City of Basketball Love

Tyler Sandora (@tyler_sandora)
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In Penncrest’s win over Upper Merion in the 2017 District 1 5A championship last March, then-junior Justin Heidig didn’t see a single minute on the Villanova University Pavilion court.

Heidig had been one of the go-to guys off the bench for Mike Doyle’s squad all of last year, but just didn’t get in the championship game.

All offseason that sat in the back of Heidig’s mind. Coming into his senior year, Heidig knew he would be a vital part of the rotation, which returned enough talent to make a run at the district championship for the second straight year.

“It’s the one game I didn’t play [all year],” Heidig said. “Coach knows what’s best, and he knows who to put out there.

“But this time, I think it’s my turn.”

On Wednesday night, Heidig made sure he’ll get his wish. A starter all season long for the Lions, the 5-foot-9 guard won’t have to worry about whether he’ll get his chance to play on Saturday afternoon in the culmination of District 1 play.

Thanks to his two clutch free throws with 25 seconds left on the clock, followed by a defensive stop from Tyler Norwood, Penncrest defeated Wissahickon, 45-40, to advance to the district championship for the second year in a row.

“I knew absolutely, there was no doubt in my mind; I didn’t even have to watch the free throws, I knew that Justin was going to make them,” Doyle said. “I know he missed earlier [in the game] but he’s such a tough-nosed kid that there was no way he would miss that shot. No way.”

Up next for Penncrest is the championship game at Temple on Saturday at 2 PM versus Bishop Shanahan, winners over Chester in the other semifinal. Penncrest and Shanahan came into the district tournament as the top two seeds.

Once Heidig scored the most important two of his five points at the stripe, Wissahickon had a chance to tie it. Once the play fell apart, senior Max Rapoport was forced to try and find a shot by himself. But Norwood poked it away, and the ball deflected off of Rapoport’s leg and out of bounds.

The ball was inbounded to Norwood, and the scoring machine netted points two free throws, putting the icing on the cake for Penncrest.

Junior Malcolm Williams scored eight of his nine points in the first quarter, and Matt Arbogast added seven. 

“I mean, feels amazing, still living that last possession,” Heidig said. “I knew they were looking for him and I just tried to play what I do, play good defense and force them into a bad shot, and Ty played a helluva defense.”

All year, defense has been Penncrest’s strong suit. The Lions have held three teams scoreless in the opening quarter this year, and give up on average 40.8 points per game, according to Doyle. On Wednesday they held a Wissahickon team, which has routinely surpassed 70 points, to only 40 points.

“We would probably much rather be on the defensive end in that situation,” Norwood said, “just because of all season long what our defense has done for us.”

Penncrest has had a target on its back all year considering they were the reigning champs. With that comes expectations. Those expectations, mixed with success, tend to draw crowds to your games.

Penncrest sold 500 tickets in one day at school for a district game. And on Wednesday at Temple’s Liacouras Center, both Penncrest and Wissahickon brought crowds of substantial size.

“People expect us to be good and be great, but just take it one game at a time,” Norwood said. “We don’t really let what people say get to us, we know we have a target on our back, it’s been like that all year, people trying to take our heads off every night.”

“Our gym was standing room only the last few games,” Doyle said. “We’re used to it. We have one of the best dog pounds in the state. Two years of Central League playoffs, they are intense, loud, and standing room only. This is what we do.”

As Heidig stepped to the free throw line, with Penncrest up by one, the Wissahickon student section was going nuts. But what did Heidig, who was shooting at the opposite end of the Trojan-faithful, hear?

“Nothing,” he said. “It was just a clear head.”

The ability to zone-out the chaotic fans and focus on the task and hand perhaps stems from the confidence built up by the Lions, specifically Heidig, this year.

“[Heidig’s] one of the most confident players I’ve ever coached,” Doyle admitted. “Justin believes he can do it every time. No doubt in his mind. It’s like a Michael-Jordan thing, thinking ‘I’m going to get it done.’ He might be the most confident player on the team. He believes in himself that much.”

Norwood, who is the team’s star player on the offensive end, would probably not have had any problems stepping to the line last year and knocking down the free throws. So he took the liberty of working with Heidig over the summer, in hopes of developing his teammates confidence to the level is was at.

“Working with Ty this offseason, he’s definitely helped my confidence and we’re kind of playing off each other well,” Heidig admitted. “And it really shows out there. Just have the confidence to step out and knock them down.”