Norristown’s defense delivers upset
No. 12 Eagles clinch spot in states with win over No. 5 Haverford
HAVERFORD » You hear it often from coaches and, more frequently, from players that those coaches instruct to say it, believe it and live it. “It starts with defense,” the script goes.
DJ Johnson didn’t have to say it Tuesday night. He and his Norristown teammates showed it so vividly for 32 minutes at Haverford that it spoke for itself.
No. 12 Norristown made the adjustments it needed to on defense, checking the early momentum of Haverford and rallying into the PIAA Class 6A tournament with a 46-39 win.
The win sends the Eagles (186) into states and into the District 1 Class 6A quarterfinals Friday against No. 4 Bensalem, which beat West Chester Henderson, 5742. No. 5 Haverford (17-6) hosts Henderson for a chance to grab one of the remaining 12 states berths most generously appointed to District 1.
For a quarter and a half, Haverford got whatever it wanted offensively, leading 18-5 with 3:22 left until halftime. That’s when Norristown switched a 3-2 zone to slow the game down, Haverford voluntarily slowed itself down further and the Eagles found a way to get easy baskets and get back in the game.
“Defensively, we locked in,” Johnson said. “We came out a little shaky, a little bit of pressure on us, we let their shooters get open. End of the season, we started locking in a little more. And halftime, the coaches made adjustments and we just locked in and we just didn’t want to get home.”
Some of that was Johnson, who scored 14 points and pocketed four steals, including a key run-out deuce to get the momentum starter. Part of it was greater
recognition of which Fords were less of a threat once they got in the lane and which shooters to close out on.
And for a team that didn’t have a season last year, it was the latest instance in a growing process that belies the plethora of seniors on the roster.
Defense put Norristown up for the first time with 2:24 to play in the third quarter, Zaki Gomez pilfering a pass and hitting two free throws to make it 24-23. A basket by Myon Kirlew on the final possession of the quarter put the Eagles up for good at 2826.
Haverford never recovered. They committed five turnovers in the third quarter and scored just five points. Against a Norristown team that was as willing to challenge drivers and as able to plug passing lanes as any team they’ve faced, the Fords were uncharacteristically rattled offensively.
“I feel like we could’ve moved the ball better, cut harder, just little things,” guard Brian Wiener said. “We do it in practice all the time. Their physicality was just a lot for us.”
Googie Seidman scored 10 points in the first half and finished with a game-high 16. JR Newman added 10 points, though he expended most of his energy defensively on Johnson. Nick Colucci, slowed by an illness, scored just two points. Normally a team that moves the ball so adeptly, the Fords had just six assists on 17 made baskets, including two after halftime once Norristown had sniffed out their preferred drive-and-kick avenues.
Norristown spread the offense around. Forward John Dinolfi struggled at the line but tallied 10 points and eight rebounds, snuffing out
Haverford possessions into one-and-done futility.
“John’s a great teammate, great player,” Johnson said. “Just a reliable teammate. You can trust in him. There’s nothing else you can ask for. He’s amazing.”
Johnson was 6-for-7 from the line in the fourth quarter. Gomez added nine points, including six in the third quarter. Kirlew also had nine points, the big one a corner 3-pointer in transition from Gomez midway through the fourth to make it 37-32.
“I don’t know if the coach wanted him to take that shot, but he took it,” Johnson said. “And he hit it. That’s Myon.”
Johnson, the son of head coach Dana “Binky” Johnson, would know better than most. He also appreciates, perhaps better than his younger treatment, what it means for Norristown to be back in states, particularly after the pandemic forced one of Southeastern PA’s most consistent programs to go without a season in 2020-21.
“It definitely adds a little extra to it,” DJ Johnson said. “People counted us out. People thought we weren’t going to make the playoffs. Some people didn’t think we were going to have a winning season. But just a lot of work put in, stuff behind closed doors.”