City of Basketball Love

By Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue)
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POTTSTOWN — Phoenixville sophomore Dawson Brown was on a mission Tuesday night.

The fact that he was playing in the gym his father Howard became a star against the team his dad starred for didn’t matter much. The Phantoms’ road trip at Pottstown had too much already at stake.

The second-year starter who learned on the fly as a freshman last season looked the part of a seasoned vet in a game that was essentially a division title bout.

Brown scored 20 points as the Phantoms pulled away from the Trojans late to clinch the program’s first Pioneer Athletic Conference Frontier Division crown.

“Of course, I feel like a lot of people think it’s supposed to be pressure on me, like I’m trying to prove something, but I just have to go out there and play my game do what I can do to help my team win,” Brown said.

Howard Brown starred at Pottstown from 1992-95 during one of the brightest eras in program history, amassing 1,769 points and bringing home a state title before a playing career at Villanova. One of his league rivals back in the day was Phoenixville, where Dawson now suits up.

Pottstown (13-6, 7-2 Frontier) isn’t where it was back in the 90s but the Trojans have had a revival the last two seasons and had a chance to swipe the division title and first-round PAC playoff bye that comes with it from the Phantoms (14-6, 8-1) on Tuesday night.

It was a one-point game, 39-38 Phoenixville, with 6:33 left when Pottstown’s Jurell Young canned a triple. The Phantoms responded with a 16-2 run to finish off the win. Brown had 13 of his 20 in the second half. Senior Christian Cervino finished with 15 points. Pottstown senior Abdul Jackson led the Trojans with 16.

“Definitely staying together,” Brown said. “They had runs, we had runs, but at the end of the day we know we’re the better team. And when we’re playing at our best, when we’re playing together, we know we can win. We just need to stay together.”

The PAC went to two divisions in 2016-17 when Norristown and Upper Merion joined the league. The Phantoms have three second place finishes in the PAC’s small school division during the seven-year stretch, finishing one game outside the top spot in the league four times. Tenth-year head coach Eric Burnett has had talented teams in the past unable to pull through in opportunities like Tuesday.

Pottstown, which lost 64-55 to Phoenixville on Jan. 5, led 19-18 after a sloppy first half by both teams. The teams traded shots in the third before the Phantoms looked to retake control going into the fourth with a 39-33 lead on a bucket by Cervino late in the period. Instead, the Trojans scored the first five of the fourth.

The Phantoms rose to the occasion with their big fourth-quarter run that included game-changing defense by Brown and Cervino.

“We’ve had a lot of good moments in my tenure, this is definitely one of those moments that I’ll always remember,” Burnett said. “What makes it special is this group. We’ve talked all year about our fabric and how tight we can be as a team. I thought tonight was a great example of sticking through a little run that they went on. … We kept playing defense, and made some of the tough stops. I don’t know if we would have done that a few weeks ago.”

Phoenixville went 10-12 last season and 6-4 in the Frontier, a game behind Pottstown, Upper Merion and Pope John Paul II. A handful of tight losses, including a four-point loss to the Trojans in the second to last game of the regular season kept the Phantoms out of the postseason.

Lessons from last season lingered, proving important on Tuesday night.

“The best thing I learned was definitely how to stay poised, keep my mind in the game throughout the game through the ups and the downs,” Brown said. “I just had to not get too excited, not get too down on myself for anything I do.”

Burnett is a 2005 Spring-Ford grad who used to play with and against Brown’s father at the Spring City basketball courts in between Howard playing overseas, even teaming on a few summer league teams.

He knew the basketball roots and upbringing the young guard had when he arrived at the program last season. He’s coming into his own at the point guard spot for the Phantoms.

“Dawson’s a heckuva player,” Burnett said. “To Dawson’s credit, we go as he goes with his defense and his motor and his energy. I thought tonight he really just did a great job of handling some of those early turnovers and continuing to move onto the next play and handle the ball. He’s just a great player with great energy, and I think the sky’s the limit for him.”

With everyone back this season, including Brown, Cervino and star senior Max Lebisky (nine points, five assists), junior Deacon Baratta (eight points) and senior Aidan McClintock (10 rebounds, four blocks), there was some excitement in the Phoenixville program. That was confirmed during an undefeated showing during a team camp at Alvernia in the summer.

Phoenixville hasn’t reached a league title game since winning the PAC in 2007. Tuesday’s win put the Phantoms a win away from breaking a 17-year championship game absence and two wins away from the third league title game in program history. 

It also boosted Phoenixville (No. 4) ahead of Pottstown (No. 5) in the District 1-5A rankings, where a top four spot would put the Phantoms a win away from their first state playoff trip since 2009.

“They’re all pretty much returners from last year. They wanted this as one of their goals,” Burnett said. “We just keep telling them to keep continuing to get better everyday. … They have some goals, and this is the type of team with good leadership that’s going to make sure everyone's showing up at practice everyday and making sure we’re all working hard and engaged to win that day.”

When you’re a team that has its sights set high, it helps to have a point guard learning from someone who’s accomplished it all.

“He does his best to pass all his prior knowledge to me, whether it’s going to the Y before school to get reps in or going on the weekends to train me,” Brown said. “Anything he sees in the game, we’ll talk about it and he’ll let me know what I need to do next time, and what I can do good.”

Phoenixville 

By Quarter

Phoenixville  8 | 10 | 21 | 16 || 55

Pottstown  7 | 12 | 14 | 7 || 40

Scoring
Phoenixville: Dawson Brown 20, Christian Cervino 15, Max Lebisky 9, Deacon Baratta 8, Keron Booth 2, Aidan Mcclintock 1.

Pottstown: Abdul Jackson 16, Jurell Young 10, Sadeeq Jackson 8, Dillon Mayes 2, Naz Booker 2, Dimark Lyons 2.