Wilson, Mitchell limp past North Penn in state opener

Knights put scare into state title contender

KUTZTOWN » Wilson won a state playoff game for the first time in 13 years Saturday. Whether the Bulldogs can get another one next week, or string together enough to make a run at a PIAA Class 6A championship, came into question when Stevie Mitchell limped off the court in the opening minute.

Mitchell produced the first bucket of the Bulldogs’ 4939 win over North Penn in a PIAA Tournament opener at Kutztown University, but came down wrong on his right ankle and briefly left the game.

The junior wing returned to score a game-high 17 points, but clearly wasn’t moving the way he normally does. Wilson’s all-time scoring leader wasn’t getting to the basket at will the way he usually does, and that’s got to be a concern going forward, especially in light of the way the District 3 champion Bulldogs (28-1) struggled to find separation from a team that finished 10th in its district tournament and ends the season with 16 losses.

“At this time of the year a lot of teams have bumps and bruises,” reasoned Wilson coach Matt Coldren. “It’s one of those things where you’ve just got to suck it up and realize we’re one loss away from the season being over. We don’t want it to be over.”

It never quite got to that point Saturday; the Bulldogs didn’t trail for a second. Still, they were on the brink on making headlines across the state when the Knights pulled within 33-32 on Josh Jones’ 3-pointer with 5½ minutes to go.

To that point North Penn had effectively slowed the game to a crawl and kept Mitchell and Wilson’s offense under wraps.

“We were one possession away from really making it a tough game down the stretch,” said North Penn coach John Conrad. “Then who knows at

TOM BOLAND — MEDIANEWS GROUP Wilson’s Stevie Mitchell shoots against North Penn’s Mike Chaffee in the Bulldogs’ 49-39 win over North Penn Saturday at Kutztown University.