Rams defend their home, beat back Trojans

There was a lot of hype leading up to Tuesday’s night’s showdown between PAC-10 Frontier division leading Pottstown and Liberty division leader Spring Ford. As is always the case, however, when teams step on the court for a big game, all the pre-game rhetoric evaporates and the story is made on the hardwood.

The upstart class A Trojans (5-3 league, 9-6 overall), ventured to AAAA Spring Ford boasting the top two scorers in the PAC-10 and riding a four game win streak.

Spring-Ford (7-1 league, 10-6 overall) welcomed the visitors by beating them in every aspect of the game en route to a 73-46 romp, reasserting themselves as the class of the league.

“We were really up for this game,” said sophomore center Zameer McDowell. “We knew it was going to be one of our biggest challenges stopping them and we worked hard in practice getting ready.”

In a playoff atmosphere, the Rams were firing on all cylinders in the early going as Steve Joyce hit his first two shots to get the scoring started. McDowell (14 rebounds, 12 points), junior Darryl Keefe (6 boards, 3 points) and senior Andrew Scanlon (10 rebounds, 10 points) set the tone under the glass, pounding the offensive boards.

“That was a good sign for us early,” said Spring Ford head coach Mike Young. “I would have liked to see us make the put backs, but us establishing ourselves on the boards early really took them out of their game and it was one of the biggest concerns we had coming into the game.”

The torridly paced first period featured end-to-end action by both squads. Every time the Rams would grab a slight lead, a Trojan would step out and pop a three pointer to get right back into the fray.

“We knew they would not be afraid to shoot from anywhere,” said Andrew Keys. “We wanted to focus on them only getting one shot, and staying with our game plan. Z (McDowell) and Andrew (Scanlon) really did a great job on the boards tonight. We could see that Jackson and Mathews got frustrated.”

After Dawon Mathews, who entered the game second in the league in scoring with a 19.4 PPG average, hit one of two free throws late in the second quarter to cut the Rams lead to one, coach Young called a much needed time out to break the momentum.

Following the time out, Spring-Ford outscored Pottstown 32-4 over the next ten minutes of playing time, including a 12-0 run to end the first half and reach the intermission with a 39-26 lead. That lead was never again in jeopardy as Pottstown's effort seemed to ebb in the second half, much to the disappointment of Pottstown head coach Jai-T Randall.

“We quit, plain and simple,” said Randall. “I have no explanation of why we played so well as a team to get here, then decided to play as individuals today, pointing fingers, blaming each other. I give Spring-Ford all the credit. They played with five guys playing as one. It was how the game is supposed to be played. I hope we can recover from this.”

The incredible run that held the Trojans potent offense to just one field goal in more than a quarter was sparked by the play of guards Ryan O’Hara and Andrew Keys running the offense, as well as Scanlon and McDowell inside denying Pottstown any additional chances.

“Coach told us to pick our spots of when to run the floor,” said Keys. “In the second half we just wanted to move the ball around as much as we could to use the clock and get a good shot.”

Using a balanced attack, nine Rams made their way onto the scoring sheet. Five players scored in double figures, led by Steve Joyce who hit 8 of 12 from the field and 0-2 from the line for a game high 16 points. Meanwhile, the Rams held Jackson to four field goals, 10 points total and Mathews to 15 points, including a 7-11 from the line performance.

“When we had the lead, we just needed to have good possessions,” added Young. “Move the ball around, get as many touches as we can and use the click. I was very proud of the way our guys responded to a pressure game like this. Scanlon, Keys and Branch (Darryl) really made the difference tonight, they all had monster games.”

Pottstown (46) – Matthews 4 7-11 15, Endy 0 0-0 0, King 0 0-0 0, Jackson 4 0-0 10, Frederick 1 0-2 2, Mitchell 0 0-2 0, Elliott 5 0-0 10, Cottman 3 0-0 7, Moore 1 0-0 2. Totals 18 7-15 46.

Spring-Ford (73) – O’Hara 0 0-0 0, Dishman 4 0-0 10, Keys 4 0-0 8, Joyce 8 0-2 16, McDowell 4 4-6 12, McLaughlin 1 0-0 2, Branch 5 0-1 12, Keefe 1 1-1 3, Scanlan 54 0-0 10. Totals 33 5-10 73.

Pottstown           12 14   8 10 – 46

Spring-Ford        16 23 17 17 – 73

3-point goals: Jackson 2, Dishman 2, Cottman.