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PIAA playoff basketball: Teams from Poconos play in Round 1 – Pocono Record
Out of three PIAA boys basketball playoff games, only one Monroe County team will make it to the Sweet 16: Pocono Mountain West.
“On to the Sweet 16 for our guys after a 73-67 win in the 1st (round) of the state playoffs vs an excellent Chichester squad!” West coach Rich Williams wrote on Twitter.
“This is the 4th time in school history that our guys will move on (to the) 2nd round.”
The Panthers will face off against the Abington Heights Comets Tuesday for Round 2.
Read on for highlight’s from Saturday night’s games in Pocono Summit and East Stroudsburg.
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EAST STROUDSBURG ― West Chester East rolled into East Stroudsburg Saturday with their A-game.
“This is going to be a tough game — this will be the toughest team we have played all season,” South coach Shawn Munford told the Pocono Record earlier this week. “They are bigger in size and have some really good players, so I hope we’re up for the challenge.”
The Cavaliers appeared to be, in fact, up to the challenge.
By the end of the first period, Cavs were up 11-10 over the Vikings.
South maintained their edge throughout the second period in what was proving to be a methodical game.
Multiple baskets sunk by Eastburg senior Logan Santos (No. 3) brought the Cavs up 24-18 with less than two minutes left in the second period. Santos reportedly led the team in scoring by that time in the game, with 12 points.
Both teams had a formidable presence in the third period. It was then West Chester East turned things around.
Jaen Chatman (No. 5) secured two free throws for the Cavs, which West Chester East soon answered with a layup.
East Stroudsburg South senior Xavier Carnegie (No. 12) dazzled with a 3-pointer to narrow the gap between the two teams.
But West Chester East maintained its lead at the end of the third period, with 37 points to the Cavs’ 34. Both teams went into the final minutes of play with strong defensive strategy. The players moved like tanks up and down the court.
The Vikings sank two free throws with less than 30 seconds in play. The Cavs answered with four more points, but it wasn’t enough. Another set of free throws takes it for West Chester East.
West Chester East wins with a final score of 52-47.
The sounds of the national anthem could be heard echoing throughout the gym at East Stroudsburg South before Mount Calvary Christian and Notre Dame East Stroudsburg introduced their starting line ups.
Mount Calvary won possession of the ball immediately, scoring the game’s first point within the first few seconds of play. The Spartans answered with their own point, but Mount Calvary established an early lead of 12-1 in the first period.
Notre Dame ES quickly recovered, bringing energy into the last seconds of play in the first period. By the end of the period, both teams were tied 20-20.
The Mount Calvary Chargers wasted no time trying to reestablish their lead, but the Spartans didn’t make it easy for them.
Notre Dame’s Heavin McCain (No. 3) proved himself a standout when it came to foul shots, sinking two at 3:53 to bring the score to a tie 28-28, which Mount Calvary answered quickly.
Notre Dame ES Junior Xavier Spears (No. 11) scored a phenomenal 3-pointer with just over three minutes left to edge over the Chargers.
Leading scorers for Notre Dame ES so far are McCain and Spears with 19 and 13 points respectively.
At halftime, the score was 38-34, Spartans leading.
Both teams plowed through the third period. Spartans maintain their lead, albeit by a single point: 56-55 heading into the final period of the game.
The final period started with both teams going for tit for tat, until Spears came back with yet another 3-pointer to take Notre Dame ES up to 61 points to Mount Calvary’s 57.
The Chargers scored a 3-pointer of their own, followed by an additional 2 points to edge over the Spartans. Notre Dame answered with a basket, but Mount Calvary came back with another 3-pointer.
With under two minutes left in the game, Notre Dame ES scored another 3-pointer. The edge was short-lived after Mount Calvary sank two free throws.
Soon after, Spears brought Notre Dame back up with two free throws.
With a minute left in play, Calvary scored again. Spartans regained possession before a Notre Dame ES player had to leave the court after a hard fall.
With less than a minute left, Spartan coaches called a timeout. At this point, Mount Calvary led with 74 points to Notre Dame’s 73.
Emotions ran high in the last 26 seconds.
Mount Calvary made two free throws in the final seconds. Final score: Notre Dame ES: 73, Mount Calvary Christian: 76. Chargers win.
Pocono Mountain West boys basketball team faced off against Chichester on West’s home court.
West coach Rich Williams expected a “physical game” against Chichester, which may prove difficult for the Panthers.
“We’re much more of a finesse team,” Williams told the Pocono Record earlier this week.
“Our goal right now is to try to get to the Elite Eight of the state tournament. That’s something that no other team in our program has ever done. We’ve only had teams get to the Sweet Sixteen,” Williams said.
With less than four minutes left in the second period, West had edged past Chichester 23-22 thanks two successful free throws clinched by No. 0 Juju Pagan.
With a few seconds to spare, Chichester sank a 3-pointer, narrowing the gap between the two teams.
The second period came to an end with West maintaining their lead, albeit by a single point: 28-27.
Both teams found their fire in the third period, but West put forth a valiant defensive effort ― during which sophomore Adrian Brito (No. 24) appeared to stand out as a leader ― and the Panthers went shot for shot with Chichester.
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The third period ended with West leading 48-44.
It didn’t take long at the top of the fourth period for the Panthers to answer an early basket from Chichester with one of their own. The energy was high on the court as both teams made their push during the last seven minutes of play.
Chichester soon after showed signs of recovery, narrowing the gap to a single point. That narrow gap continued basket for basket until West freshman Kyon Coles Jr. (No. 1) sinks two free throws. Soon after, West widened the gap to 64-56 with 3 minutes 17 seconds left on the clock.
Coles Jr. returned to the free throw line yet again to sink two more. With 3 minutes and 5 seconds left in play, West was up by 10 points.
Emotions ran high in the latter half in the period, with both teams seemingly having put their all into defense.
We saw more aggression from West in the last 30 seconds of play.
The crowd was silent when Pagan was called up to the free throw line after a foul. He missed both shots. With 22 seconds left in play, coaches called a timeout. West was up 71-64.
West’s Jonathan Mateo (No. 13) was called up after he slid across the court for foul shots. He too missed both.
Chichester then attempted to regain possession during the last 15 seconds of play, but Mateo recovered the ball and wasted no time driving down the court.
West’s Ethan Sakwa (No. 3) is then called up to the foul line for a free throw. He sinks one with just a second left on the clock. West wins 73-67.