City of Basketball Love

Anthony Dabbundo (@AnthonyDabbundo)
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After spending half of his junior year on the bench due to injury, and watching his team finish 6-7 in league play, Spring-Ford point guard Matt Gnias had only one thing on his mind entering his senior year.

He wanted to make history.

With a trio of returning seniors, Spring-Ford was poised for a potential league title.

Little did they know that the Rams’ standout guard would be the engineer of a team that made school history, both by winning the PAC-10 title and winning the first state playoff game in Spring-Ford history.

Whether it was the Rams’ league title win over Perkiomen Valley, in which Gnias scored 24 points, or the 23 he scored to clinch a state berth in a win over Pennridge, the 6-foot, 160 pound point guard proved reliable in the season’s biggest moments.

“We had two bad losses at the end of last season, and that really motivated us throughout the whole summer to focus on getting better every day and working together,”  the 6-foot, 160 pound point guard said.

On the heels of his team’s record breaking year, Gnias has committed to continue his basketball career at Division III Muhlenberg (Pa.), a decision he announced Monday.

Although he also considered Moravian, Ursinus, and Alvernia, he decided on Muhlenberg earlier this week because of the academics. Gnias plans to study business, even though he’s still undecided on his major.

“I wanted to go to a good academic school, and Muhlenberg was the best of any that offered me,” Gnias said. “I really liked everything about the school.”

He joins a team, coached by Scott McClary, that finished 11-14 overall, and 8-10 in the Centennial Conference last season. The Mules are led by junior wing Brandon LaRose and sophomore guard Nick Rindock, who averaged a combined 23 points per game this season.

Gnias looks to step in and provide an immediate scoring boost to the Mules, with his proven ability to knock down threes at will. Gnias led the PAC-10 with 70 made threes this season, which was a huge part of the Rams’ offensive gameplan.

“Coach said that I would be able to step in and play early on, which is huge for me because I want to be involved,” Gnias said.

Along with shooting ability, the Rams’ engineer is able to get to the rim at will, averaging 15.7 points per game, which was good for 5th in the league. Additionally, he is a willing passer and rebounder, averaging 5.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game in the Rams’ historic campaign.

“He was the leader of this team, and having been able to coach him for my first three years here has been special,” Spring-Ford head coach Chris Talley said. “I can’t say enough about what Matt has done on and off the court for this team.”

Even though Gnias and the two other leading scorers of the Rams’ lineup, Nigel Cooke and Cam Reid, won’t be returning, this Spring-Ford team will go down in the books as the most successful in school history.

When they defeated Spring Grove in the opening round of the PIAA playoffs by a 74-43 score back in early March, they knew that they had made history.

“Our team came together and worked so hard this year, and to make it to states and win a game was all of our hard work paying off,” Gnias said.

The Rams were tested time and time again. Playing CB West, CB South, and Downingtown West out of conference, Spring-Ford had 3 early losses. But when it counted most, Spring-Ford finished the season with a league title, a 5th place finish in the district, and a trip to the second round of states.

And at the center of the best season in school history was their point guard. Whenever Spring-Ford needed a basket, there was only one player they turned to.

“Muhlenberg is getting a great player, someone who will work hard on and off the court, and run through a wall for his teammates,” Talley said.