The Times Herald (Norristown, PA)
Methacton
(11 points), and sophomore Brett Byrne (8 points) all added 3s in the period as Methacton led 29-9 after a quarter of play.
Senior forward Jeff Woodward, who put together another dominant effort on the glass and manning the paint defensively, scored 12 of his 14 points in the first half as the Warriors led 53-27 at the break.
“We knew they were really aggressive on the front end of their press, and they got us a couple times during the course of the game,” Methacton coach Jeff Derstine said. “But I think we kind of established it early on. We were really aggressive. We had our eyes down the floor.
“Even that first play, I think it was Eberly who hit Timko on the long pass ahead and hit the three right away. Byrne hit one. So we had talked about trying to stretch the defense and attack the press vertically. And I thought we did a really good job of that early and kind of built a lead early and kept them at length most of the game.”
As the Warriors’ offensive clinic continued into the second half, a Lincoln fan yelled out, “They’re beating you with the fundamentals.”
Derstine noted that even when the Lincoln defense was able to recover, the Warriors’ use of the jumpstop and ability to reverse the ball helped them continue to get good shots.
With the Warriors’ lead past 30 late in the game, the fundamental play remained. In the middle of the fourth, Timko drove into the lane and used a jump-stop before finding Eberly behind him in the corner for a three.
“That’s something that we really harp on a lot, we really emphasize a lot, because from a decisionmaking standpoint you give yourself a chance,” Derstine said of the jumpstops. “If what you think is there ends up not being there, if you jump you’ve got one option. Try to save the day. Make a creative pass.
“But when you jumpstop, you give yourself a couple seconds as long as the guys are filling on the perimeter and finding the open spot. If we’re patient and decisive, eventually the openings are going to be there and you have to knock the shots down.”
The Warriors’ season has been building toward a rematch with Roman since a 59-52 loss to the Cahillites on Dec. 14 — one of just two defeats this season.
Methacton challenged itself in the non-conference with games early against Roman and Pa. Independent Schools runner-up Malvern Prep and a marquee matchup with District 3 champion Wilson in the regular-season finale.
The quarterfinal game will tell if those regularseason tests paid off.
“We wanted to get back to (the quarterfinals), and obviously we wanted to play Roman again for a second time to get into the semifinals for states,” Eberly said.
“I’m really, really looking forward to that,” Woodward said. “That’s why you play those high-level games ... If you want to be playing deep into March, you’re going to be playing some elite-level teams and Roman is certainly an elite team.”