City of Basketball Love

Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue)
—

There was plenty of drama in the first round of the PAC boys side as one-game finished with a last-second shot and near miracle heave, while the other saw one team nearly rally from 20 points down. On the girls side, the favorites rolled as expected.

With both days of first round action complete, the Pioneer Athletic Conference continues its postseason round with the semifinals. The PAC boys semis tip off Friday at Spring-Ford, while the girls follow Saturday night at Perkiomen Valley.

The tournament will conclude with the boys’ title game Tues., Feb. 14 at Spring-Ford and the girls’ championship Wed., Feb. 15 at Perkiomen Valley. Here is a preview of the Final Four matchups:

~~~

PAC First-Round Results
Boys: 6) Perkiomen Valley def. 3) Methacton, 44-42
Boys: 4) Pottstown def. 5) Norristown, 61-55

Girls: 3) Spring-Ford def. 6) Owen J. Roberts, 47-27
Girls: 5) Methacton def. 4) Pope John Paul II, 61-20

Boys PAC Final Four: Fri., Feb. 10 at Spring-Ford

2) Upper Merion vs. 6) Perkiomen Valley, 6 p.m.

Perk Valley (16-7, 4-6 Liberty) knocked off a Methacton team that’s dominated the league for a half decade on Wednesday when junior guard Julian Sadler, who finished with 19 points, floated in a game-winner with less than a second left. Sophomore guard Mason Thear figured things out in the middle of the season and has added some perimeter shooting and another scoring punch, adding 10 points in the first round win. Junior wing Kyle Shawaluk can score inside and out, while senior forward Morgan McKinney gives PV some size and toughness inside. Senior guard Luke Hansen is another threat out on the perimeter.

Ironically, Upper Merion (12-10, 7-3 Frontier) is actually the squad that helped PV claim the league’s last playoff spot, a win over PJP giving UM the Frontier Division crown in the final game of the regular season and knocking the Golden Panthers out of the postseason picture in favor of PV. Sophomore guard Devon Nelson is athletic and a tough shot maker for UM, whose fast pace is quite the opposite of the deliberate style PV coach Mike Poysden likes his teams to play at. UM senior guard Madison Tatom is another double-digit scorer, but he’s seen action in just eight games this season, not suiting up since Jan. 24. However, senior forward Zayd Etheridge, an all-division player last season, has been back on the floor the last three games. Juniors Colin Hirshorn, who can shoot it from outside, and Nicholai Smiley have been the team’s other two top offensive options but don’t be surprised if someone else steps up as UM coach Jason Quenzer has gone relatively deep this season and had to play with a few different lineups.

1) Spring-Ford vs. 4) Pottstown, 7:45 p.m.
Pottstown (14-7, 7-3 Frontier) looked like both a team capable of storming its way into the PAC title game and a squad that wasn’t quite ready for postseason hoops in Wednesday’s win over Norristown — building a 20-point lead in the third quarter before seeing it almost erased. You can’t really blame the Trojans, who are breaking a decade-long drought from the league postseason. Junior guards Ty Elliot-Moore (20), Sadeeq Jackson (18) and Abdul Jackson (10) led Pottstown in scoring against Norristown, coming as no surprise as that trio has been the catalyst for the team’s turnaround this season. Senior forward Terryce Phillips and junior guard Jurrell Young are two other key pieces in the rotation, while Jullian Beasley added nine against Norristown to help the cause.

After missing out on the league postseason last year, Spring-Ford (20-2, 9-1 Liberty) has been the league’s top dog this season, winning 12 straight league games and 20 overall until falling to Perk Valley in the final game of the regular season. The ascension of sophomore Jacob Nguyen, a 6-4 guard who can really shoot it, into one of the league’s top offensive threats has certainly helped as has the growth of junior guard EJ Campbell’s and the emergence of sophomore Tommy Kelly at the wing/forward spot. Senior Caleb Little is another experienced ball handler and pesty on-ball defender and senior Alex Lewis is a three-year varsity player who does a little bit of everything for the Rams. Football star Zach Zollers adds some size and athleticism at the forward spot for Spring-Ford, which doesn’t have a lot of size. Spring-Ford cruised in its three Frontier matchups this season, but the Rams will have to lock down defensively to make their way to the title game for the first time since 2018.

~~~

Girls PAC Final Six: Sat.., Feb. 11 at  Perkiomen Valley

2) Phoenixville vs. 3) Spring-Ford, 6 p.m.

After a 1-2 start in league play, Phoenixville (12-8, 8-2 Frontier) earned a first round bye by winning its final seven division games to grab its second Frontier Division title in three seasons. It’s a completely different Phantoms team than the one that claimed the Frontier crown two seasons ago, including second-year coach Tracey Sterling. Senior guards Caroline Flick and Jaime Michaud are the Phantoms’ veterans. Junior forward Mali Warren (6-0) and freshman forward Riley Ford-Bey (5-11) provide some size inside. There’s no dominant offensive presence on the Phantoms as sophomore guards Ava Gnias and Nevaeh Batimore-Beasley and freshman guard Kayden Baratta are big pieces as well.

Unsurprisingly, Spring-Ford (20-3, 8-2 Liberty) rolled past Owen J. Roberts for the third time this season in Thursday’s first round. Junior guard Katie Tiffan led the way with 12 points (four threes) and senior forward Meg Robbins (Elizabethtown) added 10 points. Junior guards Anna Azzara and Mac Pettinelli only needed to chip in a combined 11 points as Spring-Ford’s defense was dominant, holding OJR to just two points in the second quarter. The Rams should have the opportunity to play for a sixth straight PAC championship next week if they keep their foot on the gas.

1) Perkiomen Valley vs. 5) Methacton, 7:45 p.m.
Senior guard Cassidy Kropp’s 21 points in the first round guided Methacton (17-7, 7-3 Liberty) as it thumped PJP to set up Saturday’s semifinal matchup with the Vikings. PV (21-1, 9-1) won both regular-season meetings, taking down the Warriors 36-28 to open conference play Dec. 16 and cruising by a shorthanded Methacton squad, 70-44, on Jan. 17.

Kropp had 24 in the second meeting against the Vikings. Senior forward Mairi Smith (Williams College), missed that one, though she did lead the Warriors with eight in their first meeting against PV. She’ll be needed to help slow Vikings sophomore forward Quinn Boettinger, who had 30 in the second matchup without Smith on the floor. Senior guard Reanna Torress had 13 in the first-round win against PJP and she’ll likely have to hit a few big shots if the Warriors can pull of the upset. Senior guard Ashley Fisher and sophomore guard Abby Arnold are two players Methacton might look to for offense as well.

PV was in the league title game last season, falling to Spring-Ford in the first of what could be several fun postseason matchups over the next few years. Along with Boettinger, sophomore guards Bella Bacani,  Lena Stein and Julia Smith and sophomore wing Grace Galbavy form the Vikings’ young core, while senior Ella Stein adds a veteran presence. Bacani had 17 in the first meeting against Methacton and she, Galbavy and Boettinger are good for double figures most nights. Smith adds some perimeter shooting, while the versatile Stein sisters can contribute in a multitude of ways as needed.