City of Basketball Love

Anthony Dabbundo (@AnthonyDabbundo)
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After three losses to Methacton last season, Phoenixville and standout senior guard Christian Kelly set their sights on a revenge game with a chance to open Pioneer Athletic Conference play with a convincing win.

Thirty-six free throw attempts later, Phoenixville turned in a second consecutive impressive performance to start the season, dominating the defending PAC-10 champion in a wire-to-wire 76-65 win.

After a slow start in both of their games over the weekend, the Phantoms came flying out at the start, using their half court pressure to help force turnovers and get out to a quick 14-3 lead.

Phoenixville's 6-foot-5 junior wing Avery Close scored eight points in the first quarter, knocking down two big threes to help the Phantoms extend their lead early while Kelly struggled during the first quarter.

“We were all about getting off to a good start in the league in front of our home crowd,” Phoenixville head coach Eric Burnett said. “Tonight was all about getting out to a faster start, because we dug ourselves a hole in our first two games, and we did that.”

Despite a slow start for Kelly, the defending PAC-10 player of the year, with no field goals in the first quarter, finished with 27 points and 11 rebounds. After his star looked sluggish at the start, Burnett pulled him out of the game halfway through the first quarter.

“I checked in with him and made sure he was ready to go and give a full effort and he said he was ready,” Burnett said.

After re-entering the game, Kelly was more aggressive on both ends of the floor, with his relentless pressure defense and rim attacking offense. The 6-4 wing made 12 of his 15 free throws en route to his standout double-double.

“I had to be more aggressive,” Kelly acknowledged. “I had to try a little harder on defense and attack the rim a little more for us to build a bigger lead.”

With just a 12-point lead at the half, Phoenixville was still letting Methacton hang around hoping they could make a run and get back into the game. However, the Phantoms came flying out of the half, forcing turnovers and drawing fouls, as the Phoenixville star scored the first eight points of the second half, ending any comeback opportunity from the Warriors.

Along with Kelly, senior forward Jeff Conboy turned in a second consecutive impressive performance, following a 13-point performance in an upset win over Downingtown West with 15 points in the victory.

“Jeff has been outstanding, putting in another 15 points and six tough rebounds, his effort and hustle has been outstanding and he’s been a huge key for us,” Burnett said.

The 6-5 big man got the better of 6-3 Methacton center Stephen Savage, who scored 12 points, but got into early foul trouble and was a non-factor for the majority of the first half while he was forced to sit on the bench. Foul trouble also forced senior guard Jake Cardarelli to the bench, and he eventually fouled out at the end of the third quarter.

Methacton did get nine points from junior guard Patrick O’Neill and 10 from senior guard Jerry Cerchio, but it was not enough to keep pace with the Phantoms’ high-flying offense that featured five players with at least eight points.

“We need to do a better job of preventing them from getting to the foul line, Methacton head coach Jeff Derstine said. “When you have to change your rotation sheet it’s difficult to match up and that allowed them to build on their lead.”

Derstine, who has a team of inexperienced youngsters replacing the entire starting lineup from last year’s campaign, admits that this team is continually improving, but will need time to develop.

“There are things we’re doing well and things we have to work on,” Derstine said. “We’re going to continue to build on those strengths and hope to improve each and every game”

Even though this Methacton team is very different from last year, the Phantoms still remember last year’s three losses well.

“It was sweet revenge for us,” Kelly said. “With all of the tough losses we had to deal with last year, it was nice to get them back.”

Even though the season is just getting underway, Phoenixville has already notched two big wins that show just how much progress they have made by beating the two teams that ended their season last year.

And now the Phantoms have a chance to prove themselves as not only just a PAC-10 title contender, but as one of the sleepers in all of District 1.