City of Basketball Love

Ty Daubert (@TyDaubert)
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PHILADELPHIA — Rob Keys saw the Tri-Valley ball-handler turn his head and knew he had to take advantage.

Up by as many as 18 points in the fourth quarter, Paul Robeson was clinging to a one-point lead as the Bulldogs took one last opportunity with 13 seconds remaining. Tri-Valley battled all the way back, but one Huskies stop could stop the bleeding for good.

As a Bulldog drove right, Keys swooped in from the baseline to grab the ball away and help seal a Robeson win in the first round of the PIAA Class 2A state tournament.

“I do that all the time,” the senior guard said. “I just did it in a crunch-time moment. We really needed it and made the play.”

“He’s averaging six steals a game,” his head coach Robert Powlen added. “And that’s the biggest one of the year for sure.”

The takeaway by Keys secured not only a 70-69 victory over District 11 No. 2 seed,Tri-Valley (19-7), on Wednesday night at St. Joe’s Prep’s Kelly Fieldhouse, but a spot in Robeson history with the first state playoff win in program history. The District 12 runners-up will compete in the second round for the first time ever on Saturday against District 3 champion Lancaster Mennonite, a 73-68 overtime winner over Windber.

“I’m emotional right now,” Powlen said after the game. “I know it’s only a first-round-of-states game, but to me it’s more than that. After the game, these guys are saying, ‘Coach Pow, this is for you.’ They know how bad I wanted it. This is our first ever states victory — our fourth time going and our first ever win in states. That’s why it means so much.”

Keys made the crucial defensive play for Robeson (16-11) on a night where his offense was the story for most of the game. Alongside junior guard Elijah Bryant, he hit the shots and made the plays that allowed the Robeson offense to dominate for three-and-a-half quarters. Keys scored 19 points to pair with Bryant’s 22, while senior Hamir Bridges knocked down four 3-pointers for the Huskies. 

“I feel like it was time for us to step up,” Keys said. “Everybody that had to step up, they stepped up.”

Bryant stepped up big time to start the game, scoring with a few outside jumpers and a collection of moves inside the paint. 

“Elijah is one of the craftiest players around,” Powlen said. “He has heart. He’s a North Philly kid, and he has heart and tenacity and never gives up.”

The junior scored 17 points in the first half before Keys made a long 3 at the buzzer to take a 38-31 lead at the break. Robeson buried eight first-half shots from beyond the arc as it took the momentum into the locker room.

“We knew (Tri-Valley) was going to be a shooting team,” Bryant said. “We had to outshoot them.”

Keys got things going in the third quarter, scoring eight points in the period as the Huskies went up 61-48. With six minutes left in the fourth, the left-hander dribbled past half court, dropped his defender with a crossover and let it fly from Prep’s Hawk logo. Keys nailed the heat check to put Robeson ahead 67-49.

“I thought that was it,” Powlen said. “And I think they all thought that was it.”

However, Tri-Valley called a timeout and began pressing on defense. The Huskies struggled to handle the change in strategy, and the Bulldogs started chipping away behind Kade Deeter, who scored 17 points in the game.

“Ridiculous turnovers,” Keys mentioned as what plagued Robeson in the fourth. “Not thinking, we threw the ball away. We had to stay locked in and put the game away.”

As Tri-Valley pulled within one and got one more chance to score, the Huskies needed someone to make a play. Keys was up to the task, and caused the disruption that Robeson desperately needed.

“Our senior leader took over the defense on his own,” Powlen said. “He quarterbacked that defense, got the steal and got us a win. … He’s been doing this kind of stuff all year. He’s definitely one of the top players in the city.”

While the Huskies will work on the press break ahead of their second-round matchup, they’ll celebrate the historic win as well. It’s not every day a team accomplishes something it’s never done before.

“It’s nice to get this one, so let’s try to hold on to it,” Bryant said. “But let’s still get ready for the next game.”

By quarter
Tri-Valley:  15  |  16  |  17  |  21  ||  69
Robeson:  19  |  19  |  23  |   9   ||  70

Scorers
Tri-Valley: Kade Deeter 17, Brody Smith 16, Jeremiah Umbenhauer 15, Layne Yoder 13, Lucas Troutman 8

Paul Robeson: Elijah Bryant 22, Rob Keys 19, Hamir Bridges 12, Zaire McLaine 8, Naseim Smith 7, Derrick Howell 2

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Class 2A: Constitution aiming to better last year’s result

A year after falling in the 2A state championship, Constitution is aiming for another deep playoff run.

The Generals (19-8) certainly started the state tournament off on the right foot in the second half of Wednesday night’s doubleheader, defeating District 3’s third seed, Delone Catholic, 79-58 in a first-round state playoff matchup. 

District 12 champion Constitution will face District 11 winner Shenandoah Valley, which beat Muncy 56-52, on Saturday. 

“We’ve been planning for this postseason from the very beginning of the season,” Constitution head coach Robert Moore said. “We knew the Public League would be tough, but we knew that we could compete and win a 2A state championship. We have to go round-by-round.”

Senior guard Lamar Glover led the Generals in Round 1, scoring 24 points, which tied with Delone (17-9) guard Coltyn Keller for most in the game.

Glover dropped 10 points in the first quarter as Constitution jumped out to a 24-11 lead. However, Delone pushed back in the second quarter to trail by seven at the half.

“The first four minutes we had phenomenal energy,” Moore said. “But then we kind of lost focus for a little while in the second quarter. We just kind of got lackadaisical defensively.”

Constitution pulled away once again in the second half to cruise to a victory, but the full-game engagement on defense will need to improve if the Generals wish to avenge last season’s championship loss to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart.

“I’m not happy,” Moore said. “I’m happy about a win, but I’m not particularly happy with how we played to get to that. I think we can be a lot better.”

By quarter
Delone Catholic:  11  |  20  |  14  |  13  ||  58
Constitution:        24  |  14  |  19  |  22  ||  79

Scorers
Delone Catholic: Coltyn Keller 24, Camdyn Keller 10, Asher Rudolph 9, Bryson Kopp 7, Gage Zimmerman 4, Chase Hoffman 2, Aidan Wittmer 2

Constitution: Lamar Glover 24, Jacob Beccles 20, Simere Blagman 13, Jamal Carr 12, Nasser Coleman 4, Kervin Similen 3, Kendall McCray 3