City of Basketball Love

Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue)
__

ROYERSFORD — Perkiomen Valley was all but eliminated from the Pioneer Athletic Conference playoffs about two weeks ago following a two-point loss to Boyertown on Jan. 24.

The Vikings’ fate was out of their hands.

Not only did PV need three straight wins — which included handing Spring-Ford its first loss in 20 games — it needed a lot of outside help to punch its PAC Final Six ticket.

All the pieces fell into place, sending the Vikings to Wednesday night’s playoff opener against Methacton. Finally in control of its own destiny, PV put its fate in the hands of its best player — Julian Sadler.

The junior guard delivered, floating in a shot with 0.6 seconds left for a 44-42 Vikings win over third-seeded Methacton, the league's reigning champion. Sixth-seeded PV will play second-seed Upper Merion, the Frontier Division champions, in the semifinals back at Spring-Ford on Friday.

“It was definitely what we want,” Sadler said. “My coaches, my teammates trust me to make big plays and we just executed the plays.”

Sadler had 19 points on Wednesday night as he helped the VIkings keep pace with Methacton and their senior guard Cam Chilson, who finished with 21. After Methacton led 12-7 after the first quarter, not much separated the teams the rest of the way. The Warriors led 25-22 at half and after five lead changes in the last three and a half minutes of the third, they led 36-35 entering the fourth. 

Sophomore Mason Thear, who finished with 10 points, converted an and-one to give PV the lead back, 38-36, with 6:38 to play. Sadler hit a pair of free throws to make it 42-38 with 5:11 to go — PV’s biggest lead of the game. Methacton tied the game with 3:20 to play. Neither team scored for the next three minutes and 19-plus seconds. 

Senior forward Morgan McKinney, who finished with six points and 10 boards, took a charge with 55 seconds left to give PV a chance to hold the ball for one final look. Coming out of a timeout, it was obvious who the ball as going to after the Vikings wound the clock down to 4.4 seconds left.

“We had talked about, ‘What if we have the ball for the last shot?’ and Julian’s that player,” PV coach Mike Poysden said. “You couldn’t ask somebody else to make that shot. He’s done that this year, and it’s cool.”

The lefty Sadler dribbled to his right and took off about one step past the free throw line before floating a shot through the net, celebrating with this team and shushing the Warriors’ student section.

“Watching Julian play, it’s just awesome,” McKinney said. “I’m so fortunate to have him as a teammate.”

The refs added 0.6 seconds to the clock, granting Methacton a timeout after the make. And the Warriors nearly pulled off a miracle. Senior Matt Christian tossed a full court pass to Alex Hermann, who caught the ball and put it up on the rim, but the ball decided to roll in the Vikings’ favor.

“That was something, that was something,” Poysden reflected, noting the play Christian Laettner-esque.

Heading into this season, the Warriors won four of the league’s last five titles, including four straight PAC tournament championships (the exception came when the league didn’t play a postseason in 2020-21). With 2021 champ PJP not in the playoff field, and the Warriors now eliminated — the two teams who met in the last two PAC championship games — the Vikings ensured new blood will reign atop the league this season.

“It definitely feels great,” Sadler said. “They’ve been on the top of this league for years and we talked about that. We just had to come in with an edge.

The Vikings lost one-possession games twice during the regular season against Methacton — 49-47 on Dec. 16 and 59-58 on Jan. 17. They were just two of the six single-digit losses the Vikings suffered in Liberty Division play.

Wednesday was PV’s third single-digit win in its last four games over a Liberty Division opponent. The Vikings hope it’s a sign they are surging at the right time.

“You dug a hole, so what, dig your way out,” Poysden said of the team’s motto the last few weeks. “It just comes from hard work. We’ve matured as the season’s gone on. We've taken ownership of things differently, and it’s been cool to watch.”

“We just disciplined ourselves and we held ourselves accountable for our little mistakes,” McKinney said of the turnaround.

Perk Valley’s McKinney playing best ball down stretch

Julian Sadler’s heroics may have not happened if not for Morgan McKinney.

The Perk Valley senior forward slid in and took a charge on Methacton’s Alex Hermann to keep the Warriors from going ahead and giving the Vikings the ball back in the final minutes of Tuesday’s PAC Final Six win.

The play is symbolic of the unselfishness McKinney displays on a daily basis for the Vikings.

“To understand what Morgan’s done this season is partly who he is as a person,” PV coach Mike Poysden said. “At 2:30 when the bell rings, he’s the first one in the gym. He’s putting down the baskets for his teammates, he’s greeting all the guys as they come in. He’s such an awesome teammate.”

McKinney said he’s always dreamed of being at the forefront of a deep Perk Valley playoff run. He was an eighth grader when the Vikings last went to the PAC title game in 2019. That squad later went to the District 1 quarterfinals and PIAA playoffs.

McKinney had a few moments last season that suggested he could produce at the varsity level for the Vikings, but on a senior-laden squad that went to the second round of district, he had to wait his turn for a prominent role.

“Ever since my freshman year, I wanted to be a starter,” McKinney said. “I wanted to be Morgan McKinney. I want to be that kid who future generations of PV basketball players look up to, that big presence.”

With Sadler filling it up on a consistent presence, McKinney certainly hasn’t had to be ‘the guy’ for PV this season. However, he said since the team’s second game against CB West he’s earned the opportunity to play an important role for this team.

His impact was felt in Wednesday’s semifinal win when he earned a number of extra possessions for PV, grabbing five offensive boards. He finished with six points, 10 total rebounds, a pair of assists and a block as well.

“I love being around the rim, on defense, on offense just getting the board and looking for open teammates whether it’s getting the ball down the court or looking out for a quick three,” McKinney said.

McKinney helped the Vikings start their current four-game win streak, scoring 11 in a Jan. 27  win over Norristown. He had another big night in the last game of the regular season, scoring 12 in a game that snapped the Rams’ 20-game win streak and secured PV’s PAC playoff spot. 

In a game without a lot of scoring on Wednesday, his impact did not go unnoticed.

“Morgan’s been very good on the glass, aggressive on defense, good on offensive rebounds and he’s been playing really well the past couple games,” Sadler said.

McKinney’s hoops career will end when the Vikings season concludes. He’s headed to play baseball at nearby Ursinus College, where both of his parents work. 

He’s playing the best hoops of his career for the Vikings right now and if PV can win a couple more big games, he’ll certainly be one of the reasons why — though Poysden notes he’s already left his mark on the program.

“He’s an awesome teammate and hard worker,” Poysden said. “We always thought he could turn into this post guy, to get like a double-double or something near it, because he hustles and he works. He’s a big, physical kid who’s deceptively athletic. He puts in the time to improve. It’s cool to watch him play his best basketball in February. As a senior who put in the time and sort of waited his turn and stayed the course, it’s sort of cool to watch.”

By Quarter

Perk Valley:  7  | 15  |  13  | 9 ||  44

Methacton:  12  | 13  |  11  | 6 ||  42

Scoring

Perk Valley: Julian Sadler 19, Mason Thear 10, Kyle Shawaluk 7,  Morgan McKinney 6, Luke Hansen 2

Methacton: Cam Chilson 21, Sal Iemmello 7, Matt Christian 5, Alex Hermann 4, Evan Spang 4, Anthony Daddazio 1