GV uses strong second half to spring upset in quarters
WORCESTER » Garnet Valley’s Quinn O’Hara knocked down five 3-pointers in scoring a game-high 22 points as the 14th-seeded Jaguars erased a five-point halftime deficit with a strong third quarter then held off host Methacton to earn a 64-53 victory in the District 1 Class 6A boys basketball quarterfinals Friday night.
Brady Krautzel added 16 points — 10 in the third — while Jake Sniras finished with 13 points as Garnet Valley pulled off its second straight upset over a PAC side. It had bested No. 3 Spring-Ford in the second round on Tuesday and added a second win in as many years against Methacton, the No. 6 seed.
Garnet Valley (18-8) visits No. 2 West Chester Henderson, which topped No. 7 Central Bucks East 68-62, Tuesday.
“It means everything,” O’Hara said. “This group, we’ve been tested throughout the season, ups and downs, early-season struggles and as the season ended we really got hot and came together. And right now nobody’s looking at the scoreboard, caring about their points, it’s how many points does Garnet Valley have and that’s been the big shift from the beginning of the season to end of season.”
Christian Matos hit five 3-pointers in pacing Methacton (17-8) with 19 points. Alex Hermann had 13 points while Sal Iemmello contributed 12 points for the Warriors, who look to help their PIAA tournament seeding when host CB East in district playbacks Tuesday.
Garnet Valley and Methacton were meeting in districts for the third straight season, with their previous matchups both needing more than four quarters. In the 2022 quarterfinals, the topseeded Warriors bested GV 46-41 in overtime. Last season’s secondround contest went to double overtime before the Jags earned a 7369
win.
Methacton led 28-23 at halftime and extended its advantage to seven after two Hermann free throws 18 seconds in the third. But a putback, then a 3-pointer from Krautzel followed by a triple by Jack Krautzel had the Jaguars up 31-30.
Anthony Daddazio’s basket gave the Warriors a one-point edge. But Garnet Valley took the lead for good with a five-point burst, a Sniras bucket making it 36-32 Jaguars.
In the fourth, the Jaguars began to work the clock with a Grayson Golek bucket pushing Garnet Valley’s lead to 52-45.
The Jaguars put the game away with free throws, going 12-of-16 from the line in the last 1:53.
Garnet Valley opened the game with consecutive 3-pointers from Brady Krautzel and O’Hara but a trio of Matos triples powered an 11-0 Methacton run. But the Jaguars ended the first quarter up 1413 after O’Hara banked in a three.
Four straight points from Sniras to begin the second quarter had the Jags up 18-13 before the Warriors responded with a 9-0 run — six from Iemmello — to give the home side a 22-18 advantage. Garnet Valley got within two twice but a Daddazio 3-pointer had Methacton leading 28-23 at the break.