Boys' Hoops: Wissahickon Routs Cardinals, 55-34

Only one team this season has walked into a gym to play a basketball game with the Wissahickon Trojans and walked out with a victory. That happened on the first night of the season, and since then 11 straight teams had fallen to the team from Ambler heading into Friday night's matchup with rival Upper Dublin.

Then, a capacity crowd filed into the and witnessed firsthand why the Trojans now sit at 12-1, after earning a 55-34 victory.

"[Our players] came out and executed, and just had a real nice all around effort," said Wissahickon head coach Kyle Wilson. "We didn’t play great in our last game against Upper Merion, and I thought tonight we’d have to have a real nice effort against Upper Dublin because I know [head coach Josh Adelman] knows us probably better than anybody else."

The Trojans (12-1, 5-0) got that real nice effort from almost all of their players, led by 6'8" center Tanoh Kpassagnon, who finished with 14 points, six blocks, and anchored a stingy interior defense. Although Wissahickon guard Kyle Garrett led all scorers with 15, it was Kpassagnon's presence in the paint that never allowed Upper Dublin (7-6, 2-4) easy access to the hoop.

“I thought Tanoh played really well. His work inside I thought was impressive—the blocking shots, the nice soft touch around the glass," said Wilson.

The game looked even early, as both teams shot poorly in the first quarter, with the Cardinals even taking an 8-6 lead before the quarter ultimately ended in an 11-8 Wissahickon advantage. The Trojan's sharpshooting Garrett missed three shots from beyond the arc in the opening frame, and neither team seemed to be able to find the bottom of the hoop.

However, Wissahickon's offense began to heat up in the second, while the defense clamped down. The Trojans would go on a 7 minute, 10-0 to take a 16-8 lead with 4:53 to play in the second. Garrett would then hit back-to-back 3's to stretch the lead to 24-15 at the half.

When asked if he was worried about the cold shooting of his team early, Wilson admitted he was.

"As a coach? Yes, you're worried… But once Garrett knocked down a few, everything came a little easier," Wilson said.

Wilson's son, sophomore Chase Wilson, gave the Trojans an additional boost to start the second. The 5’11” guard scored eight points, including a long three-pointer, in the first 3 minutes to widen the lead to 36-17 with 5:28 to play. From there the rout was on, as the Cardinals struggled to find an answer.

"I thought we had a lot of nice looks at some shots, and unfortunately they didn’t fall," said Adelman. "Then we were playing catch-up and that’s a tough team to do it against."

The Cardinals would get no closer than 14 the rest of the way, and a big slam by Kpassagnon on a fast break made it 51-26 with 4:58 to play, bringing the Trojan fans to their feet and solidifying the victory.

Guard John Decamara led the Cardinals with 13 points, despite an off-shooting night for the 3-point specialist. Forward Darrell Harrison also played well in the losing effort, scoring 12 and settling the offense.

"Wissahickon did what you're supposed to do; they put it in the basket… and I thought they played well defensively too," said Adelman. "We never stopped playing, never quit, it’s just you have nights like these, unfortunately."

Coach Wilson, who said that Adelman was a good friend and that the two share coaching history, also gave credit to the opposing squad.

"Not only were we playing our rival, that’s a very good team," said Wilson, adding that the Cardinals had almost knocked off perennial powers Cheltenham and Plymouth-Whitemarsh this season. "It’s a very good basketball team and we were very fortunate to come in and have a nice game against them."