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District 1 5A: Wissahickon beats Great Valley, earns trip to Temple

02/25/2018, 1:15am EST
By Steve Sherman

Steve Sherman (@stevesherman222)
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AMBLER – From the beginning of the season, Wissahickon set its sights on making its way to Temple University, the site of the District 1 Class 5A semifinals and final.

Make that mission accomplished, as the fourth-seeded Trojans have won their first two playoffs to earn a berth in the D1 semifinal set for 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 28 at the Liacouras Center vs. top-seeded Penncrest. No. 2 Bishop Shanahan will take on No. 3 Chester in the other semifinal set for 6 p.m.

Unlike Wednesday’s D-1 5A opener when Wissahickon starters Zach Reiner, Eddie Fortescue and Anthony Lawrence all reached double digits in a lopsided win over 13th-seeded Strath Haven, the Trojans had an off night shooting and had to rely on a pair of reserves in order to get past fifth-seeded Great Valley whose best player Liam Ward exploded for 27 points including 13 in the second quarter to send the visiting Patriots into the locker room with a 2-point lead.

The Trojans received 21 points off the bench from senior Donovan Oliphant (8 points, 5 rebounds) and 6-4 sophomore Carmen Ostroski (13 points, 3 rebounds) and won 55-48 Saturday night on their home court.

“That was the difference in the game,” admitted Patriots head coach Paul Girone. “They are so deep.

“I watched film on these guys a few times and I’m watching the second half tonight and they got a whole new group of guys in there.

“They’re very athletic and they can all play basketball.”

Wissahickon needed every single one of those points off the bench after Reiner – who led the Trojans with 17 points, 7 assists and 5 rebounds in the D1 opener vs. Strath Haven – got into foul trouble early in the second half and fouled out with 3:06 remaining in regulation.

“Reiner is one of our main guys and he leads us in almost every category,” explained Ostroski. “We knew we had to step up when we saw he was having a tough game.

“He’s the reason why we’ve been so positive. He does everything for our team and he’s the reason why we’ve won so many games this year.”

Trailing 17-9, Wissahickon received a big burst from Oliphant, who hit all eight of his points including a pair of 3-pointers in the second period to cut Great Valley’s lead to two.

“He’s a kid who is just happy to get his time on the court and he’s been a warrior for us all season long,” said Trojans head coach Kyle Wilson.

“He played his best basketball last year in the playoffs and when we need big plays, he always steps up and finds a way to get them.”

In the waning moments of the first half, a bucket by Ostroski and a 3-point play by senior Anthony Lawrence (5 points, 4 rebounds) drew Wissahickon within a point at 21-20 and Oliphant gave the Trojans a briefly held lead with a midcourt steal and ensuing layup that put his team on top, 24-23.

“We didn’t really have a great first half but Don was able to keep us in the game,” explained Ostroski. “He shot really well and did a lot of things really well in that first half.”

Ward countered however by hitting his third 3-pointer in the second period – he scored 13 points in the quarter – to put the Patriots up 26-24 heading into the locker room.

The sides went toe to toe in the opening moments of the third quarter with Reiner and Ward trading driving layups that left Great Valley holding on to a 30-29 edge with five minutes left in the period.

During the time remaining the third quarter coupled together with the opening moments of the fourth period, Wissahickon pulled away, thanks to a 17-4 run kicked off by back to back field goals by Ostroski and senior Max Rapoport (12 points, 4 rebounds), whose first basket in the game was a 3-pointer that put the Trojans on top 34-30 just four minutes into the second half.

“While it was Oliphant igniting Wissahickon in the second period, it was Ostroski sparking the team with his play in the second, third and fourth quarters.

“He’s an athletic kid, a great ball-handler and he finds a way to get the ball in the backcourt and make plays,” added Wilson. “He played some varsity last year so he’s mature enough to know the situation.

“We needed him. With Reiner in foul trouble, we needed Carmen to make some plays and he played tremendous for us.”

Entering the fourth quarter, Reiner had just a pair of field goals to his name, one in each of the first and third periods. But he began the final frame by canning a driving layup and ensuing 3-pointer to put the Trojans up 46-34.

While the Patriots mounted a 5-2 run, thanks to a driving layup by senior Nate Graeff (8 points) and a 3-point play by senior point guard Matt Porreca, the time left was becoming a factor.

With 3:06 remaining in the fourth quarter, Graeff drew a charge on Reiner and Zach was subsequently tagged with his fifth foul. While Great Valley was trailing 48-39, with Reiner out of the game, the Patriots still had a puncher’s chance.

Wissahickon could have put the game away earlier but shot just 7-for-15 from the foul line in the fourth quarter and was just 12-of-24 from the stripe for the game. However, Lawrence and Ostroski hit four straight free throws, putting the Trojans up 52-40 with 1:30 remaining.

While Ward finished the game with an 8-point offensive burst including a pair of 3-pointers, the last of which beat the final buzzer, it only served to change the score, not the outcome.

In the second half, Wissahickon went with a box-and-one defense that kept Ward’s shots off-balance and the Trojans limited the Patriots’ leading scorer to just a pair of field goals in the third quarter while keeping him off the board all but the last 1:30 of the final frame.

Great Valley stayed ahead in the first half, thanks to 5-for-8 shooting from the floor in the second period. However, the Patriots’ shots grew cold after the intermission as the visitors canned just 8-of-23 shots in the last two quarters.

Turnovers also hurt Great Valley’s cause and the Pats committed 14 of them, allowing 12 points off the change in possession.

From here, Great Valley heads to playbacks as the Patriots host No. 9 Holy Ghost 7 p.m. Wednesday. No. 6 Sun Valley hosts No. 7 West Chester Rustin in the other consolation game. The four teams will battle it out for the last three state playoff berths.


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