City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin) &
Justin Allen (@Jallen_town)
--

There was certainly a playoff aura surrounding the gym at Phoenixville on Thursday night, as there was not a single empty seat in the house. The occasion, of course, was a matchup of the Pac-10’s last remaining unbeaten teams--the home Phantoms and visiting Spring-Ford.

The matchup also marked the return of reigning Player of the Year Christian Kelly, who had missed the previous three games with a thumb injury. Kelly’s return only added to the chaotic scene, with a sold-out gymnasium packed with Spring-Ford and Phoenixville supporters and students alike, who had the atmosphere fired up from the time the JV game ended on a last-second layup.

And though it was rough goings to begin with, Kelly and the Phantoms asserted themselves in the second half en route to a 50-46 win.

Both teams looked shaken by the big-game atmosphere early on, shooting a combined 9-of-35 (25.7 percent) in a first half that featured nearly three times as many foul shots (25) as made buckets.

“Both teams were definitely nervous,” Phoenixville center Jeff Conboy said. “We only had like 15 total points in the first quarter between both teams…”

He trailed off as he saw Kelly walk out of the locker room.

“Talk to him,” the 6-foot-5 senior said. “He had like 30.”

Well, 27 points to be exact, including 22 in the second half alone.

After Spring-Ford (16-5, 11-1 PAC-10) jumped out to an eight point advantage early in the second half, Kelly flipped a switch and scored 13 of the Phantoms’ points during a 14-6 run to close the third quarter deadlocked, 36-36.

“I had to come out more aggressive,” said the 6-foot-4 wing, who’s getting recruited by several Division II programs. “I had been out for the last couple of games and I wasn’t too confident coming into this one. My teammates pushed me on and my coaches pushed me on and the fans really got to my head and made me have to play better.”

The aggressiveness of Kelly and his supporting cast continued into the fourth quarter. With several key players in foul trouble for the Phantoms (17-3, 12-0), their depth helped get enough stops down the stretch to key a victory.

“The bench was phenomenal,” Kelly added. “Guys coming off like Shy [Abernathy], and with guys in foul trouble we had guys step up like Phil [Meszaros]. It really meant a lot to us because I was down in the first half and they really pushed me in the third and fourth quarters.”

Kelly found his way to the foul line time and time again throughout the second half, going 10-of-12 from the charity stripe over the game’s closing 12 minutes, including 5-of-6 in the final minutes of the game.

Conboy sealed it with a foul shot with 6.5 seconds remaining, and a Spring-Ford miss at the buzzer set off a wild celebration.

“We’ve never had 1000 people in here before, they might have sold this place out,” Conboy said. “That was sick.”

Phoenixville’s defense was stellar throughout the game, especially on the perimeter, where Spring-Ford entered with a league-best 123 3-point field goals. The Rams were limited to just 3-of-13 from beyond the arc Thursday.

“We couldn’t cash in,” Spring-Ford coach Chris Talley said. “We didn’t make a 3 in the first half and that’s not like us, usually we shoot the ball pretty well from 3.”

Spring-Ford point guard Matt Gnias led his team with 17 points, 11 rebounds, and four assists, but was the focal point of what Phoenixville was trying to do defensively. With a bevy of big men, the Phantoms were able to keep the 6-4 Kelly shadowing Gnias for a good portion of the game.

“A good player like Matt Gnias, we put a lot of focus on him and trying to limit his 3s,” Phoenixville head coach Eric Burnett said. “So that was definitely a key tonight and we’ve been working really, really hard on our defense, it’s been paying off over the last couple of games, especially with Christian out.”

With the exception of a seven-point outburst from Nigel Cooke to start the second half, the Rams struggled to find a rhythm for anyone besides Gnias, offensively.

After trailing by four at the two minute mark, the Rams were able to pull back to even at 46-46, as senior forward Danny Zack converted a tough layup. With a chance to retake the lead in transition, the Rams were halted. First by a brief power outage and then by a trap employed by the Phantoms.

The Rams turned the ball over, as Abernathy dove to the floor and came up with a steal. The Phantoms were able to convert 4-of-6 free throws in the final 40 seconds of the game forcing turnovers on all but one of Spring-Ford’s final three possessions.

“I think it showed that when that last two minutes happened,” Talley said. “I think we kind of succumbed to the pressure a little bit. It’s a good learning experience for us because every game from here on out is going to be like this, a playoff atmosphere.”

Still, this game primarily served as a preview of what many believe will be the Pac-10 championship game, as both teams seem to be on a collision course towards a rematch. Phoenixville and Spring-Ford have earned the number one seed from each of their respective divisions. All that’s left to be determined is who they will face in the semifinals on February 5th.

“I mean, we knew that the outcome of this game was big, especially for district seeding, but in the grand scheme of things, the league playoff is what everybody plays for in our league,” Talley said. “People won’t remember this game five years from now, but they’ll remember that championship game--if we’re fortunate enough to get there and see them again.”