Pottsgrove girls lock down Phantoms

POTTSGROVE 46, PHOENIXVILE 33 >> In a matchup of teams with matching records chasing the top of the Pioneer Athletic Conference Frontier Division in girls basketball, Pottsgrove used a lock-down performance in the first half to down host Phoenixville, 46-33, Saturday afternoon.

The Falcons improved to 4-1 in the Frontier and 7-3 overall while the Phantoms fell to 3-2 and 7-4 overall. The game was a secondplace showdown with both teams chasing first-place Pope John Paul II (4-0, 8-3).

“It’s early but it all counts. For the league and also for districts, it’s very big for districts,” said Pottsgrove coach Mike Brendlinger.

Pottsgrove held Phoenixville without a double-figure scorer while the Falcons were balanced on offense, Rachel Ludwig and Riley Simon’s 10-point games lead a group of six with between 5-10 points. Summer Walker chipped in eight.

The game turned in a second quarter that saw the Falcons out-score the Phantoms 14-2 for a 28-12 halftime lead.

“I think our defense was the key there,” Brendlinger said. “We know they have two players that could really hurt us (Ameerah Green) and (Aubrie Breisblatt), so we tried to give them some extra attention and make somebody else beat us.”

Brendlinger praised the defense of Mayes and Walker for holding Green and Breisblatt to five and eight points, respectively. BOYERTOWN 47, PERKIOMEN VALLEY 45 >> Extended to overtime by the Vikings, the Bears got a slim edge in scoring to prevail in this PAC Liberty Division game on Jan. 3.

Ashley Kapp had 10 points for Boyertown, which went 22-for-36 from the free throw line. Perkiomen Valley’s Kelly Owens scored 19 points to lead the game.

POTTSGROVE 50, UPPER MERION 29 >> Riley Simon and Jordan Mayes combined to nearly match the Vikings’ entire offensive output in the Falcons’ PAC Frontier Division victory Thursday.

Simon had a game-high 15 points, two more than Mayes’ 13. They were key to Pottsgrove opening a 29-15 halftime lead, with Sierra Potts adding nine points on a trio of 3-point baskets. POTTSTOWN 47, UPPER PERKIOMEN 29 >> The Trojans finally earned a home victory, topping the Indians in their PAC Frontier Division game.

Leading the way for Pottstown, Kiyah Cotton recorded a double-double of 13 points and 10 steals along with seven rebounds. Riley Owens was one point shy of a double-double having nine points and 11 rebounds.

BOYERTOWN 53, NORRISTOWN 45 >> The Bears were particularly hot from 3-point range, getting half their points from long distance in their PAC Liberty Division victory over the Eagles.

Emma Ludwig hit five 3-pointers on the way to a team-high 19 points, and Julia Smith got all but two of her 14 from outside the arc. Boyertown built a comfortable 35-16 lead in the first half, upping it to 4623 prior to a fourth quarter that saw Norristown make a 22-7 run.

Boys basketball

POTTSTOWN 61, POPE JOHN PAUL II 49 >> Bolstered by a quartet of double-figure scorers, the Trojans handled the Golden Panthers in their PAC Frontier Division game on Jan. 3.

Donovan Towson led the way for Pottstown, his 19 points a game high. Tre Bass, Wil’Chon Seward and Robert Burress each contributed 10 points to the Pottstown offense, with PJP getting 16 points from Tyshyre Malachi-DeVeaux and 14 from Justin Green. PERKIOMEN VALLEY 50, BOYERTOWN 36 >> The Vikings got a combined 28 points from Bryce Streeper and Tyler Strechay as they handled the Bears in PAC Liberty Division play on Jan. 3.

Streeper paced PV with a 17-point outing, and Strechay chipped in with 11 points while Zach Krause (eight) and Ian Streeper (seven points and rebounds) contributed. Tre Diguglielmo paced the Bears with 20 points — 12 of them off long-distance baskets — as Hunter Borgmann and Aarick Salata each added seven. POTTSTOWN 85, UPPER PERKIOMEN 64 >> Donovan Towson was the game’s offensive star, keying the Trojans’ victory over the Indians in their PAC Frontier Division matchup.

Towson scored 24 points to nudge out UP’s Riley Decker (23) for high-scoring honors. He headed a quintet of double-figure scorers — Floyd Dashiell 15, Robert Burress 13, Wil’Chon Seward and Tre Bass 11 apiece — for Pottstown, which bolted to a 23-3 lead in the first quarter.

Macauley Swenk was another double-figure scorer for the Tribe, getting 13. NORRISTOWN 68, BOYERTOWN 47 >> The undermanned Bears, with starters Aarick Salata and Tre Diguglielmo out nursing injuries, couldn’t keep up with the Eagles in their PAC Liberty Division pairing.

Norristown had a trio of double-figure scorers, Tyler Lyons (15 points), Aaron Reddish (13) and Xavier Edwards (12). Boyertown was led by Hunter Borgmann (16 points, eight boards, two blocks), Alex Obarow (12) and Dawson Smith (eight).

Wrestling

In advance of a busy round of wrestling Saturday, Boyertown took part in a double-dual match Friday at Saucon Valley.

It was a split decision for the Bears, who also faced Delaware Valley in the three-way. They opened with a 44-18 victory over Delaware Valley, then fell to the host Panthers in the nightcap, 40-20.

Taking seven of the final eight bouts, Boyertown broke out of a deadlock with the Warriors in the opener.

Brett Breidor’s pin at 152 got Boyertown rolling after DV pulled even through six weights, 12-12. Alan Alexander (160) and Evan Mortimer (170) followed with major decisions, and after the Warriors’ William Henderson scored a pin at 182, Jacob Sonder (285) and Kade Davidheiser (106) followed a pair of DV forfeits with decisions to cap Boyertown’s early action.

Against Saucon Valley, the Bears saw the host team twice overcome early deficits — the first one an 11(-3) Boyertown lead following a disqualification at 126. Chance Babb’s technical fall in the 120-pound opener was the biggest win for the Bears, whose other points came off decisions by Brett Breidor (152), Evan Mortimer (160) and Alan Alexander (170) along with Nicholas Montanye getting the DQ points at 126.

The Bears (6-2) now go on to the eight-school Parkland Duals. They open at 9:15 a.m. against Northampton, then face Central High, Mariana Bracetti Academy, the host Trojans and Cumberland Valley in succession.

PARKLAND DUALS >> Boyertown went 3-2 on the day, winning matches with Central High (64-12), Mariana Bracetti Academy (60-21) and Parkland (51-18) but falling to Northampton (64-9) and Cumberland Valley (38-36).

Jacob Miller was the lone Bear to go 5-0, pinning three opponents in bouts at 195 and 220. Julien Maldonado (106/113), Brett Breidor (152), Evan Mortimer (160/170) and Jacob Sonder (220/285) all went 4-1 while Kade Davidheiser (106/113) was 3-1.

Indoor track

TFCAGP >> It was a productive day for the Boyertown boys team, which came home from Lehigh University’s Rauch Fieldhouse with 12 personal records, four medal winners and one state championship qualifier.

Payton Stanziani won the 400 and qualified for both the Meet of Champions and the State Championship Meet. Julian Saunders finished second in the 200 and qualified for the Meet of Champions, and Tyler McIlhinney and Christian McComb both finished fifth in the shot put and 800, respectively.