City of Basketball Love

Sean Barnard (@Sean_Barnard1)
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There was excitement within the Garnet Valley locker room when it was discovered they would be facing Methacton in the second round of the District 1 6A playoffs. The memories of a five-point overtime loss in the district quarterfinals last season were still fresh in the minds of the experienced squad. 

“I mean, we owed Methacton one from last year,” senior guard Max Koehler said. “Last year we took a trip up to their place. They got us in overtime. So we owed them one.”

It took a little longer than expected, but the Jaguars got a measure of revenge. Eighth-seeded Garnet Valley jumped all over Methacton, looking like it might run away from the ninth-seeded Warriors, but the visitors hung tough to force not one but two overtimes before Garnet emerged with a 73-69 win. 

The victory officially punches the team’s ticket to states and further extends their season. Garnet Valley (15-9) will face off with top-seeded Spring-Ford (23-2) in the next round of the 6A playoffs later this week. 

It took a well-rounded team-effort for Garnet Valley to get the win. Five Jaguars tallied nine or more points with senior Ryan Faccenda leading the way with 19. Koehler was right behind him with 16 points of his own, and was vital to navigating the team’s offense down the stretch. Sophomore Jake Sniras added 15 points and junior Jack Krautzel ended with 14. 

While it was smooth sailing for Garnet Valley through the first few minutes, they soon found out they were in for a battle. The Jaguars leaped out to a 13-0 lead to start the game before Methacton senior Matt Christian knocked down four consecutive three-pointers to close out the quarter. 

Garnet Valley regained control in the second quarter and pushed the lead back to double figures. They took a 33-23 lead into halftime with a late surge from Mathacton keeping them alive. 

The game began to change when GV senior Logan McKee, who ended with nine points of his own, got into foul trouble. He picked up his 4th foul with 2:41 remaining in the third quarter and was forced to take a seat on the bench. After checking back in with the intent to play in the closing lineup, McKee picked up his final foul with 2:21 left in the 4th quarter. The Jaguars missed the size that the 6-foot-6 McKee provided as they struggled to rebound to close out the game. 

With just 1:54 remaining in the fourth quarter, Garnet Valley maintained a 55-48 lead. Methacton was forced to begin sending their opponent to the free throw line, and the Jaguars were unable to put the game away. 

“We did a bad job at the foul line and they took advantage of it,” head coach Mike Brown said. “For a while there they would make a shot and foul us. Make a shot and foul us. It became a pattern and that gets in your head. 

“It definitely got in our guys’ heads when they started missing foul shots because we're a pretty good foul shooting team. That was uncharacteristic. But we live to play another day.”

On the offensive end, Christian continued to deliver for Methacton. He finished with a game-high 21 points and connected on seven of his 13 three-point attempts. The Kings College commit connected on a three-pointer with 33.3 seconds remaining to pull within three points and then a game-tying 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded. This deep shot from near mid-court tied the score 62-62 and gave Methacton another chance with this being the first time since the opening tip-off that Garnet Valley did not hold the lead. 

“He's an incredible shooter who made some great plays down the stretch,” Koehler said of Christian. “It was tough to stop him. We kind of just had to stick together as a team. And in the end, that's really all you can ask for. You just gotta stick together as a team. Make good plays down the stretch and trust each other.”

Both teams went the length of the first overtime period without scoring a point. The pace slowed down and each defense was unwilling to give an inch. Garnet Valley saw their numbers further shrink which made them especially careful of their shot selection. 

“Part of it was Logan McKee had long ago fouled out then Ryan Faccenda fouled out,” Brown said. “So we got bench guys filling spots and you want to make sure more than ever you get a great shot. We’d become so small that we’re probably not going to get a second shot.”

It took until 1:14 remaining in the second overtime period for Methacton to get their first lead. Sophomore Sal Iamello, who ended with 20 points, and junior Alex Hermann, who ended with 13 points, each provided a notable boost in overtime to help secure the 68-67 lead. 

This was short-lived as Sniras knocked down a jumpshot for Garnet Valley to take back the lead in the following possession. After a successful defensive stop and two clutch free throws from Krautzel, the Jaguars officially secured the win.

“I'm exhausted. I can't imagine how the kids are,” Brown said. “Gotta give our guys credit because they never let the spectacular plays by the other teams’ comeback get us down. We just kept getting our heads back up and struggled at times but when we had to we got it done.”

It also is a huge credit to the turnaround the program has been through during Brown’s tenure. He was hired in 2012 after the program tallied just three total wins in the three previous seasons combined. Garnet Valley has collected a number of program firsts under his leadership including their first district playoff win (2017), first Central League appearance (2018), a return to the state tournament (2020) after over 20 years without an appearance, and the school’s first Central League title in 2021. 

In Spring-Ford, Garnet Valley faces another familiar foe. The Jaguars came from 18 down to top the Rams 53-50 last February. They know now they’ll be the ones facing a team hungry for revenge, but will look to lean on their underdog mentality to drive them through. 

“They’re the number one seed for a reason and we're playing at their place so nobody will favor us and sometimes that works to your advantage,“ Brown said. 

By Quarter
GV: 15 | 20 | 11 | 18 | 0 | 9 || 71
M:  12 | 11 | 15 | 24 | 0 | 6 || 68

Shooting
GV: 33-54 FGA (7-14 3PA), 14-23 FTA
M: 20-52 FGA (13-33 3PA), 16-21 FTA

Scoring
GV: Ryan Faccenda 19, Max Koehler 16, Jake Sniras 15, Jake Krautzel 14, Logan McKee 9

M: Matt Christian 21, Sal Iammello 20, Alex Hermann 13, Cam Chilson 11, Jason Lagana 4