Ziegler leads Pottsgrove boys past PJP, 80-73
OJR secures PAC playoff berth
The Pottsgrove boys basketball team rode out a 14-point first-quarter advantage to seal an 80-73 Pioneer Athletic Conference win over Pope John Paul II on Saturday night in a game that had a big impact on more than just the two teams involved.
As a result, Owen J. Roberts (4-6 PAC Liberty, 14-8 overall) locks up the No. 6 seed in next week’s PAC playoffs, edging out Perkiomen Valley (4-6, 12-10) based on the district-rankings tie-break criteria.
Mike Ziegler led Pottsgrove with a game-high 21 points, Manny Clark scored 14 while Jayden Blakey and Jason Hein each finished with 12 points in the win. The Falcons led 39-25 at the half, giving them enough of an edge to ride out PJP’s late push, as the Golden Panthers used a 48-41 second-half advantage.
Julien Andrews paced PJP with 18 points, Shane McConnell scored 13 while Matt DeLaurentis and Colin Loughin scored a respective 12 and 11 points. OWEN J. ROBERTS 49, GREAT VALLEY 47 » Shyheed May and Nick Massa scored in double figures as the Wildcats picked up a non-conference win over the Patriots.
May finished up with 14 points while Massa scored 12 and OJR led 22-18 at the half despite a modest fivepoint first quarter. Ryan Sayers finished with nine points and Justin Sayers scored seven in the win. For Great Valley, Matt Porreca scored a game-high 16 points while Nate Graeff scored 14 and Liam Ward had 12. SPRING-FORD 64, PENNSBURY 56 » Harrison Pierce and Robert Bobeck each scored 14 points to lift the Rams to a non-conference win over the Falcons.
Pierce connected on a pair of 3-pointers and finished a clean 8-for-8 at the foul line while Noah Baker and Tyler Scilingo added a respective 11 and nine points in the win. SpringFord took a 29-21 advantage in the half and rode that throughout an even second half. HATBORO-HORSHAM 48, PERKIOMEN VALLEY 47 » Four players scored 10 points apiece for the Hatters during a non-conference win against the Vikings.
Erick Dixon, Chris Edwards, Khalid Johnson and Kyle Hogan each hit for 10 points as Hatboro got out to a 27-19 lead by the half. Perk Valley reeled it back in with a 13-8 advantage in the third before coming up just short. Tyler Strechay scored a game-high 16 points while Zach Krause hit for 15. METHACTON 66, ABINGTON HEIGHTS 61 » The Warriors used a 23-5 first-quarter advantage to eventually hang on and claim a non-conference win against the Comets.
David Duda and Jeff Woodward scored 20 points apiece while Noah Kitaw chipped in with 14 points in the win. Methacton was outscored during the next three quarters, including a 25-21 advantage by Abington Heights in the final frame. George Tinsley and Jackson Danzig scored 24 points apiece in the loss. DONEGAL 47, DANIEL BOONE 36» The Indians hit 11 free throws in the final quarter, and 20 overall, to pull away from the Blazers in a nonleague game at Mount Joy.
Boone led 16-12 after a quarter but went scoreless in the second period. Dylan Walker led the Blazers with 10 points. PERKIOMEN SCHOOL 77, RANCOCAS VALLEY 47 » Nick Guadarrama scored a game-high 22 points as the Panthers secured a win over Rancocas Valley during Bishop Eustace’s TriState Prep Showcase.
Tautyvdes Kupstas scored 14, Chandler Brooks added 12 and Titus Wilkins scored 10 as Perk got out to a 44-30 lead by the half.
Girls basketball
PERKIOMEN VALLEY 64, METHACTON 37 » Megan Jonassen headed a trio of double-figure scorers that fueled the Vikings’ win over the Warriors.
Jonassen hit for a gamehigh 19 points, with Alex Blomstrom adding 15 and Taylor Hamm 12. They helped PV open a 30-14 halftime lead in this PAC Liberty Division pairing that went to 47-29 after three quarters.
Jill Zerbe was Methacton’s leading scorer with 14. OWEN J. ROBERTS 50, UNIONVILLE 18 » Olivia LeClaire matched the Indians’ combined scoring output in leading the Wildcats to a non-conference win.
Diana Rantz added nine points behind LeClaire’s 18 while Maddi Koury scored seven. OJR got out to a 22-8 lead by the half and extended it to a 38-8 advantage by the fourth quarter. Grace Schrof led Unionville with nine points. NORTH ALLEGHENY 50, SPRING-FORD 46 » The Rams rebounded from an early deficit in the second quarter, but they fell off NA’s pace in the fourth and ended up short of their nonleague guests.
Abby Goodrich scored 12 points, and Lucy Olsen 10, to help Spring-Ford force a 23-23 halftime tie after being down 15-7 in the first quarter. It took a 41-37 lead into the fourth quarter, but it was held to five points down the final stretch of the game. ABINGTON 58, BOYERTOWN 31 » Though Kylie Webb and Victoria Boalton each scored eight points, the Bears were upended by the Galloping Ghosts in nonleague action. DONEGAL 64, DANIEL BOONE 44 » Carly Diffenderfer scored 21 points to lead the Indians past the Blazers in non-conference play.
Kaylie Walker led Boone with 17 points while Courtney Gabbett added 12. SHIPLEY SCHOOL 57, HILL SCHOOL 33 » The Blues found themselves in an early deficit that proved too much during their nonconference game against Shipley.
The Hill trailed 32-18 after the first half and fell to a 25-15 disadvantage in the second. Alexa Giacche paced Hill with 13 points while Maia Lockhart added seven.
Wrestling
MLK DUALS » Pottstown and Daniel Boone both went 2-2 in the 16-team Martin Luther King Cougar Duals, the Blazers placing fourth and the Trojans 10th.
Pottstown’s wins came over Academy Park (45-27) and Marple Newtown (3525), its losses at the hands of Chichester (48-26) and Wallenpaupack (60-14). Boone’s wins were against Wallenpaupack (49-27) and Westtown School (42-27), its losses to Octorara (41-34) and Northeast High (39-29). INTERBORO DUALS » Phoenixville fell against Franklin Towne Charter, 47-35 during the semifinal round of the Interboro Duals.
FTC staked a quick 18-0 lead by virtue of two forfeits and Nate Fricker’s pin at 285. The Phantoms then made a push ad Antonio Valenteen (106) and Carsten Schlag (113) posted pins before Matt Wallence won by forfeit. J.R. Piazza (138) and Anthony Stevenson (152) posted pins while Bryce Thompson posted a 16-1 major decision during his bout at 170.