Great Valley shooting display too much for Pottstown
MALVERN » It’s clear that the 2017-2018 Great Valley Patriots have a well-rounded offensive attack, equally capable of doing damage from the inside and outside.
Wednesday night’s emphasis was on “outside.”
Liam Ward scored 22 points while Gavin Frankenheimer and Nate Graeff each added 14 as the Patriots took home a 76-53 victory over visiting Pottstown on the opening night of the Great Valley Holiday Tournament.
In all, the Patriots connected on eight 3-pointers — seven by the duo of Ward and Frankenheimer — in taking a convincing lead by the end of the third quarter.
“The outside shooting had been missing up until this point,” said Great Valley coach Paul Girone. “Just to give you an idea, we were 6-for-41 (from long range) in our first five games. Our shooters shot tonight, and that’s a big plus.”
Early on this season, the emphasis for Pottstown has been replacing the scoring power missing from last year’s lineup after the transfer of Larry Wingo to Reading, putting pressure on to replace his scoring production in the Trojans’ starting lineup.
The Trojans (2-5) stayed close with Great Valley through the
first half thanks in large part to the heroics of Floyd Dashiell, who dazzled fans with 18 first-half points (21 total) including five 3-pointers.
“We just need to pick up on the little things, keep working hard to get better,” said Dashiell. “When they started face-guarding me, changing their approach, I focused on getting my teammates involved.”
For the Patriots, Graeff contributed eight firstquarter points (14 total) and contributed to the accumulation of three early fouls on Pottstown forward Aaron Diamond (20 points), easing the Patriots’ early dominance on the boards.
“When our outside shooters are hitting like that, everything opens up,” said Graeff.
“The early fouls were big, because Aaron’s a bull for us inside,” said Pottstown coach Cal Benfield. “But with three sophomores in the lineup who really stepped up — I’m pleased, considering what we were
up against.”
Ward and Dashiell traded long-range baskets in a first quarter that ended with Great Valley on top, 21-14. But without Diamond available for the balance of the half, GV dominated much of the second stanza, with Pottstown increasingly dependent on Dashiell’s magic to keep the score to a 43-30 margin at the half.
In the second half, Great Valley’s emphasis on limiting Dashiell was evident, as the sharpshooter was held without a second-half point until the final seconds.
“We had to adjust at halftime — we threw some boxand-one at (Dashiell),” said Girone.
Diamond and Dashiell combined for 41 of the Trojans’ 53 points on the evening.
Great Valley hosts Upper Dublin, a 49-36 winner over West Chester Henderson, in the tournament final Thursday at 7 p.m. Pottstown faces Henderson in the consolation game at 5:30 p.m.