Overtime

Krause and senior guard AJ Hansen knocked down free throws as Perk Valley used seven straight points to go up 45-39 midway through the fourth. After scoring just four points in the first half, Krause led Perkiomen Valley with 14 in the second half, seven in the fourth quarter including a deep, deep three.

“I have the confidence,” Krause said. “I shoot those shots in practice, so if I’m open, I shoot it.”

Norristown sophomore Nizer Kinney, who finished with 12 points, sparked the Eagles with a three and a tough basket in the lane before Xavier Edwards, who finished the game with 18 points, hit a jumper to tie the score, 46-46, around the two-minute mark in the fourth quarter.

“There’s definitely a lot of potential in Nizer,” senior forward Mickeel Allen said.

The Eagles got the ball with about a minute and a half left and the score still the same. They decided to chew the clock and appeared poised to take the last shot. Perkiomen Valley’s defense held tight before being rewarded with a five-second count with 29.5 seconds and getting a chance to go win a game.

“We just stayed calm, knew they would make a mistake and luckily got the ball back,” Krause said.

Despite Norristown’s best efforts, the Vikings got the ball in the hands of senior Tyler Strechay, who scored 17 points on Friday and hit the gamewinner the last time these two teams met.

Strechay collapsed the Norristown defense, drawing four defenders toward him as he drove toward the lane. Instead of pulling up like last game, he found Ian Streeper open underneath but the good look for the Vikings didn’t go in, and the game headed into overtime with both teams needing to regroup.

“I told them, your body language coming out of this overtime will dictate how we play,” Poysden said. “I thought they got a little down, heads down, frustrated a little bit because Strech made the right play ... I said suck it up. You’re right here. Get your body language together, your composure and go win the basketball game.”

Kinney, who had seven of his points after halftime, started the scoring in overtime, but another sophomore changed the game. Vikings forward Kameron Parks converted a bucket plus the foul to put Perkiomen Valley up, 50-48, with 2:40 left in overtime. The score seemed to jolt Perkiomen Valley as they scored the last five points at the line to seal the win.

“That was a huge shot by Kam,” Krause said. “He came up big, and it got us going.”

“Sometimes I forget he’s a sophomore,” Poysden said. “I ride him as hard as anyone. In between the ears he’s mentally strong, and he takes it ... He responds every time I get on him. That’s why he’s out there to make plays like that.”

Allen joined Edwards and Kinney in double figures with 11 points in addition to 13 rebounds.

Allen’s beena part of Norristown’s last three playoff teams, and Friday’s loss was the second straight overtime defeat in the PAC semifinals for the Liberty Division champions.

The Eagles should have a good district seed, and that’s where Allen and the rest of Norristown’s five seniors will turn their focus.

“Both teams played really well,” Allen said. “We played well too. When you lose like that, you just have to come together as a team and bounce back.”

“They have to really step up, put their big boy pants on and say listen do I really want to play another game? Do I want to make it to states my senior year,” Norristown coach Binky Johnson said. “We like to put the ownage on them, the seniors, because we have enough of them.”

Perkiomen Valley will play Methacton at Spring-Ford for the PAC championship on Tuesday. It’s a matchup of the last two league champions.

The Vikings won the title in 2017, while the Warriors are the reigning champs.

“We feel like we have the momentum, and we’ve gotta play tough and win,” Krause said.