City of Basketball Love

Andrew Robinson (@ADrobinson3)
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EAGLEVILLE — The path of Righteous Mitchell was beset on all sides.

But this was not a path of inequities of the selfish or the tyranny of evil men; instead, a path of smiles, well-wishers and hugs, a whole lot of hugs. It may have been the longest walk back to a locker room the Norristown senior's ever had, only because it seemed like half the town wanted to wrap arms around him and congratulate or tell him what a great job he'd just done.

Norristown's path to victory went through Righteous Mitchell, following the guard's 20 points and a dominant second half as the No. 12 Eagles finally got one over on top-seeded Methacton, knocking off the Warriors 51-36 in Tuesday's District 1 6A semifinals.

"It feels great, knowing they doubted us and nobody had us winning after the (Archbishop) Carroll game, there's a lot of things going through my head right now," Mitchell said. "This just feels so good. We did it."

From no games a season ago to a district title game, it's been quite the journey for Norristown this winter and for Mitchell. A tough-minded, downhill scorer, the senior missed nearly half of the regular season with a broken hand, returning right before what would be the first of four meetings with Methacton.

In a parallel with Mitchell, who is also playing his first varsity season after playing JV as a freshman and sophomore before the entire season was canceled in his junior year, the Eagles got a little better and a little closer each time they matched up with the Warriors. It's been an impressive run for the 'Town, starting with a home win over Wissahickon then road wins over No. 5 Haverford, No. 4 Bensalem and now No. 1 Methacton.

One of the recurring themes, along with the team's ferocious defense, has been Mitchell putting up points.

"I think we were like 7-4 without him, it was a rough start without him but I don't think a lot of teams knew we had another guard," Norristown senior DJ Johnson said. "Without him, I was more ball-dominant and it was easier to stop us. With him on the court, I can play off the ball more, set picks and look for shooters and he's just a scorer. We're lucky to have him."

Mitchell hit a three to put the Eagles up 9-4 in a strong start, then he drilled a deep trey in the second quarter to tie the game 16-16. While he would finish the first half with a team-best eight points, Mitchell was also denied a few more chances by the Warriors' interior defense anchored by Cole Hargrove.

Some players would be deterred by having their shot blocked on more than a few drives. Righteous Mitchell is very much not one of those players.

"I'm a dog," Mitchell said. "I get blocked, it's just going to make me go harder. I keep going and going and going, I'm aggressive and that's how I play."

Brett Byrne hit a tough shot at the halftime horn to give the hosts a 20-18 lead and it seemed like the PAC rivals were in for another slug-it-out duel like their meeting in the league tournament, which was the Warriors' third win over the Eagles this season. Any illusions of that would be shattered pretty early in the third quarter.

Methacton took a 22-18 lead on two Hargrove free throws with 7:36 left in the quarter. The Warriors would only score two more points, both from the line, in the remainder of the period as Norristown went off, Mitchell feasting on mismatches on offense and the defense taking the Warriors off their game at the other end.

"All three games they beat us, when they get in trouble, they get Cole going," Johnson said. "We put our emphasis and focus on Cole and once we started doing that, they started getting too loose, turning the ball over and chucking up shots that we were contesting. They were doing what we wanted them to do."

Mitchell fed senior John Dinolfi for a three-point play that kicked off a 13-0 Eagles run with the last six points coming from Mitchell on a series of downhill driving layups. That deterrence at the rim from the first half was gone, thanks to his teammates spreading the floor with Dinolfi's shooting ability pulling Hargrove away from the rim and the Eagles' motion keeping the Warriors guessing.

It had been a long time coming for Mitchell as he slowly found his groove on the court, upping his numbers and returning to form as the scorer the Eagles were waiting for. With the opportunity to strike down upon them with great vengeance and furious anger, Mitchell wasn't holding anything back.

"They threw me in the fire, I was getting myself back into shape the second game and the third game, that's when they really got to see me play and this game, I was fully back," Mitchell said. "We were moving the ball and I had the mismatch. When I came off the screen or came around to get the ball, I took it. They didn't know if I was going to pass it out or lay it up."

Zaki Gomez ended the quarter with a three-pointer assisted by Mitchell, capping a dominant 18-4 quarter that had the visitors up 36-24 at about half the capacity crowd - tickets for the game sold out in less than 20 minutes - in the gym feeling pretty good. The Eagles also weren't done.

Johnson, Norristown's defensive terror, chalked up four of his six steals in the fourth quarter as Norristown ran its lead out to 40-26 before the Warriors started fouling to try and extend the game. For Johnson - son of Eagles coach Dana "Binky" Johnson - it was the culmination of years and years of work for him and his senior teammates.

"I've been waiting three years to do that," DJ Johnson said. "I've never beaten Methacton in my years being here, for this to be my first win over Methacton, it feels amazing."

Norristown will face another top-five seed on Saturday when it meets defending champion and No. 2 Lower Merion at Temple for the 6A crown.

"When we all came back, as a team, we felt like nobody can stop us," Mitchell said. "We can play off each other. We really like each other as humans, we do it for each other.

Even during their slow start, the Norristown coaches continued to implore belief in their players. No matter the situation, the score, their record, whatever it was, the theme was always just keep believing and it would all come together in time.

The Eagles, who haven't won a district title since 2009, did just that and now have given the whole town a reason to believe

"Norristown shows out for basketball," DJ Johnson said. "This is for a championship? It's going to be rowdy, definitely expect a crowd."

By Quarter
Norristown:   9   |   9   |  18  |  15  ||  51
Methacton:  12  |   8   |   4   |  12  ||  36

Scoring
Norristown: Righteous Mitchell 20, John Dinolfi 11, Zaki Gomez 10, DJ Johnson 8, Nasir Williams 2

Methacton: Brett Byrne 14, Cole Hargrove 8, Matt Christian 6, Cam Chilson 5, Colin Meyer 3