Spring-Ford boys hoopsters close out regular home schedule with win over Perkiomen Valley

Spring-Ford boys basketball head coach Mike Young has always set goals to start each season, and this year was no different.

The Rams have already achieved the first of those goals by returning to the PAC-10 final, where they finished as a runner-up to Pottsgrove last season.

“Coach has goals set for us,” said junior Andrew Scanlan. “We have them posted on the wall so we constantly keep them in mind. We first want to win the PAC-10, but we also want to win at least two district games. If we play them here at home, we have a great chance to do that, because our crowd makes it hard for other teams to come in here and play.”

On Saturday night, Spring-Ford, which improved to 11-1 and 15-6 overall, took another step on the road to hosting a second round district game by holding off a fourth quarter charge by Perkiomen Valley, emerging from the fray with a 44-39 win.

In a game that seesawed back and forth for three periods, the Rams finally got some separation on the scoreboard by finishing the third quarter with six unanswered points. They then converted nine seconds into the fourth quarter to go up by eight, the largest lead either squad had built in the contest.

As if on cue, the Vikings immediately responded with a 7-0 run of their own, again climbing to within one of the Rams, who shot under 40 percent for the game and an abysmal 8-of-17 from the free throw line.

“We have got to get better from the line,” said junior Ryan O'Hara, who had six points including 2-of-3 from the stripe. “We practice free throws all the time and actually the last few games have improved, but tonight we struggled all night and let them stay in the game with us. We can not do that in the playoffs or it will be a short run.”

The Vikings (5-7 league, 9-11 overall) were again without the services of leading scorer Andrew Kenney and Brett Davis, which hurt them down the stretch, as Kenney’s ability to hit the outside shot might have neutralized the impact of Zameer McDowell’s long reach inside.

Following two made free throws by Scanlan, the Rams had a six point edge with 1:12 remaining and were looking to salt the game away.

With under a minute to play, junior guard Eric Ragusa, who had been hurting the Rams from outside all night, took a feed on the left wing and quickly banged a three-pointer to again make it a one-possession game.

With 14.6 seconds remaining following a Spring-Ford turnover, Perk Valley senior Chris Stewart had a chance to draw the Vikings to within a single point. He failed to convert the first half of a one and one, leaving his team no recourse but to foul.

Scanlan hit one-of-two of his resulting free throws. He was followed by senior Josh Dishman, who had six points overall.  Dishman stepped to the line and buried both free throws to secure the win in the final regular season home game for the Rams.

“It was big for us to get the win tonight,” said O'Hara. “We are focusing on each game at a time, but know that we want to have some momentum going into the final four later in the week. We know all of their guys so it’s always fun to play them. We are looking forward to getting back to the final four and winning it this time.”

“I have played ball with a lot of their guys since I was in seventh grade,” added Scanlan, who had a team-high 8 points. “It’s always a battle with them, because they have some really good players and never quit. It’s important to close out a game like tonight. Our fans are great and I am sure the 'Bleacher Creatures' will fill the stands over there this week.”

Spring-Ford will close out its PAC-10 regular season against neighborhood rival Pope John Paul II.  The Golden Panthers (8-3 in PAC-10) qualified for the postseason with a win on Saturday and could be the team that Spring-Ford will face when the Final Four open at Perkiomen Valley High School on Friday, February 11^th.

The top-seeded Rams will play at 6:00pm versus either Pope John Paul II, which has two more regular season games, or Pottstown (9-4 in PAC-10), which has completed its schedule. 

Methacton (10-3) will play either PJPII or Pottstown at 7:30.

Perk Valley         5   13   8     13 – 39

Spring-Ford        8   13   11   12 – 44

Perkiomen Valley (39) – Rykaczewski 1 1-2 4, Ragusa 5 0-0 11, Thinna 1 0-0 2, Stewart 4 4-6 13, Williams 2 1-4 5, Wilson 2 0-0 4. Totals 15 6-14 39.

Spring-Ford (44) – O’Hara 0 0-0 0, Dishman 2 2-3 6, Joyce 3 0-0 6, McDowell 2 4-10 8, Scanlan 3 2-4 8, Keys 1 0-0 2, Branch 4 0-0 8, Keefe 3 0-0 6. Totals 18 8-17 44.

3-point field goals:  (PV)Rykaczewski, (PV) Ragusa, (PV) Stewart.