Boys Hoops Heads to Finals after PJPII Win

One year ago, the Spring-Ford boys basketball team walked off the court as Pope John Paul II High School celebrated its first PAC-10 Championship. One month ago, the Spring-Ford boys got retribution in a regular season win over the Panthers.

Less than 24 hours ago, the Rams did it again, defeating the Panthers in the first round of the Final Four, 55-45. It wasn't an easy game, but the Rams helped their case by setting the tempo early. They had an 18-7 lead at the end of one.

"Every team wants to do that, but yeah, we definitely came out and defensively set the tone," said head coach Mike Young. "Last game, if you remember, they came out and got three three-[pointers] right away in the first quarter. [Brent] Mahoney got started and we really did a great job on him tonight. They're too good to hold them to zero or one three's. They're going to hit them from anywhere. We told our guys, they'll make some three's, but we'll get through it."

The Panthers keyed up on senior Josh Dishman and junior Zameer McDowell. Head coach Jack Flanagan said he thought if he could hold them to 24 points, they would win the game. However, an unsuspecting senior showed what he could do: Ryan Keefe.

"I've been starting the last couple of games and have been scoring a little more," Keefe said. "I wanted to push the ball, get an early lead, try and get a couple of points early. I think we did pretty well. We jumped out to that early lead and there was no looking back from that point. That's what we wanted to do."

Keefe scored 16 points in the game, and was right when he said there was no looking back. The Rams never trailed in the game.

"Keefe is just an uncanny player," said Young. "He's 6-foot and trying to drive the ball to the baseline. He gets in there and has good shot fakes. He's crafty and knows how to use his body. He played awesome."

Another key component to the game was senior Darryl Branch's ability to get up and crash the boards. Branch had 12 rebounds in the contest, and added 10 points of his own - many of which came off of rebounds.

"I was just going to the glass, as my coaches told me," Branch said. "Keep going, keep fighting. That's what I kept on doing. I tried to give 100 percent, the best as I can do, and we ended up winning."

It got a little scary for Spring-Ford in the fourth as the Panthers brought the score within just five points after a three-pointer by PJPII's Dave Cotellese. But, the Rams countered with a three of their own.

"They do that," said Keefe. "They make three's, but there was no way we were losing that game. That was our game. We were at our gym. When I passed the ball to Josh in the corner on that broken play and he hit [the three], I knew we were going to win the game."

From there, Spring-Ford was consistent enough to pull off the victory. This was a special one for the Rams, as they go to yet another PAC-10 Championship. It will be their fourth in five years. They'll play the winner of Saturday night's Methacton/Pottstown game.

"Both teams are really good," said Branch. "Pottstown's on an eight-game winning streak and Methacton, as we know, is a very good team. They came and beat us at our home during the first round. We've just got to be prepared for both teams. I think we're capable of doing that."

For Pope John Paul II, the season is not over.

"We'll find out on Sunday what our district seed is," said Flanagan. "Our two goals coming in were to make the PAC-10 Final Four, and to qualify for the state tournament. I know that confuses people at times, because isn't it a district championship? I just want to be in the state tournament. For us, that's the NCAA."

The Rams play in the championship on Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m. Either matchup will be tough.

"Either team we play, it's going to be a great game," said Young. "Both teams are very good. We'll start thinking about the game plan tomorrow when we know who we're going to play, but whoever we play, it's going to be a battle."

Photo courtesy of Bruce Good. For more photos, check out www.PopPopGood.com.

Spring-Ford Statistics

Points
Ryan Keefe - 16
Josh Dishman - 13
Darryl Branch - 10
Drew Kakareka - 6
Zameer McDowell - 4
Ryan O'Hara - 3
Andrew Scanlan - 3

Rebounds
Branch - 12
McDowell - 9
Scanlan - 5
O'Hara - 2
Dishman - 2
Keefe - 2

Assists
Dishman - 3
McDowell - 2
Keefe - 2
Scanlan - 1

Blocks
Scanlan - 2
Dishman - 1
McDowell - 1
Branch - 1

Steals
McDowell - 3
O'Hara - 1
Branch - 1
Keefe - 1