RAMS SLAM WARRIORS
Nguyen lights up scoreboard with 27 points, SpringFord stays perfect in PAC Liberty
In a packed gym on the road, the Spring-Ford Rams came out with one thing in mind against rival Methacton.
“Our goal to start the game was to punch them in the throat,” Spring-Ford junior Jacob Nguyen said.
Mission accomplished. The Rams charged out to a 10-point lead in the first quarter en route to a 63-32 blowout of Methacton as they remained perfect in the Pioneer Athletic Conference Liberty Division on Friday night.
Nguyen was on fire, finishing with 27 points, including sinking seven 3-pointers in nine attempts.
“We were hoping to come out to a good start, because last year we had a rough start when we played them here,” Nguyen said. “We knew they switch a lot, so we ran a lot of slip screens and got a lot of open looks, layups, and dunks.”
A year ago, the Warriors jumped out to a 10-2 lead here against Spring-Ford, which had to claw its way back to a narrow victory.
Matt Zollers added 12 points for junior-laden Spring-Ford (113, 5-0), which had a clear height advantage, and E.J. Campbell scored 10.
“They came out and they set the tempo,” Methacton coach Pat Lockard said. “We knew that matchup zone was a thing they could present, and I think the intensity they played with kind of took our guys back a little bit. We were kind of reacting instead of trying to set the tone ourselves on offense, like putting up shots that aren’t really part of our offense, not getting rebounds, and allowing them to push the ball in transition.
“But hats off to Spring-Ford,” he said. “They played a heck of a game.”
Alex Hermann led the Warriors (8-3, 4-1) with 12 points while Christian Matos had 11.
By halftime, the Rams were up 36-16. In the fourth quarter, they extended their lead to 30 points, triggering a running clock.
“One through five, everybody can score,” Nguyen said. “Four of us are averaging 10-plus points, and that helps. So, if they’re denying E.J. or me, Matt, Oben (Mokonchu), or Tommy (Kelly) — we can all score.”
The Rams dominated the glass, outrebounding Methacton 34-12, and hit 10-of-16 from beyond the arc.
Spring-Ford’s starting five consists
of four juniors and a sophomore. Nguyen already has received offers from Bryant, Albany, Drexel, Bucknell, William & Mary, and Lafayette. Other colleges also have shown interest — in him and several of his teammates.
“I knew our guys would be hyped,” said Lockard, whose rotation includes three sophomores. “It was a big environment. I knew the crowd was going to be juiced. We weren’t communicating on defense, we weren’t making the right reads on offense. I think we really allowed the energy of the moment get to us and not really bring the focus to understand the scouting report of what we were trying to do.
“We just didn’t match their energy,” he said. “That was a litmus test. I think we’re a better team than what we showed tonight. And we dug ourselves a hole against a really good team.”