Boys Basketball
Methacton 61, Spring-Ford 56 (OT)
Sophomore John Leet buried six 3-pointers for a career-high 31 points as Methacton dealt Spring-Ford its first loss of the season in a Thursday night PAC Liberty thriller. Leet scored 10 in the first half, but the Rams took a four-point lead into halftime. He only warmed up after the break, depositing 14 more points in the second half and seven of his team’s 11 points in the extra session, giving the Warriors (4-3, 3-1 Liberty) their third consecutive win following a slow start out of the gate.
“Credit to our guys – they were up for the challenge,” Methacton head coach Pat Lockard said. “They pulled off a great team win against a tough opponent, such a well-coached team that always presents a difficult challenge. Going into the game, we knew it was going to be big for PAC and district purposes. Our early stumbles have shown us the energy and focus required to compete in these big games.”
Mason Conrad also reached double figures for Methacton, with most of his heroics coming in the fourth quarter and overtime. The senior guard first converted a tough, left-handed putback then nailed a layup with four seconds left in the final period and his team down two to force the extra sessions. Conrad then followed Leet’s clutch OT buckets with four made free throws in the game’s final 16 seconds to finally ice the thrilling, back-and-forth affair. Wes Robinson chipped in nine points in the home victory that featured plenty of contributions across the roster.
“Leet shot the ball really well, but Cole Webb, Wes Robinson and Jahmir Carter came up with huge rebounds,” Lockard said. “Micah Cherian played great defense against a tough cover in (Syaire) Barnes. Conrad knocked down very clutch free throws in addition to the shot that sent the game to overtime. The guys are believing in each other, which is fun to watch – the experienced guys are building Leet up to be that scorer for us.”
Barnes posted a team-high 18 points for Spring-Ford (7-1, 3-1). The Rams also received 13 points from Blake Turner, 10 from Jack Kennedy and nine from Matteo Magazzolo, the latter scoring all of his points from beyond the arc.
Phoenixville 66, Owen J. Roberts 63
Keron Booth Jr. led all scorers with 20 points and Logan Kern posted nine of his 18 in a first quarter that saw Phoenixville jump out to an early 14-point lead. The Coleman brothers combined for 19 points – 11 from Cadin and another eight from Colin – to help the Phantoms (6-2, 4-0 PAC Frontier) win for the fourth time in their last five games and hold on to sole possession of first place in the division. Booth went 4-for-5 from the foul line in the fourth quarter to help stave off OJR’s rally.
Roman Storti’s 16 points paced OJR, which dropped its sixth game in the past seven contests. Adam Stahl (13 points) and Gavin Winnick (11 points) also reached double figures for the Wildcats (3-7, 1-3).
Perkiomen Valley 70, Norristown 37
Ty Hoppenwasser scored a season-high 18 points and Chase Kelly added 16 as PV opened up an 18-point advantage at halftime and never looked back in a dominant PAC Liberty road win. Ben Motley produced all nine of his points from behind the three-point line for the Vikings (5-2, 3-1 Liberty).
Ish Eaddy’s 17 points led the charge for Norristown (0-9, 0-4).
Pope John Paul II 71, Boyertown 30
Lucas Pekofsky’s 13 points led all scorers as he was one of 10 different PJP players to score in a dominant PAC Liberty home triumph. Jack Kessler added 11 points for the Golden Panthers (7-2, 2-2 Liberty) and Ayden Wise and Zahaid Edwards-Boone each chipped in 10 apiece. It was the fourth consecutive victory for Pope, which outscored Boyertown 41-9 in the second half.
Andrew Derstine paced the Bears (3-5, 1-3) with nine points.
Pottstown 66, Upper Merion 49
Girls Basketball
Pottstown 34, Norristown 33
Freshman Maliyah Newman’s go-ahead bucket with 10 seconds left lifted Pottstown to a thrilling home PAC Frontier win on Thursday night as the Trojans won for the fifth time in seven games to open their season. All five of Newman’s points came in the second half. Jayanna Hill and Hailey Danzig led Pottstown (5-2, 2-2 Frontier) with 13 points each.
Meanwhile, the Eagles (1-7, 0-4) continued to show tremendous improvement from a season ago despite being saddled with a hard-luck loss. Adrianna Golston led Norristown with 10 points.
Upper Merion 44, Upper Perkiomen 38
After being limited to two points in a loss earlier in the week, Kennedy Coles got her groove back on Thursday night as she led all scorers with 27 points, 14 of which came in a clutch second half. The PAC Frontier division has been extremely competitive out of the gate as Upper Merion (5-3, 3-1 Frontier) is one of three 3-1 teams through the season’s first four conference games.
Burgundy Gahman posted a 12-point, 11-rebound double-double for Upper Perk (3-4, 1-3). Jenna Langenback (eight points, four rebounds, three assists, two steals) and Olivia Keyser (seven points, five rebounds, four blocks) both had strong all-around games in defeat.
Perkiomen Valley 64, Owen J. Roberts 40
Gabby Russo connected on four 3-pointers for a team-high 13 points as PV picked up a dominant road PAC Liberty win to remain unbeaten in conference play. Kate Nemic was next up with 12 points, while Megan King contributed 10 points for the Vikings (6-1, 4-0 Liberty).
Maggie Thompson (27 points) and Kira Sorzano (13 points) were responsible for all of the points for OJR (5-3, 2-2).
Spring-Ford 62, Methacton 48
Freshman Teagan Finney continued her excellent debut season with a game-high 17 points as Spring-Ford jumped out to a 19-point halftime lead and cruised to a dominant PAC Liberty win. Miley Maloney was not far behind with 16 points, as she and Finney combined to go 12-for-14 at the foul line. Emma Kaercher added 10 points in the win for the Rams (4-1, 3-1 Liberty).
Ava Wolf’s 14 points were tops for Methacton (2-5, 1-3).
Phoenixville 64, Boyertown 39
Kayden Baratta posted 10 of her game-high 23 points in the first quarter and shot 10-for-11 from the stripe in the game to help Phoenixville secure a convincing PAC Liberty win at Boyertown. Taylor Schneider contributed 14 points for the Phantoms (5-3, 2-2 Liberty), who led by 19 points at the break.
Sophomore Rhian Harper’s 11 points led Boyertown (2-6, 0-4).
Pope John Paul II 47, Pottsgrove 26
Caitlin Cianci and Cassidy McCarthy each scored a game-high 12 points to help PJP pick up an impressive road victory, dealing Pottsgrove its first PAC Frontier loss of the season in the process. Saydi Daye added 10 points for the Golden Panthers (5-3, 3-1 Frontier), who clamped down on defense and outscored the Falcons 31-11 in the second half.
Nyla’h Stubbs led Pottsgrove (4-4, 3-1) with 11 points and seven rebounds.
