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District 1 Madness Recaps: 

A strange thing can happen when people doubt that a team is as good as their record.  Cynics call it “overachieving,” while optimists call it “proving the naysayers wrong.”  Whatever the category or name, Norristown came into the District 4-A championship game against perennial powerhouse Chester Sunday evening with a 28-0 record that some questioned due to strength of schedule.  That left them with one goal – capturing the title whether outsiders believed in them or not.  And for three quarters, it looked like they had a chance to do so.  But on this night, Chester was the better team, as they outlasted the Eagles to claim their 7th consecutive district championship with a 61-47 victory.

“They played real hard,” Chester guard Karon Burton said about Norristown after the game.  “We didn’t underestimate anybody.”  That’s a statement that the critics may need to pay attention to.  It was quite evident during warmups before the sold out Pavilion crowd that Chester was confident, but focused.  So when Norristown came out like the old Mike Tyson – punching, and punching hard – Chester looked off of their game.  But that wasn’t because Chester wasn’t playing well; it was because Norristown didn’t allow them to play well.  The Eagles scored the first 5 points of the game, and Chester’s first basket didn’t come until the 5 minute mark by Nasir Robinson (18 points).   With Norristown scraping at every turn, Chester found themselves turning the ball over multiple times.  The Eagles held a 9-6 lead at the end of the first quarter.  Norristown carried the energy into the second quarter, led by Russell Graham, who had 7 1st half points (13 total).  However, it was toward the middle of this quarter that Chester figured out how to overcome Norristown's scrappy defense. A lot of this was due to the fantastic play of Burton (21 points, 7 assists).  He helped turn the tide of the game in this quarter by changing the tempo in  favor of Chester.  “Coach said slow it down and run sets,” he said.  They slowed it down from the frantic pace of the first quarter to a still fast, but much more controlled pace.  Robinson started to step up more with inside baskets, and Chester’s interior defense started to close the paint.  Norristown looked like they were running out of gas, and Chester went into halftime with a 22-18 lead. 

Norristown came back out in the third quarter refreshed, and Khalif Wyatt set the tone with 2 three pointers that tied the game at 28.  The contest remained tight, tied at 30, until Chester blazed off to a 6-0 run and subsequently completed the third quarter up 42-36.

At this point, it seemed that Norristown had just flat out run out of energy.  Chester turned up the heat in the fourth and Norristown was forced to foul many times, perhaps too tired to keep up on defense.  Chester expanded their lead, and an alley-oop from Burton to Robinson put the finishing touches on the 61-47 victory.

Norristown suffered their first defeat of the season, but proved that they do belong in the conversation as a contender against the top teams in the state.  It will be interesting to see how things shape up in the 4-A state tournament, as Norristown has a chance to meet the Clippers again if both teams make it to the finals.  As for Chester, winning a district championship is always a great accomplishment, but this team feels that this is only part of a journey that needs to end with a state championship. “We appreciate this trophy,” Burton said, “but it’s not over.”