnet got a bucket, Spring-Ford would answer right back with one of their own. Two Logan McKee threes helped swing the momentum Garnet's way in the third quarter. The junior finished with 16 points and his six straight points in the third helped cut the lead to 38-31 heading into the fourth.

“Coach [Mike Brown] always says, take it possession by possession, get two points, three points at a time,” Koehler said. “You can’t hit an 11-pointer; take it step by step.”

Koehler was relatively quiet in the first three quarters, with Spring-Ford hounding him every time he got the ball. The junior guard’s been dealing with a hip-flexor injury that’s kept him out of practice the past two weeks, but you wouldn’t be able to tell with the way he played in the fourth quarter. 

Koehler scored 13 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter and was getting to his spots with ease. Koehler was able to drive the lane thanks to Garnet Valley’s ability to spread the floor with shooters. He also was very good at playing through contact, getting two ‘and one’s’ in the fourth and getting to the free throw line a total of 10 times. Koehler played at his own pace down the stretch, figuring out the right moments to attack. 

“Max was really good with the ball tonight,” Brown said. “They were switching their defenses so much, half the time we couldn’t identify whether it was man or zone. We just played where Max would penetrate and kick out to shooters, try to set him a couple screens, that was really all we did on offense.”

Koehler was clutch when his team needed him most, hitting a turnaround jumper to tie the game up at 50 with 30 seconds left, and after a Springford miss he was fouled, knocking down both free throws to put Garnet Valley in front for the first time with 18 seconds left. 

Spring-Ford big man Jake Kressley was solid down low, scoring 11 points, and had a chance to tie the game, but missed a look inside. After one free throw make by Garnet and a missed half-court heave from Spring-Ford, Garnet Valley clinched a place in the state playoff for only the third time in their history. 

Garnet would’ve been in states last year, but because of COVID the Jags were kept out of the tournament, despite making the District semi-finals. Garnet is a young team, after losing most of their rotation from last season with Koehler and senior Ryan Wootten being the main returning contributors. 

Wootten scored 10 points on Tuesday and is a big focal point of Garnet’s offense, since he’s the only senior in the starting five. The way Garnet has executed down the stretch the past two games, makes it seem like this is a veteran group.

“This is our 25th game, so for our freshmen, they’re hardly freshmen anymore, for my juniors they’re more like seniors,” Brown said. “25 games is a lot of games, plus spring, summer, fall, so it’s a veteran team that doesn’t have many seniors, if that makes sense.”

Koehler and Wootten have experience playing in the state playoffs, after Garnet qualified in 2020, but both have much bigger roles than they did that season. 

Despite the loss, Spring-Ford’s season isn’t done yet, as they head to the District playbacks. The Rams will host Penn Wood on Friday with the winner clinching a spot in the state playoffs, and the loser done for the season. 

Before states, Garnet has a matchup with top seeded Methacton in the District 1 quarterfinals on Friday. Even though coming from behind can be fun, Garnet knows that they can’t afford another slip up, playing a team like Methacton. 

“I think it definitely shows us that nothing is impossible no matter how much we get down, you can always make a comeback,” Koehler said. “But, next game we’re going to have to get off to a better start. Obviously you don’t want to have to play from behind, but we can do it.”

~~~

By Quarter
Garnet Valley: 9 I 11 I 11 I 22 II 53
Spring-Ford: 12 I 19 I  7  I 12 II 50

Scoring
Garnet Valley: Koehler 20, McKee 16, Wootten 10, Faccenda 3, Sniras 2, Van Horn 2

Spring-Ford: Turner 18, Kressley 11, Lewis 7, Nguyen 5, Schauder 3, Campbell 3, Huntington 2, Little 1 


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